Headlines

'Originalism says that when you consult the text [of the Constitution], 
you give it the meaning it had when it was adopted,
not some later modern meaning'.
Antonin Scalia

Grand Rapids, Aug.4 (DP.net).─ The Acton Institute announced their 10th Faith & Freedom Award to be presented at their Annual Dinner on October 27th, 2016. These awards are granted posthumously, and Margaret Thatcher, William F. Buckley Jr, and Cardinal Van Thuan are among the nine previous personalities receiving this important recognition. This year it has been granted in memoriam to Judge Antonin Scalia.  

The Faith & Freedom Award was established as part of the Acton Institute's tenth Anniversary celebration in 2000. The award recognizes an individual who exemplifies commitment to faith and freedom through outstanding leadership in civic, business, or religious life. 

Justice Antonin Scalia spent more than five decades in the legal profession, ultimately earning a nomination to the US Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan en 1986. Scalia was an ardent defender of individual righs and limited government, most notably through his advocacy of originalism, a philosophy emphasizing judicial restraint as well as devotion to the US Founder's original constitutional intent. During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Scalia heard nearly 2,500 cases and authored or co-authored some 800 opinions.

Turkey’s president is destroying the democracy that Turks risked their lives to defend

 July 23.─ Much is unknown about the attempted military coup in Turkey on the night of July 15th. Why was it botched so badly? How far up the ranks did the conspiracy reach? Were the putschists old-style secularists, as their initial communiqué suggested; or were they followers of an exiled Islamist cleric, Fethullah Gulen, as the government claims?

But two things are clear. First, the people of Turkey showed great bravery in coming out onto the streets to confront the soldiers; hundreds died (see article here and here). Opposition parties, no matter how much they may despise President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, united to denounce the assault on democracy. Better the flawed, Islamist-tinged strongman than the return of the generals for the fifth time since the 1960s.

China defies the Permanent Court of Arbitration, in The Hague  

The international tribunal delivers a blow to China’s claims in the South China Sea

Manila, Jul 16.─ By ejecting its neighbours’ forces, building up its navy and constructing artificial islands, China has for years sought to assert vast and ambiguous territorial claims in the South China Sea. These alarm its neighbours and have led to military confrontations. They also challenge America’s influence in Asia. Now the Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international tribunal in The Hague, has declared China’s “historic claims” in the South China Sea invalid. It was an unexpectedly wide-ranging and clear-cut ruling, and it has enraged China. The judgment could change the politics of the South China Sea and, in the long run, force China to choose what sort of country it wants to be—one that supports rules-based global regimes, or one that challenges them in pursuit of great-power status.

The case was brought by the Philippines in 2013, after China grabbed control of a reef, called Scarborough Shoal, about 220 miles (350km) north-west of Manila. The case had wider significance, though, because of the South China Sea itself. About a third of world trade passes through its sea lanes, including most of China’s oil imports. It contains large reserves of oil and gas. But it matters above all because it is a place of multiple overlapping maritime claims and a growing military presence (Chinese troops are pictured above on one of the sea’s islands). 

The rise of modern Islamic extremism has worsened an institutionalized Muslim homophobia

Orlando mosque speaker says Islam mandates gays be put to death ◄ click here 

Under Shariah—Islamic law—those engaging in same-sex sexual acts can be sentenced to death in nearly a dozen countries or in large areas of them: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, the northern states of Nigeria, southern parts of Somalia, two provinces in Indonesia, Mauritania, Afghanistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates

Orlando, June 12.─ The Orlando massacre is a hideous reminder to Americans that homophobia is an integral part of Islamic extremism.