Politics

By Wesley J. Smith, The Stream - Oh, it’s still part of the First Amendment. But the First Amendment’s “free exercise of religion” clause is now more mirage than reality. The Supreme Court’s misguided 1990 ruling in Employment Division v. Smith turned it into an easy to assert but gossamer liberty protection... The case involved two Native American drug counsellors who were fired after ingesting peyote as part of a religious ceremony, and subsequently denied state unemployment benefits.

By Patrick J. Buchanan - Yet, tensions are rising between the U.S. and China, as the list of ideological, political and economic clashes continues to lengthen... And there is a transparent new reality: China seems in no mood to back down... When, after a year of demonstrations for greater democracy, the Hong Kong government failed to quell the uprising, Beijing stepped in and took control. The U.S.-led democracies that had been cheering on the Hong Kong marchers and protesters did nothing, and they have done nothing since ...

By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews - Judge Amy Coney Barrett delivered her opening remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning and she made two major points... First, she talked about the proper role of the courts, saying they are not supposed to make law and legislate from the bench. She also refused to back down to attacks from Senate Democrats on her faith, saying she strongly believes in prayer and thanked the many Americans who are prayer for her amid those attacks on her Christian faith.