Category: Law
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The Citizens United Pendulum Swings the Other Way
Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast, June 1, 2026
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The Ten Commandments in the Classroom
The Louisiana Law Louisiana House Bill No. 71 requires the following text to be posted in all “public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools”: “The Ten CommandmentsI AM the LORD thy God.Thou shalt have no other gods before me.Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy…
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Alabama Declares War on In Vitro Fertilization
Roe still got it right The argument against embryo personhood takes only one sentence: The living cells that are embryos cannot survive outside the womb. Life at conception may be your religious belief, but it’s not mine. And the first clause of the First Amendment says religious belief alone isn’t law. Alabama Supreme Court On…
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Quotations from Speaker Mike
“I am a Christian” “I am a Christian, a husband, a father, a life-long conservative, constitutional law attorney and a small business owner in that order,” Louisiana state Representative Mike Johnson told the Louisiana Baptist Message in 2016, “and I think that order is important.” In 2016 when first elected to Congress Johnson, his wife Kelly, and…
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Minority Rule
Unrepresentative by Design & Neglect House of Representatives A Small and Divided Majority The House Republican majority’s failure to avoid a government shutdown has been blamed on a small group of extremists, as few as five, who would rather tear down than build or govern. But as I began to research the topic, it seems…
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Disinformation and the Internet
Section 230 permits moderation Internet statistics are amazing, even when 7 years old. 700,000 hours of YouTube videos watched in 60 seconds. It sounds like a time warp, but all it takes is 42 million users online. There are over 5 billion internet users in the world today. How much of this is disinformation? Disinformation…
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Abortion as a Civil Right
Demonstrators protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in Washington. (JOSE LUIS MAGANA / AP) Roe v. Wade got it right Legal History The Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade (1973) examined in depth the legal history of abortion. “It perhaps is not generally appreciated that the restrictive criminal abortion…
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Free Speech on Social Media
Background The Biden administration has asked the Supreme Court to hear two cases on Florida and Texas laws preventing removal of social media posts. They were passed in response to conservative complaints that censorship by internet platforms violated the First Amendment freedom of speech. The laws’ supporters said the measures were needed to address “Silicon…
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We Can Raise Taxes
The Politics and Economy are Aligned A survey of tax history, arguments for and against raising taxes, and an exhortation to tax the rich. Why We Need Taxes Unless you’re a disciple of Grover Norquist and want to drown government in a bathtub, you might see taxes as necessary for certain community needs like law and order,…
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An Accounting for Religion
What is Religion? Religion is mostly prehistoric: “The bulk of the human religious experience pre-dates written history.” 30,000 years of pre-history versus 7,000 years written. Prehistoric religious beliefs are credited since 35,000 BC, when burials began to include decoration of the body and accompanying artifacts.[1] Britannica describes religion generally as organized beliefs that guide a relationship…
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Black Veterans Denied Benefits
UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES Education and Homes One of the greatest benefits from ongoing versions of the GI Bill has been support for college and vocational school enrollment. “As a result, almost 49 percent of college admissions in 1947 were veterans. The GI Bill opened the door of higher education to the working…
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Adjusting the Race Lottery
Affirmative Action and Legacy Admissions Remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life. ― Cecil Rhodes, 1853-1902 While reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates in 2016 I thought about the advantages of being born in America and not a third world country, and being born white.…
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Voting in the Time of Corona
Absentee Ballots are the Future The first warning was the March 17 training video for the April 7 Spring Election. Hand sanitizer would be provided, but the supply was limited, and poll workers “should bring their own.” The Election Official Newsletter covered the initial public health recommendations that did not yet include masks. In-person training sessions…
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Social Security Retirement Application
First monthly Social Security check recipient Ida May Fuller, January 31, 1940 The online form in 2020 Overview You can apply online for Retirement and Spouse benefits, but spouses who have already applied or are currently receiving benefits on their own earnings cannot apply online. You should already have a my Social Security account. Social Security recommends the…
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Social Security Retirement
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance for retired workers The Social Security Administration manages three programs under the Social Security Act: This article covers only Retirement. Financial Outlook The Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) trust fund is predicted in the 2019 Trustees Report to run out in 2034, but this hasn’t changed since 2016. In 2017 there were…
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Savings & Withdrawals
A Savings Model Instead of using ballpark numbers like 25 times your annual expenses, or 8 times your annual salary, a better approach to estimate retirement savings needed is to use your personal history of income and expenses, adjusted for changes in retirement. You can do this with a program called FIRECalc. This chart shows my actual balance history, predicted…
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Changing Medicare Plans 🔁
Original, Advantage, Drug Advantage to Original During the Medicare annual enrollment period from October 15 to December 7 you can change from a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) to Original Medicare. There is also a specific Medicare Advantage enrollment period from January 1 to March 31 in which you can return to Original Medicare. Changes…
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A History of U.S. Immigration Laws
A History of Racism, Jobs, and Resistance to Change Recent debate over immigration and closed versus open borders raises questions about the American history of immigration. It seems that every native-born citizen is descended from immigrants; even the first Native Americans were new arrivals at some point.2 This article looks at tightening restrictions on immigration after…
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Second Class Citizens
Legal Discrimination against Palestinian Israelis Americans are too willing to assume that the only democracy in the Middle East has a written Constitution and Bill of Rights like theirs. The examples below are legal discrimination by the Israeli government. This unequal treatment under the law applies to over 1.7 million Israeli citizens in Israel, more than…
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Continual and Fearless Sifting and Winnowing
By which alone the truth can be found Sifting and winnowing is a metaphor for the academic pursuit of truth associated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, coined by University President Charles Kendall Adams. Professor Richard T. Ely was known to be liberal and pro-union, having published a book on socialism. In 1894 Superintendent of Public Instruction…
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Types of Medicare Coverage
Comparing Typical Bundles There are two typical approaches for complete coverage under Medicare: These are some of the differences between the two bundles: Medicare Enrollment Original Medicare with Medigap and Drugs1• 40 quarters of employment with Medicare payroll deductions automatically qualifies you for Medicare Part A (Hospital) with no monthly premium.• Medicare Part B (Doctor)…
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Cardinal Bernard Law is Dead
It wasn’t that he was a pedophile. He found himself having to manage a difficult situation. It’s not that he himself behaved badly. In my times, there was a different instruction. If something happened in a family, it was the role of the father of a family to hide it. Now it is all about…
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Medicare Application
Corey Brickley, New York Times The 2015 online form Overview You will be automatically enrolled in Medicare by applying for Social Security Retirement before age 65. If not, you must apply for Medicare yourself during the initial enrollment period of three months before to four months after the month you turn 65. (You might want…
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Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Speech, Norman Rockwell©1943 SEPS, Curtis Publishing Collected Quotes March 27, 2005 In 1912, feminist Margaret Sanger was arrested for giving a lecture on birth control. Trade union meetings were banned. Peaceful protesters opposing U. S. entry into World War I were jailed. In 1923, author Upton Sinclair was arrested for trying to read the…
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Palestine & Israel
Collected Quotes “If You’re Not Outraged, You’re Not Paying Attention” January 22, 2004 Rachel Corrie, 23, before she was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza Strip, March 16, 2003. ( REUTERS) The driver dragged his blade over her a second time while reversing back over her body. Corrie died of skull and chest fractures. (International…
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Political Science
Collected Quotes Can Science Conquer Kansas? Climate change has global consequences for human health and the environment. — Example of changes to an Environmental Protection Agency report made by White House officials under George W. Bush, June 19, 2003 Political staff are becoming increasingly bold in forcing agency officials to endorse junk science. — Jeremy Symons, a…
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Patriotic Ceremonies
Students pledging to the flag with the Bellamy salute, March 1941 Collected Quotes Exceptions to Majority Rule “No official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion . . . To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous instead…
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Enron and Others
Collected Quotes The genius of capitalism December 28, 2002 I want to assure you that I have never felt better about the prospects for the company. 1— Enron CEO Ken Lay, after selling $160 million of his own company stock (August 14, 2001) Enron used its political clout to create what one of its own executives…