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“Extreme Religious Liberty Rights”

From First Thoughts

While most of the attention on the Supreme Court’s HHS mandate cases has properly centered on whether the Court will interpret the protections of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to include corporations as well as individuals, an even more malignant threat . . . . Continue Reading »

A Shepherd of the Jobless

From First Thoughts

While recent economic indicators have been positive, a significant percentage of those seeking work remain unable to find it. Analysts on both the left and the right  have proposed solutions to the plight of those out of work six months or more, who face particular difficulty in . . . . Continue Reading »

Legislating Morality After Prohibition

From First Thoughts

Last week our nation commemorated the eightieth anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, the most commonly cited lesson of which is: You cannot legislate morality. Though this has become part of popular history of the era, it’s exactly the wrong lesson to draw from it. Though largely a movement . . . . Continue Reading »

Tammany Hall’s Forgotten Successes

From First Thoughts

As New York elects its first officially Democratic mayor in twenty years, Susanah Black at Front Porch Republic  reexamines  the legacy of the much maligned Tammany Hall: When it was functioning correctly, Tammany Hall served as a way to integrate the block-to-block fabric of New York . . . . Continue Reading »

Progressives Get Behind Gambling

From First Thoughts

When New Yorkers go to the polls this November they will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment to legalize casino gambling in the state. The state’s liberal governor, Andrew Cuomo, has made the amendment central to his economic plans for upstate New York and it has been endorsed by . . . . Continue Reading »

What Would Have Saved Savita

From First Thoughts

  A report published this week by the Irish Health Information and Quality Authority into the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, the woman who died while seventeen weeks pregnant in an Irish hospital, has determined that she failed to receive the most basic of care and that numerous . . . . Continue Reading »