President Donald Trump has nominated Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Put simply, Gorsuch’s judicial philosophy is to respect the text (textualism) of the Constitution and the intent of its original writers … Continue reading
John A. Sparks
The Cruel Irony of Hillary Clinton’s “Pro-Women” Stance
Hillary Clinton is campaigning that she, of all the candidates, is the one who is a “champion for women and girls” specifically because, among other things, she protects “women’s reproductive health” and “confronts violence against women.” Her primary talking point … Continue reading
The Supreme Court’s Texas-Abortion Ruling … Justice Black’s Warnings Become Reality
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt was recently decided 5-3 by the U.S. Supreme Court. It struck down the Texas legislature’s regulations requiring abortion clinics to meet the same standards as any other Texas ambulatory surgical center and to have their physicians … Continue reading
The Truth About Socialism: Venezuela Destroys Its Currency
Millennials are among the most avid supporters of the socialism promoted by Bernie Sanders. What is most remarkable is that there is ample evidence that socialist regimes bring untold economic harm to the very citizens who initially support them. My … Continue reading
The Truth About Socialism: The Venezuelan Disaster
Many Millennials are finding socialism attractive—at least as presented by Bernie Sanders. This is perplexing because there is ample and dramatic evidence of how a full-fledged socialist state fails its own citizens so miserably. Witness Venezuela. Fifteen years under socialist … Continue reading
Supreme Court Avoids the Issue: Little Sisters Get a Win
In a highly unusual move, the Supreme Court passed off the case of Zubic v. Burwell like a hot potato. It passed the case to the lower federal appeals courts. The high court, short by one justice due to the death of … Continue reading
No Need to Consider Judge Garland—An Eight-Member Court Can Work
With the death of Justice Antonin Scalia the Supreme Court is left with one chief justice and seven associate justices. President Obama has nominated Merrick B. Garland, chief judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, who was a Clinton … Continue reading
The Death of Antonin Scalia: An Inestimable Loss for Constitutionalism
Justice Antonin Scalia’s death leaves the Supreme Court without one of its most courageous and colorful conservative legal minds. First, he was a staunch defender of the separation of powers, which, like the American founders, Justice Scalia saw as a … Continue reading
Big Brother vs. The Little Sisters … Obama Administration Takes Nuns to Supreme Court
The Obama administration’s lack of understanding of the spiritual depth and commitment of private religious charities is shocking. The callousness of the federal effort to compel a noble Catholic religious order—the Little Sisters of the Poor—to forsake its faith commitments … Continue reading
Freedom of Speech and Public Employee Unions: Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association
U.S. labor unions have long been experiencing a decline. In 1954, union membership for both public and private sector employees combined peaked at 28.3 percent. Today only around 11 percent of all workers belong to unions. The overall rate of … Continue reading
Supreme Court Cases in the New Term (Part 1) – Race and University Admissions: Abigail Fisher v. University of Texas II
Abigail Fisher applied for admission to the University of Texas at Austin (UT) as part of the entering class of 2008. Little did she know that being rejected for admission under UT’s race-conscious program would bring her before the U.S. … Continue reading
The American Constitution: Why It Endures
The greatest contribution that the Founders made to the well-being of America was the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is appropriate that we talk about this document in a week when the Constitution is lauded. How is it that this … Continue reading
Keep Your Hands Off My Raisins: Court Invalidates Antiquated Raisin Grab
A Sad, Confused, and Ominous Obamacare Decision
In his scathing dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia summarized the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell in two sentences: “The court holds that when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act says ‘exchange established by the state’ it means ‘exchange … Continue reading
Obamacare Subsidies and Justice Anthony Kennedy
It’s not too much to say that President Obama’s domestic legislative legacy could turn on the outcome of King v. Burwell, the landmark case argued in March before the U.S. Supreme Court, which a decision forthcoming soon. If the administration … Continue reading
Grove City College: A Rarity in Higher Education
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In 1965, Russell Kirk, a man of letters and conservative commentator, wrote an essay entitled “The Rarity of the God Fearing Man.” He lamented the fact that we as creatures generally no longer take our Creator-God seriously enough to have a … Continue reading
How the Supreme Court Should Decide the Same-Sex Union Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear four cases involving the issue of same-sex unions. These cases come from the Sixth Circuit where the U.S. Appeals Court had earlier upheld Michigan’s definition of marriage as limited to one man … Continue reading
Obama Drops Plan to Tax College Savings Plans
Only a week after proposing to hit the middle class with a tax on college savings plans, President Obama dropped the assault on so-called “529 plans.” These plans have been used by parents for two decades to save for their … Continue reading
Has the President Exceeded His Authority on Immigration?
In the State of the Union address, President Obama declared: “We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when … Continue reading
Obamacare on the Defensive Once Again
When Case Western University law professor Jonathan Adler testified before a House subcommittee on July 31, 2013, he had no idea that his analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) could bring that gigantic piece of legislation … Continue reading