I’ve got no patience with it, I will not tolerate it, and we’ll make sure that, uh, we find out exactly what happened. —President Barack Obama, May 13, 2013 on the IRS scandal.
civil liberties
Frightening Times
The most ominous development in the IRS scandal is the confederation of executive and congressional authority in opposition to our fundamental rights. The accumulation of all government powers in the same hands, Madison warned, “may justly be pronounced the very definition of . . . Continue reading →
The Twofold Government And Citizenship
Cal State Has Crossed A Line
In (1559) Institutes 3.19.15 Calvin wrote that God has instituted a “twofold government in man” (duplex esse in homine regimen). This truth means that we have a legitimate interest in both sacred and secular spheres. By distinguishing between sacred and secular spheres . . . Continue reading →
2009: No Federal Dollars For Abortion
(HT: Daily Signal)
It’s About Power And Conformity
The theory behind gay marriage, in short, was theory behind the entire secular left: society and the state are the all-powerful forces on which the life of the individual depends, and the most important political task—indeed, the most important task in life—is . . . Continue reading →
Spanking Children Shouldn’t Be A Crime
That rational, logical, research-based position will satisfy some, but it will not satisfy anti-spanking activists, who would have the government tell parents how they may and may not discipline their children. They see no difference between two open-handed swats to a child’s . . . Continue reading →
From Tolerance To Compulsion
We’ve gone from tolerance to compulsion,’’ the Giffords’ lawyer, James Trainor, told me. “State government should not be forcing people to violate their own religious beliefs, nor should they be forced to make a choice between making a living and violating their . . . Continue reading →
Caution Against Social Revolution Via The Judiciary
This is a case about change—and how best to handle it under the United States Constitution. From the vantage point of 2014, it would now seem, the question is not whether American law will allow gay couples to marry; it is when . . . Continue reading →
Political Correctness Serves Only The Centralization Of Power
If you think it through, I think you’ll also come to realize that civil discourse is the biggest impediment to centralized power. How so? When people fear expressing their innermost thoughts to others, friendships cannot develop. Personal associations are nipped in the . . . Continue reading →
Political Correctness Uses Social Vilification To Silence Dissent
PC compliance automatically invalidates non-PC views and reinforces the bad habit of condemning all who disagree. By shutting out all but one train of thought, political correctness attacks individuality and ends up pushing people into the oblivion of a collectivized and controllable . . . Continue reading →
Of Phobias And Victims
Simply put, victimology is the language and currency of our politics. Fighting for victims is a calling and minting new victims and grievances is a trillion-dollar industry. Heroism, fidelity, courage, duty, temperance: Their stock value may be volatile but the long-term trends . . . Continue reading →
Can Sharia And Freedom Be Friends?
(HT: Prager University)
A Statement Remarkable For Its Moral Clarity
What Is On The Line In The Stutzman Case? Freedom In America
More information from the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Our Fundamentalist Founders?
The interweb is a funny thing. One never knows what, at any given moment, one will discover. This morning I stumbled on a discussion involving David Harsanyi editor at one of my favorites, The Federalist, over John Locke (1632–1704), God, and natural . . . Continue reading →
Wealthy Foundations Seek To Suppress Religious Liberty
The Arcus Foundation’s website lists a 2014 grant of $100,000 to the American Civil Liberties Foundation supporting “communications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are ‘un-American.’” A two-year Arcus grant to the ACLU in 2013 gave $600,000 to support the . . . Continue reading →
Civil Liberty Is The Relative Absence Of Coercion
This is not Mississippi Burning; it’s just a conscientious decision not to engage in purely voluntary commerce in a free society. Continue reading →
The LGBT Lobby Is Threatened By Grandma?
UPDATE (3 April, 2015) The legal conflict, including fines and assessments against her business and personal assets, continues.
Freedom To Act According To Conscience In America
“…this Congress intend no violence to their consciences”—Continental Congress (1775) Continue reading →
Jefferson: Conscience Protected Against The Enterprises Of Civil Authority
No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority. It has not left the religion of its citizens under the power of its public functionaries, . . . Continue reading →