TVC Blog

Saudi Arabia Wants To Reform Shariah Divorce

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Saudi Arabia has very serious problem. So serious, it may take some editing with regards to the application (but not the interpretation) of shariah as it comes to divorcing women.

What are these sweeping changes that will help recognize the rights of millions of women under Islamic law? Equal standing? Freedom of religion? Freedom of speech?

Nope.

Better notification when your husband divorces you. Digital Journal explains the conundrum:

In some instances the men continue to sleep with their ex-wives who are unaware that their true marital status is divorced. Under Saudi's strict sharia law, men who continue to have sexual relations with their ex-wife following divorce are considered to be commiting adulterous behaviour.

Emirates 247 reported Talal al Bakri of the Shura Council explained the need for a new law in the circumstances, saying “I will remain one of the strongest advocates of a law that will safeguard the rights of divorced Saudi women, including alimony, child custody and other things.”

"This law has also become necessary given the fact that many men divorce their wives without telling them while they continue to sleep with them for months….this is not fair because since marriage is completed with the consent of the two, divorce should also be completed in the presence of the two…I am vehemently against divorce in the wife’s absence.”

Saudi women are permanently the property of a male guardian, be it father, brother, husband or other male family member including a son, but to to be unaware of their actual marital status is shocking. According to Foreign Policy the Saudi justice system "is patriarchal, bordering on the misogynistic."

In other words, the women can still be discarded -- and have absolutely no rights whatsoever.

On the bright side, at least they'll know about it in a prompt matter.

Of course, this is the sort of shariah that our U.S. Department of State is willing to accomodate by allowing freedom of religion to be twisted into "freedom of worship" -- a precisely defined term that prevents evangelization and discredits whatever a recognized religion deems to be hate speech or libel.

What's worse, there are some on the right that would prefer to hide behind shariah with comparisons to the Catholic Code of Canon Law, where even a brief cursory glance at canon law offers no prescriptions such as stoning, the maltreatment of women as second-class citizens, the rejection of the civil authority, or instructions to lie to non-believers.

All of this can be found in Islam. All of this is being brought into American courts. All of this is incompatible with our U.S. Constitution and internationally recognized foundations for human rights.

The amazing part about this story is that al-Bakiri truly believes that "notifying" women really is some sort of compromise... comforting to those women being married and released like chattel slaves, I'm sure...

Vending Machines: Coke, Bag of Chips, An Abortion...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

At Shippensburg University, vending machines aren't just for coke and chips anymore:

For $25, people with access to campus health services at Shippensburg can buy Plan B from a machine, just like they would a soda or a bag of chips. Diane Gramley of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania finds that appalling.

"To begin with, they're approving the sexual activity of their students -- and they're not providing the young ladies with the correct information about Plan B, about the morning-after pill," Gramley explains. "If they are pregnant, it actually does not allow the implantation of the fertilized egg -- and that's just killing their baby."

Predictably, the university is defending the abortion-by-vending-machine decision as something the student body wants and approves. I'm sure that's something parents and alumni (and donors) would love to know about Shippensburg University.

This is almost as gross as gift cards to get an abortion. Which yes, in the rush for profit, the abortion industry has groped for as well.

Komen: Are They or Aren't They?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Komen is now saying they haven't caved on caving in on not caving to caving into Planned Parenthood... or something like that.

Komen board member John Raffaelli talked with the Washington Post after the statement was released and said the new announcement doesn’t necessarily mean there is any reversal until and unless Planned Parenthood receives additional funding beyond what was already planned before Komen’s December decision.

“It would be highly unfair to ask us to commit to any organization that doesn’t go through a grant process that shows that the money we raise is used to carry out our mission,” Raffaelli said. “We’re a humanitarian organization. We have a mission. Tell me you can help carry out our mission and we will sit down at the table.”

Raffaelli said that the new statement was an attempt to remove the politics from the grant-making process, saying “Is it really unclear that we’re changing the policy to address criticism?”

So Komen backtracks on backtracking...

Want a SWEET Job With the Federal Government?

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

How's about a $200K a year job to help administer Obamacare?

The job is listed here at USAJobs, and it's a sweet career position for any government bureaucrat.

Provides overall scientific leadership and direction to the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) program. Serves as the Agency's primary contact with the leadership and members of the USPSTF. Works closely with the Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) supporting the USPSTF. Implements program changes to improve the timeliness and efficiency of the development and release of USPSTF recommendations. Manages and mentors team members with responsibility for supporting the efforts of the USPSTF. Provides scientific insight and expertise while establishing the Agency's prevention-related research agenda and grant initiatives. Communicates in writing and through presentations with the public and stakeholders about AHRQ's work in prevention and develops collaborative partnerships. Serves as the principal advisor to the Director, AHRQ, the Director, CP3, and other senior Departmental officials on all matters related to the USPSTF.

In English -- these are the gatekeepers that help administer Obamacare.

So the same guys that are jacking up health care costs for hard working American families are getting paid up to 4x the average earnings of the American worker?

Your tax dollars. Hard at work.

The Obama Sellout Tour Begins...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

And so, in a three-day romp across America after what had to be one of the most boring, uninspiring State of the Union Addresses in memory, Obama has decided to bore everyone else by taking the same talking points on tour.

First stop? The University of Michigan -- home of the Wolverines.

...and of course, what is the University of Michigan asking for? What else? More money.

Last month, U-M President Mary Sue Coleman wrote an open letter to Obama describing the affordability of higher education as "a thorny issue that demands a national conversation." She'll be among those on hand for the speech at Al Glick Field House, the school's indoor football practice facility.

"Higher education is a public good currently lacking public support," Coleman wrote. "There is no stronger trigger for rising costs at public universities and colleges than declining state support. The University of Michigan and our state's 14 other public institutions have been ground zero for funding cuts."

Now ignore just for a moment what they might be spending that money on -- perhaps NIH funding priorities like measuring out the male anatomy, or gifting that money to Communist China -- and focus rather on what Obama is doing here.

Obama is going to a constituency of college-age students held hostage by university educators who want more money, and are willing to force students to pay if they don't get their budget requests. Grateful college students caught between a rock and a hard place will volunteer and vote in droves for the candidate flinging money at their university in lieu of tuition hikes.

It's a beautiful thing. For a liberal.

So while Obama emasculates the American military, college professors get all the dough they need. Oh -- and visits from the President of the United States, of course...

Muslim Brotherhood Hearts Voter Fraud

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

12 million votes tallied that were completely unaccounted for.

That's how the Muslim Brotherhood rigged the elections in Egypt. Daniel Pipes and Cynthia Farahat both remarked on the alliance between the military junta running Egypt and the Islamists:

The Free Egyptians Party, Egypt’s leading classic-liberal political party, announced on January 10 that it had filed more than 500 complaints about Lower House elections “but no legal action was taken” in response. The party pulled out of forthcoming Upper House elections because “violators are awarded with electoral gains and those abiding by the laws are punished” and called for their cancellation.

Mohamed ElBaradei, former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) withdrew his candidacy for president on January 14 because of his perception of rigged elections: “My conscience,” he announced, “does not permit me to run for the presidency or any other official position unless it is within a real democratic system.”

What's worse is the justification from the Muslim Brotherhood regarding the elections... stating it as a "duty to forge elections" so that Islamist power can be imposed:

In contrast, the victorious Islamists, who despise democracy, made little effort to conceal their electoral success through fraud. Some of them went so far as proudly and unapologetically to assert that it’s their Islamic duty to be dishonest. Tal’at Zahran, a leading Salafi, called the democratic system “infidel,” “criminal,” and “out of the Elders of Zion.” He cynically observed that “it is our duty to forge elections; God will reward us for this.” (emphasis added)

ACORN would be so proud.

So now after the accomplishments of the so-called "Arab Spring" we have terrorists running amok in Libya, bloodshed in Syria, Israel under the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons, and Egypt in the hands of Islamists.

What's worse is that what is springtime for the Islamists is now winter for millions of Coptic Christians living in southern Egypt. This war against Christians extends into the Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, the Philippines, and elsewhere.

On the home front, we have Islamists that are silencing free speech, imposing halal on our food, shariah in our courts, and most disturbingly are being met with the acquiescence of the secular Left.

When will the West wake up?

Gingrich Muzzled? (or Why Audiences In Debates Are Good For Washington)

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

It's bad enough that GOP presidential hopefuls Ron Paul and Rick Santorum were virtually benched for the Florida debates, but the muzzling of the crowd -- and an ostensibly pro-Gingrich crowd at that -- crossed a bit of a line. Fox News reported on it this morning:

Gingrich, who received two standing ovations during the debates in South Carolina -- which are credited in part with propelling him to the top of the GOP pack -- said the warning to the audience by NBC News host Brian Williams at the start of the debate was a bad one, but he's not surprised by it.

"I wish, in retrospect, that I protested" the call to keep quiet, Gingrich said. "I think it's wrong. And I think he took them out of it because the media is terrified that the audience is going to side with the candidates against the media, which is what they've done in every debate."

The lack of applause and noise during the debate was striking, prompting many viewers to comment Monday night on the silence.

Context is always helpful, and by refusing to allow the crowd to show their approval or disapproval, it strikes one as a way to control the environment towards a desired end.

Debates should be free flowing and rancourous. In America, they've always been that way!

Washington has always been accused (and rightly so) of being too sheltered within the Beltway, and not connected enough to the grassroots. Debates where the audience can express their approval or disapproval with a candidate's thoughts just might be precisely the sort of voter interaction politics needs right now.

Now That's NOT Kosher!

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

From a Starbucks here in Washington, D.C.

I'll allow you to draw your own conclusions.

Pope Benedict XVI and Moral Truths

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Today Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of the United States on their “ad limina” visit, expressed grave concern over the powerful new cultural norms “which are not only directly opposed to core moral teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but increasingly hostile to Christianity as such.”

The Pope pleaded with American bishops, and the broader American people, to uphold and be vocal about the unchanging moral truths which are the keys to real happiness and social prosperity.

Calling on the church universal, Pope Benedict said, “With her long tradition of respect for the right relationship between faith and reason, the Church has a critical role to play in countering cultural currents which, on the basis of an extreme individualism, seek to promote notions of freedom detached from moral truth.”

Today, as we reflect on the words of this great religious leader, we also remember the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” This is what we are seeing in America. A complete removal and in some case reversal of the moral truths we have known for millennia to promote and provide for the social good!

Truths are such because they have stood the test of time and have proved to be right in all contexts, but even in the church there has been a calling of good evil and evil good. If Churches across America leave behind the moral high ground in order to be inclusive and tolerant, the human situation will not improve.

We, the Church, have a role to play in preventing the reversal of moral truths in America. In order to counter the cultural tide rising in this nation, the Church must not reflect the sinful world. The Church must rise above the status-quo, accepted, tolerated. We cannot look like the world. We must be the light, the good, the sweet.

We join with Pope Benedict XVI in calling upon the American Church to rise up and realize the grave threats our moral witness is facing! The Pope expressed how now more than ever, “…we see the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed [Church] endowed with a strong critical sense vis-à-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society.”

May we be that Church together.

Who CAIRs About the Constitution?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

For those who had the opportunity to watch the latest and greatest in the installment of debates for the GOP nomination, there was one comment by former Speaker Newt Gingrich that riled the Islaimsts at the Council for American-Islamic Relations -- that maybe, just maybe, a moral code that says the testimony of men is worth twice that of a women, and twice that of an unbeliever just might not be compatible with the U.S. Constitution...

CAIR of course didn't like that characterization, charging Gingrich with -- you guessed it -- being a bigot. The natural defense of any liberal losing an argument, you might say.

Of course, we had our own thoughts on CAIR's temper tantrum this afternoon:

“Speaker Gingrich was absolutely correct in his sentiment that Muslims should renounce Islamic shariah -- a code of conduct that much unlike Catholic canon law or Jewish Halacha law -- seeks to subvert and supplant American laws and civil liberties with an alien and abusive code that refuses to extend the same liberties it would claim for itself.

“What CAIR fails to mention in their cries for religious freedom is the utter lack of reciprocationshariah shows for its victims. Religious liberty is a two-way street, not a one way path to Mecca.

The facts remain facts no matter how hard CAIR tries to twist them into something else. There are simple questions that every Muslim must answer, among them a repudiation of violence, the equal station and treatment of women, and a committment to the U.S. Constitution.

Facts are, shariah doesn't permit for any of this. CAIR has some explaining to do as to why embracing shariah is somehow compatible with the idea of religious freedom, in any context anywhere in the world.