Category Archives: Victimless Crimes

Editors note: This commentary is by John Klar, a Vermont grass-fed beef and sheep farmer, and an attorney and pastor who lives in Irasburg.

In a June 22, 2016, VPR interview, Mr. Scott stated of marijuana legalization, We cant afford to make any mistakes here. So Im not saying never. Im saying its the timings not right. Its not now. In the recent Seven Days article, Gov. Scott is quoted as saying I didnt say, Never. I said, Not now. But the travesty of this position is manifest: not only is the governor leaving draconian laws in place which incarcerate citizens for victimless crimes, he is upping the ante by linking decriminalization to driving tests for cannabis.

To raise the false specter of pot-smoking motorists is to echo the Reefer Madness paranoia of a well-discredited past. Gov. Scott is suggesting that decriminalization will cause an increase in the number of stoned motorists on our roads, for which there is no evidence. A similar ignorance imbued the campaign by some to block the distribution of free needles to addicts in the midst of the AIDS epidemic: subsequent studies revealed that free needles did stem the spread of HIV, and did not increase the use of IV drugs.

Why should someone using cannabis brownies to fend off chemotherapy nausea, or battle chronic pain, have to be threatened with prison because someone else might drive stoned and the police dont yet have a test?

Our roads are threatened daily by drunken drivers, for whom we have a test. But if there is an accident, we have tests for cannabis also. But what Mr. Scott knows full well is that we have not established a legal limit for what amount of cannabinoids is dangerous. Without such a discussion, there can be no driving law and thus not now means, essentially never the opposite of what Mr. Scott states.

We must not tolerate such subterfuge. We have a horrific opioid epidemic in Vermont. I am personally seeing more and more people addicted to pharmaceuticals because of routine surgeries, and then transferred to methadone clinics. Does the governor have a routine test for methadone? If not, how can we allow it to be dispensed legally by the state?

There are numerous federal laws that protect people from discrimination if they are under medication-assisted treatment (see, e.g., Rights For Individuals on Medication-Assisted Treatment, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). There is no legal protection for users of illegal drugs like cannabis just for the profitable drugs that are peddled by pharmaceutical companies and physicians to (supposedly) wean people off illegal narcotics.

So our governor is worse than disingenuous. Perhaps the energy he employs defying federal immigration laws should be invested in standing up forcefully for Vermonters clear and longstanding rights to bear arms, or to defy federal laws which incarcerate Vermonters for smoking pot in their own living rooms. Why should someone using cannabis brownies to fend off chemotherapy nausea, or battle chronic pain, have to be threatened with prison because someone else might drive stoned and the police dont yet have a test?

Vermont has a medical marijuana registry, regardless of the absence of a roadside test. But the relief from state criminalization for medical marijuana use does not protect our citizens from federal law, and our state appears to be providing the names of those on the marijuana registry to the federal government, so that they wont be able to buy guns they are on a federal list. Perhaps our governor will also demand a test to ensure gun owners arent stoned before he legalizes pot, to stigmatize both marijuana use and gun ownership simultaneously. (There is no restriction on alcoholics owning guns.)

The real issue here is whether or not we continue to threaten non-violent cannabis users with incarceration. Our government shields methadone and suboxone addicts from discrimination, while threatening recreational homebound pot smokers with prison or arrest because we dont have a test yet. What are they smoking in the Vermont Legislature? Do we have a test for them to take before enacting new laws, higher taxes, and increased fees? Not now. Maybe later. How do we know we are not under stoned governance?

Read the original post:

John Klar: Scott plays both sides in marijuana debate - vtdigger.org

Vandalism in the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia

Reuters

Two Philadelphia unions said they will provide free services to help repair and secure the city's vandalized Mount Carmel Cemetery.

More than 100 gravestones were toppled and damaged at the Jewish cemetery in the Wissinoming section. The vandalism was discovered Sunday.

Bobby Henon, a Philadelphia City Council member with union ties who represents the Wissinoming neighborhood, tweeted Monday evening that the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council offered to replace the toppled headstones and that the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 98 offered to install additional lighting and security cameras.

Labor leader John Dougherty of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council told reporters that the vandalism is a cowardly act of anti-Semitism that cannot be tolerated. His workers also offered to re-sod and clean the cemetery grounds.

Meanwhile, a Gofundme campaign for the Philadelphia cemetery launched by a private citizen, Raphael Caroline, 31, in the hours after the vandalism was discovered has raised nearly $20,000 in 24 hours, double its original goal.

The Jewish Federation of Philadelphia announced that a volunteer cleanup of the cemetery will begin at noon Tuesday and run every day from noon to 4 p.m.

The federation said it will begin cleaning up the cemetery Tuesday and asked for volunteers.

"Representatives from the Jewish Federation will be on hand as well as up to 50 people per hour cleaning and working to help restore this important Philadelphia landmark," the federation said in a statement.

In response to the vandalism, the National Museum of American Jewish History, which is located in Philadelphia, has initiated a project to preserve the stories of the people who are buried there. The museum has called on those who have relatives or friends buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery to share a photo of the person, and one of the headstone, if possible, and a personal story of up to 150 words. They can be posted at http://MtCarmelStories.tumblr.com or emailed to curatorial@nmajh.org.

The project is also open to those whose families were affected by the desecration that occurred last week at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in the St. Louis area.

We would like those who did this to understand that these are not victimless crimes," said Ivy Barsky, the museums CEO, and Gwen Goodman, its director. "The individuals buried at Mt. Carmel were human beings with names, stories, and families. They contributed to the world while they were here and continue to do so through the loved ones they left behind. We honor their memories.

View post:

Philadelphia unions offer to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery - Arutz Sheva

(WTXF/AP) - Religious leaders are calling the weekend vandalism at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Wissinoming disgusting and completely deplorable.

Meanwhile, the community is coming together. Volunteers plan a massive clean-up at the cemetery dating to the late 1800s. If youve available to help, its set for noon at Frankford and Cheltenham avenues and is expected to take place each afternoon..

Thursday, there will bea community-wide gathering of support, organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Its set for noon at Independence Mall and called Stand Against Hate. Thousands of people from multiple faith communities and the full diversity of Philadelphia are expected.

These events come as Jewish centers and schools here and across the nation coped with another wave of bomb threats.

According to the JCC Association of North America, 13 Jewish Community Centers and eight Jewish day schools in at least a dozen states -- including our three -- received threats on Monday.

The KaisermanJCC in Wynnewood and the Siegel JCC in Wilmington were targeted. In New Jersey, someone called in a threat at the Katz JCC.

Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn put it simply, We're not gonna stand for it.

Police performed sweeps after the threats and found nothing. Theyre asking people to call if they see or hear anything unusual.

The bomb threats caused no physical damage but were no less worrisome.

"There's plenty of people who are scared," said Steven Rosenberg, chief marketing officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. He denounced the hoaxsters as "an embarrassment to civilized society."

Just to our west, some 200 people were evacuated from the JCC in York, Pennsylvania, after a caller told the front desk there was a bomb in the building, said Melissa Plotkin, its director of community engagement and diversity. Police entered the building and cleared it, she said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, who has long ties to the York center and even served on its board, called the bomb threats and cemetery vandalism reprehensible.

"These acts are cowardly and disturbing," Wolf told reporters in a conference call Monday. "We must find those responsible and hold them accountable for these hate crimes."

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro released this statement: "Pennsylvania was struck today by multiple anonymous acts of hate. Within minutes my Office reached local, state, and federal law-enforcement officials to offer the full support of the Attorney General's office and to assist in a thorough investigation. These acts are cowardly. Their perpetrators aim to spread fear, but we will stand together to ensure they fail. Intimidation and threats against the people of any one faith are an affront to us all."

Since January, the JCC Association has tracked 90 incidents in 30 states and Canada.

Also, Philadelphia officials have plans to repair and restore hundreds of vandalized headstones at Mount Carmel Cemetery.

Police are investigating what they called an "abominable crime" after several hundred headstones were damaged. They said the vandalism appeared to be targeted at the Jewish community, but cautioned they hadnt confirmed the motive.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said authorities were doing everything possible to find those "who desecrated this final resting place."

Police have not yet determined who was behind the vandalism or the motive. The Anti-Defamation League is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and the Fraternal Order of Police is offering $3,000.

The Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, an umbrella group for more than 50 union locals that work in the construction industry, offered to repair the damage at Mount Carmel free of charge.

The groups John Dougherty put out this statement: The desecration of nearly 100 headstones at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia was a cowardly act of anti-Semitism that cannot be tolerated. Out of respect to the families who were impacted by this atrocity, the Philadelphia Building Trades today offered to replace the toppled tombstones, re-sod damaged gravesites and clean the cemetery at no charge to anyone. In addition, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 98, for which I also serve as Business Manager, has offered to install additional lighting and security cameras at no charge to hopefully prevent such vandalism from ever happening again.

The National Museum of American Jewish Historyat 5th and Market streets wants to preserve the stories of the people buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery. The museum is asking those who have friends or loved ones interred there to share a picture of their loved one (and/or the headstone, if available), and a personal story of up to 150 words.

We would like those who did this to understand that these are not victimless crimes. The individuals buried at Mount Carmel were human beings with names, stories, and families. They contributed to the world while they were here and continue to do so through the loved ones they left behind. We honor their memories, said Ivy Barsky, from the museum.

Click here to post or click here to email.

The vandalism comes less than a week after a Jewish cemetery in suburban St. Louis was targeted. More than 150 headstones there were damaged, many of them tipped over.

Both acts of vandalism spurred offers of help. In Missouri, a Muslim crowdfunding effort to support the vandalized Jewish cemetery near St. Louis had raised more than $136,000 by Monday, with organizers announcing they would use some of the money for the Philadelphia cemetery.

It was the fifth round of bomb threats against Jewish institutions since January, and both the FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division are probing the threats.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the vandalism and bomb threats serious, unacceptable behavior and said the department will "do what it can to assist in pushing back ... and prosecuting anybody that we can prove to be a part of it."

"We are a nation that is a diverse constituency, and we don't need these kind of activities," Sessions said.

Statement from Bishop Dennis Sullivan, Bishop of Camden:

This weekend and today, we have seen vandalism against our Jewish sisters and brothers in Pennsylvania and threats in Delaware and in our very own backyard at the Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. This abhorrent behavior, which has no place in contemporary culture, stands in opposition to everything the Catholic Church believes and teaches.

As Catholics, we too are spiritual descendants of Abraham. We recognize that an attack or threat against our Jewish family members is an attack against all peoples of faith.

The Diocese of Camden, my brother priests, deacons, religious, and the lay Catholic faithful of South Jersey stand in solidarity with our Jewish sisters and brothers against these hateful and anti-Semitic incidents.

We pray that the perpetrators of these incidents will come to know Gods love, bringing them to the light of peace where they may recant these acts of hate and join with all people of good will in forging a community of compassion.

The rest is here:

Community coming together after cemetery vandalism, JCC threats - FOX 29 News Philadelphia

Comments(0)

SUSPECTED online child sex offenders are on the rise across Bedfordshire, with numbers almost doubling in just two years according to the latest figures.

In 2014, a total of 68 people were suspected by police of downloading and distributing indecent images of children. But by 2016, that figure increased by almost 100 per cent to 107.

READ MORE: Luton man guilty of downloading indecent images of children at the most serious level

Over the past three years, the combined total of online child sex offenders identified by the police stands at 246, according to the figures obtained by the BBC in a Freedom of Investigation request.

This increase is evident in the wider eastern region, with a jump from 758 in 2014 to 2,179 last year.

In light of the rising numbers, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is urging for forces across the nation to hit these crimes hard with specialist units.

READ MORE: Bedfordshire repeat offender jailed again for child porn images

An NSPCC spokesperson told BoS: "Downloading and distributing child abuse images is an abhorrent crime. Each picture is a crime scene involving a young victim who has been abused and whose suffering is compounded every time that image is passed around online.

"The proliferation of these appalling images is a major and growing problem which needs industry, government and law enforcement to tackle in unison."

The NSPCC wants to see a specialist digital child abuse unit in every police force, trained to deal with sexual and other online offences against children."

A spokeswoman for Bedfordshire Police said: "Bedfordshire Police has a dedicated unit to tackling online child sexual abuse.

"The Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team (ICAIT) is committed to investigating indecent image offences and works with partners to identify offending and take action against those responsible for viewing and making such images.

"Offenders may think that viewing these images is not causing any direct harm but that is quite simply not the case. Although they may not be directly abusing these children, in order for these images to be created, children across the world have been forced to undergo horrific abuse for the gratification of these individuals - so it is far from a victimless crime.

"The development of the unit and our capabilities in tackling this sickening type of abuse is reflected in the increase in the number of people arrested, and we are committed to continuing to clamp down on online child sex offenders."

Read more of today's latest Bedfordshire news and don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the latest news direct to your social media stream.

If you're looking for new employment opportunities, why not visit our jobs page.

View original post here:

Number of suspected child sex offenders in Bedfordshire almost doubles in two years - Bedfordshire News

Posted on 27 February 2017.

By Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO In the wake of a fifth wave of bomb threat hoaxes against Jewish Community Centers throughout the nation, as well as the desecration of Jewish cemeteries in Missouri and Pennsylvania, the Jewish community is mobilizing its defenses.

In New York, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called upon Jewish institutions to review written material issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and by the ADL itself concerning how to deal with bomb threats and other security issues.

Twenty JCCs in 12 states were threatened with bombings on Monday, bringing to at least 90 the number of bomb threats made against Jewish institutions since the beginning of 2017, according to the ADL.

We are taking this very seriously and will continue to work intimately with federal and local law enforcement in addition to our community partners across the country as they cope during this difficult time, commented Jonathan Greenblatt, ADLs CEO. Unfortunately, bomb threats are not the only manifestation of anti-Semitism in recent weeks as we have seen Jewish cemetery desecrations strike St. Louis and Philadelphia.

The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia announced Monday a new project to preserve the histories of people who are buried in Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia and Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in metropolitan St. Louis.

The Museum is asking those who have friends or loved ones interred (there) to share a picture of their loved one (ond/ or the headstone if available) and a personal sory of up to 150 words by posting on http://MtCarmelStories.tumblr.com or emailing [emailprotected] . Ivy Barksy, the museums CEO and Gwen Goodman, director, commented: We would like those who did this to understand that these are not victimless crimes. The individuals buried at Mount Carmel were human beings with names, stories, and families. They contributed to the world while they were here and continue to do so through the loved ones they left behind. We honor their memories.

U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-New York), whose congressional district includes the Jewish Community Center on the Hudson in Tarrytown, issued the following statement:

Today, a bomb threat was made against the Jewish Community Center on the Hudson in Tarrytown. My office has been in contact with local police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to offer all necessary support to the ongoing investigation and to bring the criminals responsible for this horrifying act of terrorism to justice. We will not allow hatred, bigotry, or anti-Semitic violence to terrorize our families or our community.

In Washington, it was announced that the wave of anti-Semitism will be an agenda item when the new national Latino-Jewish Leadership Council (LJLC) convenes its first meeting on March 1.

When the very ethos of American pluralism has been challenged by some, when hate crimes have increased, and when entire communities have been stigmatized, creation of this Council reinforces the importance of our shared destiny, and the strength and resilience of our nation derives from its diversity, said Dina Siegel Vann, director of the American Jewish Committees Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs.

Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, called the desecration of the Philadelphia cemetery a despicable and cowardly act of hatred and urged local authorities and citizens to be vigilant against all signs of anti-Semitism.

This is an attack not just on the Jewish community but on the very values of liberty and fraternity that America stands for, Lauder said. All Americans must treat these acts with utmost severity and know that when hatred rears its ugly had anyone can be a target.

* Harrison is editor ofSan Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via [emailprotected]

See the article here:

Jewish community rallies against anti- Semitic attacks - San Diego Jewish World

Comments(0)

A drug and gambling addict who brought misery to thousands of rail passengers across the East Midlands has been jailed for 26 months.

Lucas Niewiem, 35, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court for stealing cable from the railway line in the Long Eaton and Nottingham areas on eight occasions in March and April last year.

Niewiem, who had previously admitted to using an axe to chop the cable from live lines, pocketed a total of just 1,000 for his crimes by selling the cable to a scrap metal dealer. His actions, however, resulted in 3,267 minutes of delays to trains in the East Midlands, and cost Network Rail over 164,500.

The thefts took place at Lenton Junction in Nottingham, Meadow Lane in Long Eaton, Netherfield Railway Station in Nottingham, and the Glaisdale Industrial Estate in Wollaton.

Niewiem was arrested at his home address in Lawton Close, Nottingham, on April 28 after he was identified through forensic evidence left at the scene.

When officers searched his house, a cannabis farm was discovered above a child's bedroom in the loft. Twenty four plants cultivating cannabis with a street value of 24,000 were found, which Niewiem claimed to be growing for personal use.

Detective Inspector Gareth Davies said: "Niewiem's drug and gambling addition led him to risk his life to target the railway to steal cable to fund his habit and lifestyle. His selfish actions resulted in misery for thousands of passengers who were left stranded on platforms waiting for delayed trains throughout the East Midlands area in March and April last year."

Niewiem was given a 26-month jail term, 16 for the theft of cable, eight months behind bars for cannabis production and a further two months term for an unrelated theft, drugs and breach of a non-molestation order from January.

DI Davies added: "Cable theft is not a victimless crime - it costs the rail industry millions of pounds each year and disrupts passenger journeys and busy lives.

"We take this type of crime extremely seriously, and we will do all we can to bring offenders to justice. We worked closely with Network Rail and East Midlands Trains to secure today's sentence against Niewem which we hope sends act as a deterrent to others."

Hayley Bull, community safety manager at Network Rail, said: "This case demonstrates just how costly cable theft from the railway can be. Trespassing onto the network for any reason is extremely dangerous, as well as being illegal.

"This incident shows how cable theft can end up costing the taxpayer huge sums of money to put right, as well as causing mass disruption to passengers trying to go about their daily lives. It also causes delays to improvement work, which is vital to create a more reliable railway.

"We are continually developing better ways to protect the railway from cable thieves and will continue to work with the British Transport Police to prosecute anyone caught carrying out such a mindless act of vandalism."

Sarah Potts, crime and security strategy manager for East Midlands Trains, said: "We are delighted with this result as cable theft not only costs the railway industry a lot of money but can cause significant disruption for travelling customers.

"The jail term demonstrates that we take cable theft seriously and will continue to support our partners at BTP and Network Rail in seeking convictions for individuals who selfishly inconvenience our customers."

Link:

Drug addict Lucas Niewiem had cannabis farm above child's bedroom AND stole railway cable - Derby Telegraph

Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst reintroduced legislation to grant the Sac and Fox - Meskwaki Settlement power to enforce laws for certain crimes committed on its land, bringing its authority in line with that of the vast majority of Indian country. The announcement was made in a news release issued on Thursday, Feb. 16.

The Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa has supported the change. Sac and Fox Judge Jessica Bear and Meskwaki Nation Tribal Police Chief Jeff Schlock were on hand in Des Moines on April 8 of last year when Governor Terry Branstad signed a Senate file which requested the federal government to take over jurisdiction on the settlement.

This step cleared the way for the legislation now introduced.

The Justice Center on the Meskwaki Settlement west of Tama. -Chronicle file/John Speer

The creation of the Meskwaki Tribal Court system along with the police force is credited for making the switch in jurisdiction responsibility possible. Until the 2006 establishment of the Meskwaki Nation Tribal Police Department, the Tama County Sheriff's Office was in charge. THE FBI and U.S. Marshal's Office were also relied upon for certain cases during the period.

In statements accompanying the press reels the senators said:

"Our legislation kicks off the final step in a coordinated process to ensure the Meskwaki enjoy the same authority to enforce criminal law on their land as tribes have in nearly every other part of the country. It's important that we respect the autonomy of the Meskwaki to govern themselves and enforce violations of law on their own land involving members of their tribe. The Iowa state legislature overwhelmingly passed the necessary legislation to grant this authority, and Governor Branstad has signed it. It's time now for the U.S. Congress to act and ensure the Meskwaki people are treated the same as nearly every other tribe in the United States," Grassley said.

"I'm pleased to join Senator Grassley in reintroducing this important legislation that will directly impact the members of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi/Meskwaki Nation in Iowa," said Senator Ernst. "This bill would repeal a 1948 law that restricted the tribe's criminal authority, and return jurisdiction over certain criminal offenses committed on the Meskwaki Tribal Settlement to the tribe. In line with guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, the State of Iowa first enacted a law to restore such jurisdiction to the tribe. I commend the work of all parties involved in laying the groundwork for this legislation, and I hope to see it passed and signed into law."

In most places across the country, state criminal jurisdiction over Indian land is limited to crimes by non-Indians against non-Indians and victimless crimes by non-Indians. However, because of a 1948 law, state authorities have jurisdiction over crimes committed on the Meskwaki settlement, just as it does elsewhere in Iowa. The law also grants the federal government exclusive jurisdiction over major crimes committed in Indian country, even though in most other places around the country, the federal government shares jurisdiction with the state.

The legislation would bring Iowa in line with other states by limiting its criminal jurisdiction on the Meskwaki settlement to crimes by non-Indians against non-Indians and victimless crimes by non-Indians. It also allows the state and federal governments to share jurisdiction for major crimes on the settlement involving tribal members.

To transfer authority, the Iowa legislature had to first enact legislation establishing the limits on the state's jurisdiction over tribal land. Now that the state has acted, the U.S. Congress must now pass this legislation and the President must sign it to repeal the 1948 law, completing the transfer of authority.

Read this article:

Bill in Congress to align Meskwaki law jurisdiction - Tama News-Herald - Toledo Chronicle

Although it was published more than 70years ago, C. S. Lewiss The Abolition of Man reads like a commentary on modern American education, sociology, and politics. With uncanny prophetic powers, Lewis, an Oxford don and Cambridge professor who never read a newspaper orset foot in America, accurately diagnosed our twenty-first-century social-political-educational ills.

At the core of Lewiss critique lies modernitys abandonment of all objective aesthetic, moral-ethical, and philosophical-theological standards. There is nothing essentially sublime about a waterfall; that is just a subjective preference that we project on to it. In the same way, virtues like courage and loyalty and values like patriotism and the inherent dignity of every individual are not universal absolutes written into our conscience but mere feelings and opinions.

Statements like this is good (as opposed to wrong) or this is true (as opposed to false) or this is beautiful (as opposed to ugly) have no factual, scientific basis and thus have no binding power outside the individual or group that makes them. The realm of objective science may be governed by unchanging laws of nature, but no such natural law exists to govern the subjective realms of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful.

What this has led to in the halls of public education, the central focus of The Abolition of Man, is the debunking and dismantling of the teachers traditional task of training students to know, heed, and embody the universal, cross-cultural moral-ethical codewhat Lewis calls the Tao. No longer a virtuous guide and mentor, the teacher morphs into a controller who manages students the way a commercial farmer manages chickens. In the absence of fixed, objective standards, students become malleable commodities that can and will be shaped in accordance with the prevailing orthodoxies of those in power.

Such is the inevitable outcome of a Tao-less education, an outcome that itself carries ominous sociopolitical implications. For once our social and political leaders have thrown out any Tao-based understanding of what it means to be human, they can begin to reshape all of humanityand, because they now have at their disposal scientific methods of eugenics and social engineering, they will most likely succeed in their goal.

No one who reads The Abolition of Man carefully can fail to see the political implications of Lewiss critique, and yet, anyone who knows Lewiss life and writings knows that he was not a person who took an active interestindeed, any interestin politics. What is the Lewis scholar or aficionado to do with this seeming dilemma? Until now, not much.

Thankfully, however, that situation has been remedied by Justin Buckley Dyer and Micah J. Watsons brief but incisive new book, C. S. Lewis on Politics and the Natural Law. Through a close analysis of Lewiss extensive works and letters, Dyer, associate professor of political science and director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, and Watson, 2015-16 William Spoelhof Teacher-Scholar Chair and associate professor of political science at Calvin College, demonstrate that Lewis not only had much to say about politics, but that what he said needs to be heeded by those of us who live half a century after his death.

The Abolition of Man, Dyer and Watson argue, is indeed a political book grounded in the foundational biblical teaching that man was made in the image of God (imago dei) but is fallen. It is because of this dual aspect of our nature that we know the Taoit is inscribed in our conscienceand are bound to obey it, while also knowing, when we are honest with ourselves, that we do not and cannot keep it. Everything Lewis wrote about ethics and politics rested on his understanding of these two first acts [Creation and Fall] of the biblical drama, observe Dyer and Watson.

Because Lewis believed firmly in the imago dei, he believed we all had access, through our reason and conscience, to the Tao: that is, the natural law. Because he believed just as firmly in the Fall, he, despite his love of medieval monarchy, advocated a classical liberal view of government that bears much similarity to Lockes view of limited government and Mills harm principle. It is in ferreting out these two aspects of Lewiss non-systematic political views that Dyer and Watson make their greatest, and their most original, contribution to Lewis studies.

In a way that no Lewis critic I am aware of has yet done, Dyer and Watson set Lewiss Broadcast Talks, which were later collected and published as Mere Christianity, in their historical context. Notably, World War II drove Lewis toward an affirmation of natural lawif there is no Tao, then no one can justifiably condemn Nazi ethics as universally and cross-culturally wrong. By contrast, World War II drove German theologian Karl Barth away from natural law, because he concluded that if we allow for a source of divine truth apart from the Bible, then the door is left open for the Nazis to baptize their own culture and fuse it with the revealed gospel.

Although Dyer and Watson treat Barth sympathetically, they argue, convincingly, that, in allowing the horrors of Nazism to push him away from the ability of human reason to perceive general revelation, Barth not only broke from the traditional theology of Luther and Calvin but set reformed Protestantism on a trajectory away from natural law. Even after the war, Barth remained antagonistic to any claimed source of theological knowledge outside of Gods revelation in the person of Jesus Christ, including any claim that God had revealed truths in reason, in conscience, in the emotions, in history, in nature, and in culture and its achievements and developments, they note.

In a knowing rebuttal of the anti-natural law stance of Barth, Lewis begins the Broadcast Talks (and later Mere Christianity) with a what the authors describe as defense of objective moral principles. In offering the twentieth centurys finest apologetic for Christianity, Lewis was also consciously preaching fidelity to the old moral law, revealed in nature and known by reason, at a time when the idea of natural law was under serious attack by prominent Protestant theologians [like Barth] as well as secular philosophers, scientists, and social planners. Indeed, when it came time for Lewis to write his seminal work of literary history and theory, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama (1954), Dyer and Watson note Lewis coined the term Barthianism to describe the modern Calvinist penchant for flattening all things into common insignificance before the inscrutable Creator.

What has all this to do with politics? A great deal. Barths abandonment of natural law has by no means protected us from the encroachment of totalitarianism into our public schools and social programs. To the contrary, in the absence of Lewiss Tao, it has become all the easier for educators and politicians alike to carve out new goals and rights for man that have nothing to do with our true ontological status as creatures made in the image of God but fallen.

What then is to be done? Though Lewis was clearly drawn toward monarchy, a system he incarnates and celebrates so memorably in his Chronicles of Narnia, he nevertheless upheld democracy as the best form of government. Lewis was a partisan of classical liberal democracy, not because it allowed for maximum political participation for all of a nations citizens, but because it curtailed the likelihood of political tyranny. He was a democrat because he believed human nature had been corrupted, the authors note. Given our fallen state, it was unwise to entrust too much power to a single individual or group, a sentiment that was expressed even more strongly by one of Lewiss mentors, G. K. Chesterton.

But does this put Lewis in the same camp as Locke? Though I was initially skeptical on this pointI view Locke as a deist whose rejection of innate knowledge leaves little room for a God-given conscienceDyer and Watson won me over through careful argumentation and balanced proof texting. Both Locke and Lewis believed that the end of government was the protection of individuals and their property, broadly understood. Both claimed that God is the ultimate source of property, and as such, God is the ontological source of genuine morality, though people could still access that morality without acknowledging God as its source or agreeing on how to best relate to God, they write.

If Dyer and Watsons equating of Lewis and Locke made me do a double take, then their equating of Lewis with John Stuart Mill made me do a triple take. Could there possibly be any meeting ground between the great Christian apologist and the Victorian utilitarian who, to my mind at least, was a functional atheist? Though more circumspect in making this link, Dyer and Watson demonstrate that Lewis, like Mill, saw governments role, not to make men moral, but to do as little harm as possible. And that includes, as disturbing as it may appear to conservative Christians like myself, Lewiss suggestion that secular states need not criminalize divorce, homosexuality, or other victimless crimes.

Still, Dyer and Watson make it clear that Lewiss liberalism does not put him in league with utilitarianism as a theory of politics or of the nature of man. Accordingly, Lewiss liberalism stems from a commitment not to neutrality among competing conceptions of the good nor to the greatest happiness for the greatest number. . . . Lewis invokes the harm principle to protect society from the dangers of theocracy and to protect the Church from the dangers of blasphemy. Lewis prudentially adopted a utilitarian strategy in order to foster a regime most likely to promote and facilitate human flourishing. As such, his commitment to teleology is not necessarily undermined by his use of Mills harm principle.

It is through discerning passages like this one, in which careful distinctions are drawn between theory and practice, foundational principles and pragmatic realities, that Dyer and Watson prove themselves to be reliable guides through Lewiss scattered writings on politics and the too often scatter-brained attempts of modern and postmodern educators, sociologists, and political theorists to establish justice and ensure domestic tranquility in a world that has lost its moorings in the Tao.

See the article here:

Inside The Quiet, Prophetic Politics Of CS Lewis - The Federalist

14:15 15:08 Friday 24 February 2017

A drug and gambling addict who brought misery to thousands of rail passengers across the East Midlands area has been jailed for 26 months.

Lucas Niewiem, 35, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday for stealing cable from the railway line in the Long Eaton and Nottingham areas on eight occasions in March and April last year.

Niewiem, who had previously admitted to using an axe to chop the cable from live lines, pocketed a total of just 1,000 for his crimes by selling the cable to a scrap metal dealer.

His actions, however, resulted in 3,267 minutes of delays to trains in the East Midlands area and cost Network Rail over 164,500.

Niewiem was arrested at his home address on Lawton Close in Nottingham on April 28 after he was identified through forensic evidence left at the scene.

When officers searched his house, a cannabis farm was discovered above a child's bedroom in the loft.

Twenty-four plants cultivating cannabis with a street value of 24,000 were found which Niewiem claimed to be growing for personal use.

Detective Inspector Gareth Davies, of British Transport Police, said: "Niewiem's drug and gambling addition led him to risk his life to target the railway to steal cable to fund his habit and lifestyle.

"His selfish actions resulted in misery for thousands of passengers who were left stranded on platforms waiting for delayed trains throughout the East Midland area in March and April last year."

Niewiem was given a 26-month jail term, 16 for the theft of cable, eight months behind bars for cannabis production and a further two-months' term for an unrelated theft, drugs and breach of a non-molestation order from January.

DI Davies added: "Cable theft is not a victimless crime; it costs the rail industry millions of pounds each year and disrupts passenger journeys and busy lives.

"We take this type of crime extremely seriously, and we will do all we can to bring offenders to justice.

"We worked closely with Network Rail and East Midlands Trains to secure the sentence against Niewem which we hope sends act as a deterrent to others."

Hayley Bull, community safety manager at Network Rail, said: "This case demonstrates just how costly cable theft from the railway can be.

"Trespassing onto the network for any reason is extremely dangerous, as well as being illegal.

"This incident shows how cable theft can end up costing the taxpayer huge sums of money to put right, as well as causing mass disruption to passengers trying to go about their daily lives.

"It also causes delays to improvement work, which is vital to create a more reliable railway.

"We are continually developing better ways to protect the railway from cable thieves and will continue to work with the British Transport Police to prosecute anyone caught carrying out such a mindless act of vandalism."

Sarah Potts, crime and security strategy manager for East Midlands Trains, said: "We are delighted with this result as cable theft not only costs the railway industry a lot of money but can cause significant disruption for travelling customers.

"The jail term demonstrates that we take cable theft seriously and will continue to support our partners at British Transport Police and Network Rail in seeking convictions for individuals who selfishly inconvenience our customers."

See original here:

JAILED: Drug and gambling addict brought misery to train passengers - Eastwood Advertiser

View Caption Hide Caption

Days remaining in the 2017 Legislative session:19

Both the House and Senate go in at 10 and the lower chamber (thats the House) has a full slate of 14 bills on itscalendar.

Among them: House Bill 37 from Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, that would cut off state funding to Georgia colleges that declare themselves sanctuary campuses that defy President Donald Trumps immigration policy. It will likely be the first bill to face serious opposition in the House this year.

The House committee schedule is comparatively light.

The Senate is tackling five bills on its floor debate calendar, including leaderships effort to boost regional transit planning in Senate Bill 6.

Transportation committees from both chambers will then meet jointly at 2 p.m. in Room 606 of CLOB to talk about transit planning efforts.

And at 2 p.m. in Room 307 of CLOB, the Senate Education and Youth Committee will look at SB 98, which would allow local school systems to tap into their capital building funds and build more pre-k classrooms across Georgia.

Like Loading...

The state of GA should become a sanctuary state.

Which is simply to say that we should not be using our state tax dollars to enforce federal immigration laws, nor use federal grant dollars to do the same. If the federal government wants those laws enforced then they should hire their own agents and send them down here to do the job.

But, I guess these conservatives only care about state's rights to the extent they believe it gives them the freedom to discriminate against various minorities as opposed to protecting the People from the injustices of the federal government.

This bill was passed today, but the consequences if the bill are larger than it first appears. For instance HOPE money will be withheld from all students at any 'sanctuary school' (we currently DO NOT have any public schools in that category).

Why doesn't the AJC write this as it truly is...cities and or universities that want to create their own laws and not follow federal laws? What other laws does the AJC and these enlightened thinkers believe should be ignored? Stop writing and twisting words to fit your feelings and report fairly.

@Iron Dawg

We have a system of federalism in the US that serves to protect the People from injustice at any one level of government.

Put into effect, this means that states and municipalities can refuse to enforce federal laws with which they disagree.

There is no twisting of words in this article, you just do not understand how federalism works in the US.

Your local sheriff's department can represent the values of it's people by refusing to enforce laws he/she disagrees with whether it be refusing to enforce federal and state marijuana laws, immigration laws, et cetera. University, while they are state institutions, do have sizable constituencies and limited resources. It is up to them to decide which laws to give enforcement priority (like violent crime) and which laws they prefer to leave unenforced (generally victimless crimes).

Destroy all sanctuary cities, counties, states, and campuses. It's just common sense.

@someonesdad

ok. how you want to destroy them i guess is the question then. constructively or destructively . . . ? the coming wave is nothing but destruction for the brown folks you take issue with and the American economy which has come to rely upon them.

Not cities "that defy Pres. Donald Trump's immigration policy" -- cities that defy federal law.

Unless, I'm mistaken (and i admit that happens) Immigration enforcement is a Federal function under law. Cities have no legal responsibility under Federal law to aid in the enforcement. The Executive Order does not have the force of law unless sanctions are imposed for failure to follow. Cities that do not assst the enforcement of immigration enforcement violate no laws unless they obstruct that enforcement.

Of course, the gentleman from Smyrna seeks to create state sanctions, which is his right. But, then, we can disagree on what is the right course of action.

http://nydn.us/1mL25J5

@hamiltonAZ Feds have a legal obligation to help Californians that live below a dam the state did not fix years ago?

@hamiltonAZ mayors take vows only to obey city laws? not going to hold bank robbers for them?

[] visit main article []

Previous

Your copy of Georgias latest religious libertybill

Next

Deal is extremely cautious about revival of religious libertyproposal

Originally posted here:

Your tip sheet: No sanctuary - Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)