NTM 1449 | NewTrendMag.org

NewTrendMag.org News # 1449 [ Click on NEWS for back issues ][ OUR BOOKS ][ Previous Issue ]

Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief

Sha'ban 18, 1433/July 8, 2012 # 29

Dr. Wilmer Leon discusses the supreme court decision on health care. Please scroll to end.

Spotlights from Imam Badi Ali, Jamaat al-Muslimeen Shoora, North Carolina

Capitalism is collapsing from within in Europe

Spotlight #1:: We are witnessing the collapse of capitalism owing to corruption, deception, and illegal practices. {Check out the British bank.]
Spotlight #2:: Instead of fixing the problem, the capitalists are protecting it and avoiding it by increasing taxes and thus burdening the masses further.
Spotlight #3:: The problem of corruption cannot be solved because it is protected by the corrupt who are in power. to protect themselves and to protect the other corrupt ones.
Spotlight #4:: If the problem is not solved, it will gradually affect all of Europe. We can hear the noise as the creaking of collapse goes on.
Spotlight #5:: The problem cannot be solved by finger pointing and accusing others. This collapse is linked to the collapse of vision and understanding.
Spotlight #6:: In Islam, our system is based on honesty, not on profit. So, as Islam spreads, it will not allow corruption.
Spotlight #7:: Egypt is a key nation and can change the situation in Palestine. However, does newly elected President Mursi have real power? The Supreme council of the Armed Forces is still in charge. What will Mursi do when confronted with the military's power.

Breaking News: Till July 8, NATO supply routes remain blocked.

Pakistani Regime Opens NATO Supply routes. Thousands march in protest: NATO still blocked.
USA offered $1.1 billion to General Kayani to re-open the routes. He Agreed.

On July 3, Pakistani regime and the US announced with great fanfare that an agreement has been reached to re-open the supply routes to the NATO occupation armies in Afghanistan. The "agreement" was denounced by Islamic leader Syed Munawar Hasan and a peaceful mobilization of unarmed people began to block NATO's supplies.

On July 7, the Islamic coalition known as the Defence of Pakistan Council [DPC] held an All Parties Conference [APC] in Lahore to finalize the Pakistani peoples' response to the opening of the supply routes. It was an impressive gathering of 50 organizations and parties led by Jamaate Islami, Jamaat ad-Dawa and Jamiate Ulema-e-Islam led by Maulana Sami-ul-Haq. Unfortunately Imran Khan and Fazlur Rahman did not attend.

On July 8, thousands of volunteers started a LONG MARCH from Lahore to Islamabad to protest the re-opening of the NATO supply. In intense heat, it was a highly motivated but peaceful crowd. As we go to our deadline, the march has stopped in Gujrat, hoping fo pick up more support.

The regime has banned rallies in Islamabad in response to the Long March. The government controlled media are telling people that the supply routes have only been opened for "non-lethal" material.

New Fighting in Frontier areas: Groups outside the peaceful coalition have warned that they will use weapons against the supply columns. General Kayani is visiting military units in upper Dir to pre-empt Islamic attacks. On July 7, Pak Taliban attacked Kayani's military in southern Waziristan. Eight military are reported killed and 5 wounded. No Pak Taliban losses reported. In Kohat, a gunfight left a police officer dead and two wounded.

Afghanistan: Steady fighting hit and run style

Icasualties [a survey group] is reporting 8 NATO troops [mostly US] killed in Taliban attacks in the first week of July, while 39 were killed in June. A number of police and tribals and officials supporting Karzai have also been killed.

Syria: Cracks appearing in Assad's regime.
At the end of June, 33 Syrian officers crossed over into Turkey and have joined the Syrian defectors fighting Assad. In July there have been more defections including a senior general.

There are reports that Turkey is smuggling small arms and ammunition to Syrians opposing Assad. However, Assad's core military consisting of Alawites and Syrian Christians remains intact and well armed.

Human rights groups talking to refugees and defectors have pinponted 27 torture centers run by Assad.

With thanks to Salim Mansur Khalid
Bangladesh: Show trials of Islamic leaders

Forty two years after the collapse of East Pakistan, the Bangladeshi government is claiming that Islamic leaders like Prof. Golam Azam committed "crimes against humanity."
Israel-type "holocaust "stories have been distributed by the regime which is trying to deflect attention from serious economic problems and exploitation by India.

Details of the trial which we have received show that identities of "witnesses" are being concealed and the defense team is not being permitted to question the witnesses.

Poverty Stricken family in Pakistan needs help. Non-political Average people
Pakistani Sunni Muslim family need your help. Thank you! May Allah reward you. Send your donation by global money order to:
Shamim Ahmed Khan, House # 864, Block #18, Federal B Area, Karachi-38, Pakistan

Latest Juma' Khutba

Under the Ummah system, we are a global power of 1.8 billion Muslims
Under secularism, we are 56 helpless Tin Pot "republics."
Heat wave shows plight of America's elderly, sick and poor living in cities meant for the rich

On July 6, 2012 Br. Kaukab Siddique gave the Juma Khutba and led prayers at a masjid in central Baltimore. The prayer area was crowded and arrangements had to be made to extend the area in the dining section. There was a good mix of African Americans, Africans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and a few Arabs.
Here are the main points of the khutba for wider distribution:

We have faith. That's why we are here today on this hot Friday to pray Juma' together. How to turn this unity which we have at prayer time into social activism which would transform the entire community and the world?
We must identify ourselves as Muslims. We are Muslims first and last and then other secondary identities. We are Muslims who are American, or Muslims who are Africans, Muslims who are Bangladeshis etc. The place we were born in or live in may be the result of the fact that Allah has made nations and tribes.
But Islam is a spiritual and moral choice which overrides all other identities we might have. If in our minds we think that being Muslim is just one of our identities, we will not succeed in this world or in the next.
Being Muslim requires knowledge. We need to know what Allah wants from us in the Qur'an. We must know what the Prophet, pbuh, taught us in the hadith. Without this knowledge we are ZERO even if we have Phds.
Knowledge means also that we must know the country and the people among whom we live. If we live in America as if we are in Pakistan or sub-saharan Africa, we will be stumbling along.
Knowledge of Allah and Muhammad, pbuh, leads to compassion, mercy and generosity. We must know the needs of our families, our neighbors abd our communities, If they are really needy, we must help them in their needs without cooperating in anything evil.
Always remember that we are not a minority. We are part of the GLOBAL UMMAH of 1.8 biillion Muslims. United we can make Israel collapse just by looking at it with righteous anger. One point billion Muslims could make Israel disappear.
If we follow secularism. we are merely 56 tin pot republics begging for America's favors. So always remember: I am a Muslim [not I am an Egyptian Muslim or an American Muslim.] Without Islam you are NOTHING.
Unite with the oppressed people where you live regardless of whether they are non-Muslims. We have African-American activists among us. Stand with them against racism and Zionism.
In these 100 degree temperatures, we can see that American cities were built for the rich. Look at what happens to the poor, the sick, the old when the electricity goes out, the air conditionsers stop, the apartments become death boxes in which the weak and the dowtrodden suffocate. Think of what is happening to our communities in Africa where the wealth has been stolen by France, Brirain, USA, the multinational corporations and even basic needs cannot be met. Our diamonds and gold and uranium are stolen by international exploiters [Jewry] and friends of Israel
Knowledge means we should know what the Zionists and imperialists are doing to our ummah in Palestine, Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan. Don't pretend that it has nothing to do with us. Bangladesh, one of the biggest Muslim communities in the world, has been struck by a storm. Do we even know? Do we know the great sacrifices of the people of Syia and Egypt and Libya against tyrants? These are great victories.
These are the times for Da'wah, peaceful but organized efforts to help the oppressed. But charity is not the solution. We must stand against the oppressors.
No unity is possible without the unity of the family, without the equal participation of the husband, the wife and all members of the family in the united struggle of the ummah.

by Kaukab Siddique
In Memory of the Red Mosque-Jamia Hafsa Uprising.

One important reason why the Paki military destroyed the women's seminary in Islamabad was that for the first time women who were steeped in Islamic traditions were resisting the most oppressive male power in Pakistan: the military led by
the epitome of male tyranny, the pro-Israel tyrant General Musharraf. Hundreds of young women were killed but the US media claimed [taking Musharraf's word] that not even one woman was killed. Musharraf was more concerned about his elite
commando officer who tried to break into the women's dorm and was killed.

Time and NY Times published outright lies about the way Musharraf suppressed the innocent young men of Lal Masjid and the pure and blessed women of Jamia Hafsa.
As long as the tyrant is not brought to trial, the blood of the pure young women/girls will cry out for justice.

Our America

Understanding America: What Has Gone Wrong with this great country?
[Thoughts on July 4.]
by Kaukab Siddique

Millions of people in America work hard. They are punctual and meet deadlines. There is freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Laws have been enacted to safeguard the rights of African Americans. Racial discrimination is illegal.Women have rights. Chidren are protected by law. Charities collect and disburse large sums to help those who are unable to take care of themselves. The elderly have discounts. Those with disabilities have special parking spaces and entrances. The country is beautiful and has all kinds of terrain ranging from deserts to lush forests. The rights of animals are zealously safeguarded. The highway system is superb. The medical facilities are the most sophisticated in the world.

So why is America in such a miserable situation? Why is it drifting like a ship with no directi9on on the high seas. Why is everyone so unhappy? Here are the shocking realities:

The rugged individualism on which this country prospered has been abandoned. Instead we have mass culture. Everything, from coast to coast, is shaped by the mass culture which is materialistic, anti-religious, devoted to entertainment and solidly based on money making.
Spiritual values have been undermined by the mass culture. Movies, videos, advertising, rampant invitation to random sex, the exploitation of women and targeting of youths for sale of goods have destroyed the foundations of society such as family, church-synagogue-mosque, and schools.
Liquor, concealed prostitution and drugs have created a culture of crime, extreme violence and gangsterism.
The media which support the mass culture have been taken over by Zionists Jews and their cohorts who systematically denigrate and trivialize religion so much so that in many parts of the country, particularly in the north east and the west, jokes about Jesus, pbuh, have become part of daily conversation.
The Zionists, who are Jews, Christians and some Muslims, support Israel and do not want Americans to know that Israel is an illegitimate, terrorist, entity which has been created by force of arms and genocide against the people of Palestine. Hence a whole fabric of support for Israel has been woven which does not allow even basic information about the opponents of Israel to reach the American people.
Owing to number 5, wars are fought to support Israel which drain American resources and are justified by the drum beat of Zionist propaganda through videos, TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.
The Zionists have gained tremendous economic power and through chains of businesses, they milk the resources of the entire American people. Most Americans don't know that harmless looking chain stores such as McDonalds and Starbucks and products such as Disney movies, Nestle and Coca Cola support Israel.
Politics has become a game of "I Love Israel more than you" so much so that a putative Muslim candidate had to start his campaign from a Synagogue and spend his holidays in Israel to be able to win.
Major victims of the controlled mass culture are African Americans who were fooled into thinking that the election of Obama means now that a Black man is ruling America. Similarly Black people, through the Black Caucus and planted Black leaders have been used to spread the idea that the rights of homosexuals are like the rights of African Americans. Again, owing to lack of leadership, they fell for it. The real leaders, like Malcolm X and Dr. King were killed or like Imam Jamil al-Amin were imprisoned on fake charges.

What's the solution?

The family system must be revived. Only Islam can lead here because non-Muslims largely have been hit so hard by random sexuality that the best of them are sexually corrupt, by and large.Think of Rev. Jackson with his secret child and politician Edwards who was committing adultery while his wife was dying and the great Rabbi who used a hitman to kill his wife while he was fornicating in the synagogue he led. Islam must lead with its strict examples of family life where liquor and adultery/fornication are forbidden.

Homosexuality must be opposed. If two men want to sodomize each other in their bedroom, we will not peep into their bedroom, but if they, through Jewish radio networks like NPR, want to proclaim that homosexual marriage is better than marriage as most of humanity knows it, they must be opposed and defeated in rational public discourse.

The media must be freed from Zionist control. Notice that a homosexual Zionist Anderson Cooper is tops in CNN and a Lesbian Zionist, what's her name, is tops in MSNBC, Wolf Blitzer, a hardcore Zionist Jew, hogs the CNN News.Then look at the funny news makers, Jon Stewart, a Jew, Bill Maher, [using an all-American name like Bill to hide his Israel-orientation], another Jew, and many others, how they make fun of Jesus, pbuh. How can there be any decency in this country when Jesus, pbuh, is treated as a joke?

To break the chains of Zionist control, the holocaust story must be discussed openly. Why is there a Holocaust Museum in Washington when nothing happened to the Jews here? Why are children subjected to sophisticated lies displayed in this museum? The holocaust story has been subjected to scholarly criticism by Germar Rudolf, Faurisson, Mark Weber, Bradley Smith, Prof. Butz and to some extent David Irving. Why are they treated as non-persons by the media.

Wars against the Muslim world are not legitimate. Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Nigeria, Pakistan have not harmed America. Why are wars waged against them? Look for the hand of International Jewry. Can you believe it that the attack on the Red Mosque and Jamia Hafsa, in the capital of Pakistan, was not reported in the in the US media till Musharraf completed his job?.

Oppose Zionism, Israel, war and occupation. All Muslim nations have the right to shape their futures according to Islam. America should keep its "democracy" to itself.

Remember, hiding at the basis of America are the horrors of 400 years of the slave trade and the extinction of numerous Native American nations. Women brought as slaves from Africa were subjected to casual rape for 400 years. Lynchings went on into the 20th Century. Hence violence is in the roots of American history. The admiration of violence can be seen in just about all American movies and video games.

Think of the way the media extol the American air force which bombs countries with ZERO air defenses such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Libya. It is this love of the ability to smash, blow up and obliterate which is at the roots of anti-woman violence and general violence in this country. American troops rape more women in their OWN military than elsewhere.

Oppose violence and the culture of the gun. Our hope are the children. American children are so sweet, like children anywhere! Keep them away from the idea that you are so wonderful if you smash the face of someone who is weak and helpless.

The idea that rich people are good and successful and poor people are bad and failures is at the root of American arrogance. Tell the children that Jesus, pbuh, and Muhammad, pbuh, were poor and did not have property.

A Shocking Letter from a sister in Jamaat al-Muslimeen [Charlotte, North Carolina]
in the words of Frederick Douglas

Has America really changed? [Thoughts on July 4]
As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
In 2012, can the words, "the American slave," be replaced with "the Muslim Ummah?"
"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour." The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro, Frederick (1851)

Letter from an Important teacher: Refresh the case of Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman

Whatever you have done for Br. Omar Abdel Rahman and others is recorded with Allah and you will get its reward immensely one day, Insha Allah. I am sure of it.

Now please prepare his documented case AFRESH as requested earlier. All the facts of the case are before you. You can easily join all the bolts and nuts of it in a sequence to prove his innocence . If he is freed, others will follow suit automatically.

Shamim Siddiqui [Long Island, New York]

From the Aafia Movement

In Ramadan, pray for this distinguished Muslim woman who is unjustly in a US Prison
As we will soon enter the blessed month of Ramadhan, busying ourselves with its days and nights in worship until we reach the joyous occasion of Eid, we ask you to remember our sister Aafia, whose health continues to deteriorate in prison. The least we can do in light of that is to send her a reminder for the cost of a mere postage stamp that we have not forgotten her; a reminder that, throughout this blessed month, she'll remain at the forefront of our prayers and thoughts.
Utilise the numerous opportunities in Ramadhan, night prayers (tarawih), Friday prayers, iftar gatherings, and Eid congregational prayers to distribute our Ramadhan and Eid Greeting cards and obtain signed messages of support
NB: For the time being Aafia is only accepting postcards. Please do not send long messages or letters. Please avoid political discussion, anything that could be considered inflammatory, controversial or which could be misconstrued in a way that is detrimental to Aafia and her case.
AAFIA SIDDIQUI #90279-054
FMC Carswell
Federal Medical Center
P. O. Box 27137
Fort Worth, TX. 76127

What are the legalities of the US-Pak regime's move to open the NATO supply route

From Prof. Khurshid Ahmad [received from Saifullah Gondal in Islamabad.]
Islamabad (July 4, 2012):In a press statement issued today theNaib Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan ex-Senator Prof. Khurshid Ahmad said that opening of the supply routes to US and NATO Forces is an abject surrender to the US pressure and blackmail and sell-out of Pakistan's sovereignty and vital interests. According to Prof. Khurshid, the manner in which the announcement has been made is also highly objectionable. The unanimous Resolution of the Parliament has unashamedly been violated in letter and spirit. The Parliament has demanded a comprehensive package involving priority to peace and political solution to the problem of terrorism and Pakistan's delinking from the American War on Terror. The Parliament has closed the doors of unwritten and behind the scene agreements and demanded that all aspects of relationships and understanding made, must be in written form, approved by the Cabinet in consultation with the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and also by taking the Parliament into confidence. It is very clear that Pakistan Foreign Minister committed to US Secretary of State at least 12 hours before the meeting of the Cabinet Defence Committee, whose own role is only recommendatory. Under the Constitution and the Rules of Business DCC can only recommend but the Cabinet is to take the decision, which has met only after 18 hours after the DCC to put its rubber stamp on what was decided by high-ups in total disregard to the process laid down by the Parliament. This is how the Government has violated the Constitution, Rules of Business and the Resolution of the Parliament.

Prof. Khurshid also stressed that the US has practically rejected every demand made by the Government in light of the Parliamentary Resolution. It has given no categorical and unconditional apology as was demanded by the Parliament. The words 'sorry' and 'regret' had been circulating during the last seven months and were not acceptable to the Pakistani nation. Obama has apologized to the Afghan people at least three times during the last one year. The blood of Pakistan's Armed personnel and citizens was not even worth the blood of the Afghan people and hence the Government of Pakistan has shamelessly accepted the wrapped up'sorry' from Mrs. Hillary Clinton.

Prof. Khurshid noted that the US have similarly ignored Pakistan's request for halting drone attacks. "Drone attacks are violation of our sovereignty and represent war against Pakistan which have increased three times during the Obama regime and there have been twenty two attacks after the Salalah act of aggression", he said and added that the Government by its latest surrender to the US dictates has once again shown that it cares the least for national interests and popular national sentiments. "Drone attacks and opening of the routes are totally unacceptable to the Pakistani people and they have every right to resist those violations on their sovereignty and security by all democratic means", he emphasized.

"Finally as to the economic dimension it is again entirely shameful and contrary to national choice and interest. To say that the issue of transit fee was not relevant is not correct. Even in the original agreement of February 2002 the provision was there which was not invoked by the Musharraf Regime with the result that Pakistan suffered huge losses both in monetary terms as well as in destruction of domestic roads and infrastructure. Economically Pakistan has suffered to the tune of 90 to 100 billion dollars during this accursed war on terror. America has been successful in blackmailing us by withholding aid and using threats to sanctions. It is unfortunate that the country's political and military leaderships have miserably failed to protect Pakistan's sovereignty, honour and vital interest.
The lame excuse about Pakistan's isolation and tension with 48 countries is also totally misplaced and irrelevant. The issue of tension was very much there before Salala aggression and there is no qualitative change in the post Salalah period. Does the Government want to say that the DCC, the Cabinet and the Parliament did not know that the US and 48 other countries are involved in Afghanistan from October 2001 or has this revelation came to the Government only in June and July 2012? Now it is for the people of Pakistan to rise to the challenge and protect their country from foreign aggressors and their collaborators at home", he concluded.

The so called "government" was always wrong but had Washington's support.
Received from Salim Mansur Khalid
Egyptian Court Rules: Decision Disbanding Muslim Brotherhood Null and Void
Monday, July 7,2012 19:19

Cairo Criminal Court, headed by Justice Noor al-Din Yusuf Abdul-Qadir, has announced reasons for its ruling in a case that Egyptian media knew as the case of 'International Organization' of the Muslim Brotherhood, having acquitted Dr. Osama Suleiman, a businessman and one of the icons of the Brotherhood, of the charges of joining a group founded in contravention of the provisions of law, and money laundering. In its historic statement of reasons, the Court stressed that the Muslim Brotherhood was not founded in violation of the provisions of the Constitution or the law, nor did the prosecution provide any evidence whatsoever to prove that the group - at any time - called for ignoring or abolishing the provisions of the Constitution or the law, or for preventing state institutions and the public authorities from exercising their duties. The court further added that the Brotherhood therefore did not actually commit any act that could lead to such offences.
The Court stated, "Having studied and carefully considered the reality of the Egyptian political scene and economic life in Egypt, the Court believes that the Muslim Brotherhood was founded at the time in accordance with the provisions of the law. After the 1952 revolution, the government considered the Brotherhood a political party, subject to a newly enacted law to disband political parties. This Court considers that the Brotherhood never behaved or was described as a political party, and certainly was not established under the political parties law.
"Therefore, to dissolve the Brotherhood, the authorities should have referred to the law according to which the organization was originally established, which is the NGO law. When the Revolutionary Command Council issued the decision to dissolve the organization, it turned the Brotherhood into a political party against the wishes of the Brotherhood's members, which is not lawful. The Revolutionary Command Council did not have the authority to force people to enter in a political party or form a party against their will. Thus the decision to disband the Brotherhood was null and void. Hence, the Brotherhood cannot be described as an organization established in contravention of provisions of law."

Chief Justice Roberts. The Jury is Still Out
By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III
Last week, in a (5-4) decision, the US Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Dubbed "Obamacare" by its opponents, the ACA is the cornerstone piece of legislation of the Obama administration. Many were surprised that the Court did not overturn the individual mandate provision of the Act requiring most Americans to get health insurance or pay a penalty. Even more surprising to some is that it was Chief Justice Roberts who proved to be the swing vote, siding with the court's four liberal justices.
As a result of this decision some conservatives are questioning Chief Justice Roberts' allegiance to their cause. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said, "The Supreme Court has abandoned us..." and Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) said, ""Today's decision by the Supreme Court of the United States is simply disappointing..." The Wall Street Journal's editorial board wrote, "the Chief Justice had to rewrite the statute Congress passed in order to salvage it."

Liberals and pro ACA advocates are praising Roberts for saving health care reform and possibly the 2012 election for President Obama. Howard Kurtz from Newsweek and The Daily Beast wrote "The man who saved the president's health-care law is the new liberal heartthrob." Well, the jury is still out.

The Obama administration's primary argument in supporting health care reform legislation was that Congress had the power to enact the ACA based upon Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, the Commerce Clause; Congress has the power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States..." The Court held that the ACA was unconstitutional based upon the Commerce Clause. However, the court found that the ACA is constitutional based upon Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1, the power to tax, "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties..." By rejecting the Commerce Clause argument Roberts may not be as liberal as people claim. In fact, this could be Chief Justice Roberts acting more like the great magician Harry Houdini.
It is possible that in this majority decision Roberts has set the predicate to limit Congress' power over state action under the Commerce Clause in future decisions. Roberts wrote, "Construing the Commerce Clause to permit Congress to regulate individuals precisely because they are doing nothing would open a new and potentially vast domain to congressional authority...They (the Framers) gave congress the power to regulate commerce, not to compel it."
The Court has upheld Congress' use of the Commerce Clause as a grant of congressional authority over the states' in particular instances. The problem is that the Constitution does not define "commerce". Some believe that it refers simply to trade or exchange, while others believe that the founders had a broader meaning that applies to commercial and social intercourse between citizens of different states. The latter has allowed the national government to exert a greater amount of power over the states in civil rights and voting rights cases. For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress based upon the Commerce Clause.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Fisher v. University of Texas and will rule later this year. Fisher challenges the University of Texas' ability to use race as factor in its affirmative action program. The Court is also expected to rule on a Texas voting rights case that will provide clarity about the role of the federal courts under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Could it be that by rejecting the Obama administration's assertions under the Commerce Clause that Roberts is paving the way for upcoming conservative challenges to established civil rights legislation?
Most will tell you that Chief Justice Roberts is a brilliant man. He is playing 3 dimensional chess while most others are playing checkers. With this ACA decision Roberts may have engaged in a level of prestidigitation that even Houdini would envy. By giving the Obama administration its legal victory with his left hand (pardon the pun); he taps his magic wand (or pen) with his right hand and limits the power of the national government to regulate state action going forward.
At the end of the day, is this not what ultra-conservatives are after? They claim to want a smaller national government, returning power to the states, "states rights". If this is Roberts' true intention (and only time will tell) it will be harder for liberals to complain about his logic since he laid out the predicate for it in the ACA decision that they are now applauding.
Be careful who you applaud and why. Chief Justice Roberts may not be a traitor to the conservative cause, the jury is still out..

Dr. WilmerLeon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program "Inside the Issues with WilmerLeon," and a Teaching Associate in the Department of Political Science at HowardUniversityinWashington,D.C. Go to Dr-Leons-Prescription@facebook.com, www.wilmerleon.com , email: wjl3us@yahoo.com. or www.twitter.com/drwleon
� 2012 InfoWave Communications, LLC

2012-07-09 Mon 18:28:37 cdt
NewTrendMag.org