heraldsun.com: Court Won't Halt UNC Quran Course: A federal appeals court refused Monday to halt a program to expose new students at the University of North Carolina to information about the Quran. Attorneys for a conservative Christian group on Friday had asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond to stop Monday's discussion sessions of a book that interprets the Islamic holy text. Members of the Virginia-based Family Policy Network and three unidentified UNC-Chapel Hill freshmen contended the assignment was unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the appeals court rejected the motion, ruling that "the appellants have failed to satisfy the requirements for such relief." The brief ruling contained no further explanation.

Well, I can't say as I'm remotely surprised that Family Policy Network lost that case. I am surprised that the court was quite as .... terse as they were in their decision. Usually, on such declarations, courts will state, "These were the requirements you needed to meet; this is why you did not succeed in meeting them."

Then again, I don't suppose that a court in the heart of the Bible Belt has any desire to make things much more difficult for itself by going into detail when the law doesn't require it.

And the legislators who say that " their vote would have been no different had the book been a study of the Bible," are almost certainly lying like dogs. They would not have dared vote that way in this day and age, unless they were people of extraordinarily strong conscience who would be prepared to be voted out of office over what is, after all, a fairly picayune but resonating issue.

What, me cynical? Why do you say that?