My granddaughter Zoey loves and reads fantasy. She loves tales of dragons, wizards and elves. Me, not so much. However, I am visiting my granddaughters and the adults who spawned them. Every grandparent understands that order. My visit coincides with…
The First Amendment is for we, not just thee
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees five related freedoms, and all five are under attack today by the Republican Party. That is not a partisan statement; it is a fact. The modern-day GOP, overtaken by Donald Trump and…
Can employers fire employees for their Charlie Kirk posts?
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, public employees across the nation are being suspended, investigated and even fired due to their social media posts about Kirk and his death. This backlash is part of a larger conservative movement to…
Bring back religion? It never left
Dear President Trump, I have a hot flash for you: Religion never left America. What’s more, those of us who’ve practiced our respective religions faithfully for generations aren’t about to let you force your white “Christian” nationalism down the throats…
Religion and politics
I’m all in when it comes to separation of church and state. That’s why I oppose posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and wherever else legislators are clamoring to do so. That is The…
Split decision in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ case
A federal judge handed down a split decision Aug. 18 in a lawsuit brought by detainees at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz.” Plaintiffs in the action filed against the Trump administration and the state of Florida last month claiming their Fifth Amendment…
Get ready for lawsuit, groups warn Abbott over Ten Commandments bill
Texans will sue once Gov. Greg Abbott signs a bill requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms, three national civil liberties groups said May 29. The announcement came a day after state senators voted to approve an amended version…
Split Supreme Court won’t allow public funds for religious charter school
The nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school will not happen, after a tie vote by the U.S. Supreme Court May 22. Justice Amy Coney Barrett abstained in the case OKPLAC Inc. v. Statewide Virtual Charter School, leaving eight justices…
Dr. Phil says states should not be subject to Establishment Clause
Dr. Phil has something to say about religious liberty and public education. The TV therapist made popular by Oprah has taken a very public conservative bent lately, and this week he wrote an op-ed for the New York Post explaining…
Trump officials cite Harvard Divinity as one of university’s ‘schools of concern’
Easily lost in the flurry of news about Harvard University refusing to bend the knee to the Trump administration is that Harvard Divinity School is one of the “programs, schools and centers of concern” cited by the administration as having…
Trump’s persecution of Mahmoud Khalil sets up a First Amendment showdown
Mahmoud Khalil, who helped lead protests at Columbia University against civilian casualties in Gaza, was arrested by U.S. immigration officers and sent to a detention center in Louisiana. This activates alarms in my First Amendment-loving mind. A series of unusual…
Georgetown dean fires back at Trump official who demanded curriculum changes
The dean of Georgetown University Law Center has rebuffed a Trump administration official who sought to control the Catholic school’s curriculum. That’s not going to happen, Dean William M. Treanor said, because of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment ……