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So Am Back Home

Here’s a capable summary of parts of our on tap discussion the night before the Obamacare decision’s release. As you see, I didn’t protect the result. I came closer than many by calling attention to the fact that the Court couldn’t recommend effectively than the mandate be . . . . Continue Reading »

Obamacare

Thursday’s Supreme Court decision on Obamacare is a tragic setback to the nascent movement of “political constitutionalism.” For three years, beginning with the emergence of the Tea Party, millions of citizens joined together in trying to settle the broad meaning of the Constitution . . . . Continue Reading »

Proposing Improvements for Obamacare

Well, I think we are going to be stuck with this benighted law, thanks to a cowardly judge who realized it was unconstitutional under the commerce clause but wanted to save it anyway.Going forward, I think opponents need to pursue two tracks. First, continued implacable and . . . . Continue Reading »

Please Support Our Work

Dear Readers, First Things is a non-profit. For more than twenty years readers have provided donations that have sustained the journal. Now the electronic age presents new challenges. I’ve written to our subscribers, who have responded with generosity. Now I’m writing to you directly on . . . . Continue Reading »

UMass Stem Cell Bank Closes

Ah, the heady days of trying to overcome the evil BUSH!’s minor embryonic stem cell funding restrictions.  You know, the ones that resulted in hundreds of millions spent in human embryonic stem cell research.Back in those days when hype and lies ruled the biotech discourse, states were . . . . Continue Reading »

Pessimistic Thoughts

1.  When looking at the Obamacare case, many wondered if the individual insurance purchase mandate was severable from the rest of Obamacare.  According to the Chief Justice, the mandate is severable from itself.  You take (what he admits to be) an unconstitutional scheme of mandate . . . . Continue Reading »

Freedom of Speech Includes Some Kinds of Lies

In a decision that will upset some military men I know, the Supreme Court finds that it is constitutional to lie about yourself. The case centered on Xavier Alvarez, a water-district board member in California, who was convicted of falsely claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient. A federal . . . . Continue Reading »

USCCB on the Affordable Care Act

The USCCB has issued a very clear and reasonable response to yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act as a tax. The Bishops reminded us that, while they have for many years been advocates of health care reform, they opposed the ACA’s final passage . . . . Continue Reading »

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