The Arkansas-Indiana Religious Freedom Controversy: “Progressive” Hypocrisy On Display
This article originally appeared at CNS News. When two of the largest corporations in the world—Walmart and Apple Computer—pressured Indiana and Arkansas politicians not to adopt laws protecting religious freedom, did you hear any howls against “corporate lobbying” or “corporate money” or corporate meddling in politics? Chances are you didn’t. Because Walmart and Apple were […]
So What is This “Amendments Convention” Thing? A Quick Intro
Are you a journalist or other citizen who needs a quick overview of the Constitution’s Article V “Convention for Proposing Amendments?” Get our issue paper, “Curing Federal Dysfunction by Constitutional Amendment: A Primer.” It’s a vital resource for anyone who wants a quick and accurate overview of the process. It explains what a Convention for […]
VA Scandals—Only the Latest Example of the Failure of Socialism
To know more about socialized medicine—and our future under Obamacare—check out the Department of Veterans’ Affairs health care scandals. The scandals encompass service failure, egregious cost overruns and delays, and basic failures (such as blood test mixups) that would be comical if not so dangerous. The VA hospital situation in Denver is a case in […]
The Principles of the Common Law
Although the Constitution is not, strictly speaking, a common law document, it was written against the backdrop of common law. The term “common law” has various meanings, but the meaning I’m using here is the system of case law we inherited from England, including the bodies of jurisprudence known as admiralty and equity. That system […]
How Liberal Propagandists Fooled Conservatives into Opposing an Amendments Convention
This article originally appeared at CNS News. Some conservative groups have become known for uncompromising opposition to the Constitution’s convention method of proposing constitutional amendments. They may think they are protecting the republic. But it turns out that they are mostly carrying water for the liberal establishment. New research shows that nearly all the arguments […]
Where Chief Justice Burger Likely Got His Anti-Amendment Convention Views
This article originally appeared in the American Thinker. Opponents of the Constitution’s Article V convention method of proposing amendments tout three letters written in the 1980s by former Chief Justice Warren Burger. In those letters, Burger took a very hard line against any convention of states that might bypass Congress and propose corrective constitutional amendments. […]
Why the Senators’ Letter to Iran Was Both Appropriate and Legally Necessary
This article first appeared at the American Thinker website. Suppose you are in a general partnership with Smith. Smith handles day-to-day management, subject to your approval. But recently, he’s been acting somewhat high-handedly. Without consulting you, Smith is busy negotiating a contract with Macropus International Corp., a company notorious for unscrupulous practices. Smith has made […]
Yet Another Multi-State Convention Uncovered
For many years, opponents of a convention for proposing amendments argued that the law governing such a convention was unknowable because the only precedent for such a gathering was the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This was always an ignorant claim, since even high schoolers learn that Annapolis, Maryland hosted a “convention of states” the previous […]
King v. Burwell: The Latest Obamacare Mess at the Supreme Court
When I first heard about King v. Burwell, the latest Obamacare controversy before the U.S. Supreme Court, I assumed it was the kind of case in which the legislative intent was clear, but for one reason or another the wording of the statute did not match the legislative intent. That would have been an interesting […]
New Book About How Deborah—Judge and Biblical Heroine—Freed Israel From Terrorism!
Betty Natelson, my wife, has just published a new book—for readers 9 years and up—about the biblical heroine Deborah. Deborah was the Hebrew judge who, along with her military commander Barak, liberated Israel from Canaanite terrorism—a topic that seems particularly appropriate today. The book is entitled Battlesong: The Biblical Story of Deborah. Battlesong generally follows […]
New Study Shows Campaign Disclosure Rules Violate First Amendment
This article was first published at the American Thinker website. Many commentators and politicians have attacked the Supreme Court’s 2010 case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission for holding that citizens do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they organize under state corporation law. The Vermont state legislature has even adopted an application […]
Chief Justice John Marshall: Not the Big Government Guy You Might Think
Chief Justice John Marshall (in office 1801-1835) is often identified with an expansive “big government” interpretation of the Constitution. Fans of big government cite him as an ally; opponents as an enemy. This view of Marshall is a caricature. It is true that Marshall was a Federalist—he occupied a place on the political spectrum of […]
