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Ruth Bader Ginsburg vs. U.S. Constitution

Steve Hayward’s cookin’ with gas over at Powerline : “But the prize for this week’s liberal obtuseness about the Constitution goes to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who told an Egyptian television audience that ‘I would not look to the U.S. Constitution if I . . . . Continue Reading »

Robert George’s Electric Question

So here’s a link to the question Pete’s been talking about, the one the mighty Robert George posed to Ron Paul on the 14th amendment. The whole thing’s a good taste of Paul for those unfamiliar, but George begins right at 17 minutes in. This is a good format for Paul, and I was . . . . Continue Reading »

The Necessary Amendment

Within the next two or three years, the Supreme Court will almost certainly climax a series of state court rulings by creating a national constitutional right to homosexual marriage. The Court’s ongoing campaign to normalize homosexuality—creating for homosexuals constitutional rights to . . . . Continue Reading »

How the Court Became Supreme

The past half-century has witnessed the rise to prominence of a constitutional theory that gives the U.S. Supreme Court a virtual monopoly in American constitutional law. This theory grants the Court conclusive authority to determine the meaning of constitutional provisions—even those that . . . . Continue Reading »

The Moral Fragility of Constitutionalism

America’s Constitutional Soul by Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr. Johns Hopkins University Press, 236 pages, $32 In this collection of characteristically brilliant essays, Harvey C. Mansfield Jr., one of our nation’s most eminent conservative political theorists, defends the American Constitution as . . . . Continue Reading »

Church-State Conundrums

In the field of church-state jurisprudence, as is well known, legal scholars are generally divided between “strict separationists” and “accommodationists.” The former place a “broad interpretation” on the First Amendment’s prohibition of establishment, insisting on an absolute . . . . Continue Reading »

Natural Law and the Constitution

Natural law seems an unlikely topic for extensive television coverage, nor would one expect United States senators to develop high anxiety over the subject. Yet the confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas brought both of those improbable events to pass. Thomas and Senator Joseph Biden . . . . Continue Reading »

Editorial: What Can Be Asked of a Judge

A number of important questions touching on religion and public life were raised early on in connection with the nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. One set of questions has to do with his Catholic background, the other with some public statements he has made regarding the role . . . . Continue Reading »

When Church-State Conflicts Aren't

Here is a review in a national publication of a book about religion in American public life. The title of the review is “Church-State Conflict Revived.” But that is not what the book is about, as the review itself makes quite clear. The book is about, inter alia, the perduring force of religion . . . . Continue Reading »

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