2 of 6

Is part of that because, the Times reports, Roberts "declines … to wear his faith on his sleeve"? The Times has two quotes to back that up. The first is from Shannen W. Coffin: "John's faith is his faith, and his approach to the law is a separate issue. If it has any effect, it is in the sense of restraint, that he is not and the role of the judge is not to be the center of the universe. It stems from the sort of humility of a faithful person." Given that Coffin, identified as "a friend of Judge Roberts and a former Justice Department lawyer," has regularly supported religious influences in law in articles for National Review Online, that's an interesting statement. More, please.

Holy Cross president Michael C. McFarland sounds a similar note. "They are devout Catholics," he told the Times. "They are not the kind of people who would be in your face. [Their religion] would affect their personal lives, but they are very professional in their work." (An interesting but, there. One would have expected Holy Cross to have the attitude that Catholic values would make one a better worker.)

ESV plays with Google Maps
Ever since Google launched Google Maps and Google Earth, it has been fun and frequently amazing to see people how people have used it. There's the Google Sightseeing meme, of course, but you can use Google Maps "mashups" to track Bob Dylan tours, see injuries at Pamplona's running with bulls, find cheap gas, and other things you won't believe. Reason for why it's in Weblog today? The folks behind the English Standard Version Bible have launched a simple Bible mapping overlay for Google Maps. It's more fun to play with than the maps in the back of your Bible. The ESV blog says it did it more "as a proof of concept," but that it is "impractical to implement on the ESV website." The ESV folks are encouraging others to take the concept much further. We hope someone will heed the call.

More articles

More on John Roberts:

• Meet John Roberts | A first-class lawyer with a sense of humor. Too bad he's a threat to women's rights -- and the Constitution (Adele M. Stan, The American Prospect)
• High court nominee well-versed in First Amendment | U.S. Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has not established a recognizable First Amendment jurisprudence record since being confirmed for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in May 2003. But Roberts has handled many First Amendment cases in both the private and public sectors (David L. Hudson Jr., First Amendment Center)
• '90 brief stirs early debate | Document says Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided in 1973 (The Washington Post)
• Campaign is on for Roberts | Liberals are wary as conservatives gear up (The Washington Post)
• The confirmation clash | Special interest groups plot varying strategies in getting their message out, for or against judicial pick (Newsday)
• At risk: Roe, rights and religion | To the extent his views match his former boss', Roberts could provide the fifth vote to return prayer to schools, allow a significant expansion of government-sponsored religious displays and funnel more money to faith-based service providers (Richard Schragger, Los Angeles Times)
• Religious groups in Florida wary about Roberts | Christian conservatives want more time to react; liberal interests unsure (The Times-Union, Jacksonville)
• Roberts' conservatism may get quick test | Abortion, gay rights and assisted suicide are among the first issues the court will consider in the fall (Associated Press)

next page... |  2 of 6

share this page

July (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49