When the Supreme Court of the United States steps in and revives a case instead of deciding it outright, it’s a bit like a teacher handing back a test and saying, “You didn’t totally fail… but you definitely need to show your work.” That’s essentially what happened here. The Court didn’t rule that the Mississippi…
Voucher Wars: The Growing Clash Over Islamic Schools and Public Funds
Here’s the latest entry in America’s never-ending culture war series: Texas and Florida are trying to exclude certain Islamic schools from school voucher programs due to alleged ties to CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations). Supporters say this is about protecting taxpayer money and avoiding even the possibility of funding problematic organizations. Critics say it’s…
Spies, Security, and the Fourth Amendment: The Never-Ending Fight Over FISA Section 702
Every few years, Washington dusts off one of its most awkward debates: whether the federal government should continue using Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreign targets. The argument has returned again, and like clockwork, it has managed to unite some very strange political bedfellows. Civil libertarians…
The Supreme Court Weighs in on California’s School Secrecy Fight
The latest showdown between parental rights and student privacy has officially made its way to the marble steps of the Supreme Court. The Court’s temporary decision to block California’s restrictions on parental notification has national implications. It signals where at least six justices appear inclined to land when this case is fully litigated. At the…
Bond Hearings, Borders, and Biblical Justice
The recent federal court ruling requiring bond hearings for many detained migrants has added even more fuel to the immigration debate. A federal judge pushed back on a broad executive interpretation that effectively denied bond to wide categories of migrants, ruling that many are entitled to individualized bond hearings before an immigration judge. In plain…
When Politics Meets the Chain of Command
There are political skirmishes that flare up, dominate a news cycle, and disappear. Then there are moments that quietly test the structural integrity of the republic. This controversy falls into the second category. Last fall, six Democratic lawmakers appeared in a video urging U.S. service members to refuse illegal orders. That message, resurfacing in today’s…
When Government Authority Slips from Law into Moral Theater
The recent actions by Republican leadership in Texas and Florida aimed at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) deserve more than reflexive applause or predictable outrage. They require sober analysis. Whatever one thinks of CAIR’s activism, rhetoric, or policy positions, the mechanism being used against it should trouble anyone who takes constitutional limits seriously. These…
Justice, Mercy, and the Voice We Dare Not Ignore
The release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has pulled back the curtain on a tension Americans feel but rarely articulate clearly: how do we enforce immigration law firmly without trampling due process, court authority, and basic human dignity? This isn’t a left-wing question or a right-wing one. It’s an American question. And, for Christians, a deeply…
The Grijalva Mess Is a Bad Look for Washington
The State of Arizona has done something extraordinary, and not in a good way. It has sued the United States House of Representatives. The reason? Because the House, under Speaker Mike Johnson, still hasn’t sworn in Adelita Grijalva, the Democrat who won September’s special election to fill the late Raúl Grijalva’s seat. Her election is…
The Supreme Court and the Sword: A Case That Could Redefine Presidential Power
There’s a tug-of-war playing out across America right now, and it’s not between two candidates or even two political parties. It’s between the Constitution’s two halves: federal and state power. President Trump’s latest legal battle over deploying the National Guard in cities like Portland, Chicago, and San Francisco has pulled that rope tighter than it’s…