The Smart Guys.........

Who are they? They are John Eastman, Professor of Law at Chapman University and Erwin Chemerinsky, Professor of Law at Duke University, they are regular guests on Hugh Hewitt's (www.hughhewitt.com) radio program on 960 AM KKNT, I think every wednesday. Hugh's show is on from 3pm - 6pm daily, Hugh is arguably the best guy on radio. Mr. Hewitt has named these guys "The Smart Guys" because........well, they are smarter than hell! John is from the conservative side and Erwin comes from the liberal left and each week on Hugh's show, they battle it out over a variety of topics, it is great radio.

This story was in the news a couple of days ago, but it will be interesting to see how Erwin handles it when he appears on Hugh's show tonight opposing John Eastman.
Here's the story:

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Traditionally, witnesses taking the stand in court are sworn in by placing their hand on the Bible.
But when Muslims in Guilford County, N.C., tried to donate copies of the Koran for courtroom use, judges turned them down.
Chief District Court Judge Joseph Turner says taking an oath on the Koran is not allowed by North Carolina state law, which specifies that witnesses shall place their hands on the “holy scriptures,” which he interprets as the Christian Bible.
“We’ve been doing it that way for 200 years,” he said. “Until the legislature changes that law, I believe I have to do what I’ve been told to do in the statutes.”
But the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging the Guilford County Courts.
“This was the first time that we had a judge … going on record and stating unilaterally what is a holy scripture and what is not — what we believe to be a violation of the establishment clause,” said Arsalan Iftikhar of CAIR.
Their case is solid, according to one Duke University law professor.
“I have absolutely no doubt that higher courts, if it gets there, will say that persons of Muslim faith can swear on a Koran rather than a Christian Bible,” said Erwin Chemerinsky. “The case law is so clear here that a person doesn’t even have to swear on a Bible to be a witness so long as they’re willing to promise to tell the truth.”

So help me (insert deity here)? Who are they promising to tell the truth to that matters, Erwin? Under what moral authority are you as a witness being held to your promise to tell the truth?
If you are going to take an oath to the Supreme Being, as believed by a vast majority of Americans, and then suddenly take Him out of the equation, then what is the purpose of taking an oath at all? If the judge catches you, you go to jail?

What if your religion is a radical strain of Islam, and you believe strongly in the tenet of Taqiyya? For those of you who don't know, Taqiyya is interpreted by some sects of Islam as the acceptability, and sometimes requirement, of lying for the greater good of Islam or Allah.
Under this new bizarro-world of swearing in witnesses, a judge could preside over a trial, "swear" in a witness that happens to adhere to a virulent strain of Islam that believes strongly in Taqiyya, and see and hear this witness lie his fool head off. Would he have the moral authority to imprison him for perjury? The left could easily argue not, because punishing the act of lying in this case would violate his right to freely practice his religion.

If you haven't heard the Smart Guy segment before, tune in, because this should be quite interesting.