Trump's Expanded Travel Ban Compounds the Wrongs of Previous Versions
The courts may not strike it down. But it remains both illegal and deeply unjust.
Religion
DOJ Intervention Dramatically, Irrationally, and Unconstitutionally Increases the Penalty Faced by a Woman Accused of Slapping Jews
How can prosecuting a black woman for slapping Jews in 2020 be authorized by the constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in 1865?
The Montana Blaine Amendment Case and the Need for a Consistent Approach to Discrimination on the Basis of Religion
Conservatives want courts to consider the governments' bigoted motives in enacting anti-Catholic Blaine amendments, but not when it comes to Trump's travel ban. Liberals tend to be inconsistent in the opposite way.
The Supreme Court Weighs School Choice and Religious Liberty
What’s at stake in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Scientology and Arbitration
Prof. Michael Helfand (Pepperdine), a leading expert on religious arbitration, passes this along.
Indian Prime Minister Modi's Lawless Reign of Terror
Narendra Modi relies on private militants allied with his party to crack down on dissent.
Are We Experiencing a Nationwide 'Anti-Semitism Crisis'?
Hate crime data suggest that claim is overblown.
Sex Offender Tries to Change Name to "Better Off Dead"
No, says the trial court, and the Minnesota Court of Appeals agrees.
Espinoza School Choice Case and Discrimination Against Religion
A response to a query of mine, from David Hodges of the Institute for Justice (who are plaintiff's lawyers).
The Likely Outcome of the Methodist Schism
An interesting analysis from Prof. Mark Movsesian (St. John's).
Civil Court Can't Order Wife to Accept an Orthodox Jewish Husband's "Get" (Divorce Document)
"It would be a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution for the Court to order the Wife to participate in a religious ritual when she did not agree to do so nor may the Court impose a financial penalty against her."
Thank You, Ram Dass!
The pioneering psychedelic researcher, Timothy Leary collaborator, and New Age seeker exemplified America's postwar turn to individualism.
New York Charged Grafton Thomas With Attempted Murder for Assaulting Jews With a Machete. Why Are the Feds Prosecuting Him for the Same Attack?
A crime in Monsey leads to a redundant prosecution that hinges on the defendant's anti-Semitism.
Indian Prime Minister Modi's Useful Idiots in America Should Now Condemn Him
His brutal response to the protests against his anti-Muslim initiative reveal him as a Hindu nationalist, not a reformer.
Like China, India's Modi Is Engaged in a Massive Faith Cleansing of Its Muslim Minority
He is yanking their rights and building detention camps.
Will These Palestinian Christians Be Reunited With Their Families for Christmas?
The human cost of border enforcement
Trump's Order Aimed at Fighting Anti-Semitism Is Constitutionally Problematic, but It's Not Anti-Semitic
Erroneous reporting set off a bizarre backlash that obscured the real problem.
An LGBT Discrimination Compromise Bill Is Proposed in an Uncompromising Culture
The “Fairness for All Act” would add federal protections against discrimination for gay and trans people. But its exemptions go too far or not far enough, depending on who you ask.
Everyone Is Confused About Trump's Executive Order on Judaism
Plus: the foundations bankrolling bad tech policy, they is the word of the year, and more...
Regulation and 'the Right Ordering of Economic Life'
What libertarians can learn from Catholic social doctrine
Authoritarianism Is Winning on Every Front in India
Instead of its economy becoming more liberal, its polity is growing more illiberal.
Hearing Examiner Recommends Approval of Women-Staffed Volunteer Ambulance Service for Orthodox Jewish Women,
but the New York City Regional Emergency Medical Services Council denied the application, by a 12-7 vote.
N.Y. Prosecution and Lawsuit Over Sending Baptist Anti-Catholic Leaflet + E-Mail
Criminal charges were eventually dropped, and the civil lawsuit has just been thrown out.
Was Church Excluded from Maryland School Choice Program Because of "Problematic" Views on Marriage?
That's the question in a First Amendment lawsuit, which a federal judge has allowed to go forward.
Court Strikes Down Kentucky's Rejection of IM GOD Vanity Plate
Vanity plates are private speech in a nonpublic forum, the court holds; restrictions on such speech must be viewpoint-neutral and reasonable.
Monty Python Meets the Bishop
Friday A/V Club: The 40th anniversary of Life of Brian's British debut—and of a legendary TV debate
Kentucky Printer Wins Fight To Refuse To Print Pro-LGBT Shirts
But the technical nature of the decision might not stop future lawsuits.
The First Amendment and Courts Interpreting Religious Terms
Prof. Michael Broyde (Emory) responds to my post from a few weeks ago.
EEOC: Employers Can't Require a Note from Your Rabbi …
... as a condition of giving you a reasonable religious accommodation; quite right, I think, under Title VII religious accommodation principles.
Occult Features of Anarchism
An anthropologist examines secret societies, revolutionary movements, and esoteric ideas.
Short Circuit Podcast on the First Amendment and Student Newspaper Funding,
religious organizations' right to discriminate in some employment decisions, and federal funding conditions preferring local agencies that help federal immigration enforcement.
The Babylon Bee Satirizes the Absurdities of American Politics
Snopes doesn’t seem to get the joke.
"Islam Is RIGHT About Women"
That's what flyers posted in Winchester (Massachusetts) say.
The Supreme Court's Next Big School Choice Case
What’s at stake in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue.
Arizona's Supreme Court Rules Christian Calligraphers Can't Be Forced to Make Gay Wedding Invitations
Justices rule that invitations are expressive speech and businesses cannot be compelled to write messages they oppose.
Catholic School Pastor Thinks Harry Potter's Spells Are Real, Bans the Books
Harry Potter and the Baffling Return of Religious Panic
Neal Stephenson Wants To Tell Big Stories
An economist and a science fiction author discuss cryogenics, mythology, philanthropy, fragmentation, and simulation.
No Qualified Immunity for Kim Davis
Government officials fail to follow Supreme Court decisions at their own risk.
China's Mass Internment of Uighurs Is a 'Modern Cultural Genocide'
Activist Nury Turkel discusses the vast network of camps that may hold over a million Uighurs in western China.
