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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 »

“We’re all Catholics now.”

This morning’s Wall Street Journal has an opinion piece by Mary Ann Glendon  about the Catholic bishops’ defense of religious liberty.  They have “filed 12 lawsuits on behalf of a diverse group of 43 Catholic entities that are challenging the Department of Health and . . . . Continue Reading »

Luther, Dirty Harry, and Wyatt Earp

My students and I just reached the part of the semester in political  theory where we cover Martin Luther’s On Secular Authority.  In that book, he brilliantly addresses the Sermon on the Mount, insisting that Christians must observe it.  But how, you might say?  If we . . . . Continue Reading »

“Special Meaning”

by Frank TurkSo you know: Pack a lunch.And before you read a single word of this post, I require of you that you read this post, by me, regarding this essential conflict involved in talking about this topic. If you do not read that post, and you want to reproach me about my post here, I will simply . . . . Continue Reading »

What kind of judges do we want?

Either I’m a leisured aristocrat or a political geek, but I’m probably one of the few Americans this week who has the time and interest to watch C-SPAN’s coverage of Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing. She once remarked that the hearings are a “vapid and . . . . Continue Reading »

The Trial of Jesus

For the last four years, I have been conducting, at New York University’s School of Law, a seminar on the trial of Jesus. The Wall Street Journal inveighed against it as educational inanity: if not exactly corrupting the youth, then at least leading them astray and squandering their tuition . . . . Continue Reading »

Terrorists, Terrorism, and the Truth

Today marks the fifteen year anniversary of the Murrah Federal Building bombing and I emailed an old friend, Jayna Davis, whose book,  The Third Terrorist is by far the most accurate record of that horrific event. I reviewed her book for an old website some years ago . The review is here . . . . . Continue Reading »

Obama’s Legal Vision

And now, my conclusion about where Obamacare falls into the law-versus-politics schema I mentioned, below, in the context of marriage and divorce. There was one real highlight and moment of clarity for me in Obama’s now-infamous Baier interview: the sequence where the President insisted that, . . . . Continue Reading »

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