Tag Archives: Samuel Alito

Don’t Jump Out of The Boat

Posted on October 25, 2021 by David E Smith

We recently read a great little sermon illustration in which a young boy asked his father, “Dad, I was watching a TV show about marine biologists. Why do scuba-divers jump backwards into the water?” His father wittily responded, “Because if they jumped forward, they'd still be in the boat!”

Posted in Faith | Tagged 40 Days for Life, Abortion, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Ceasar LeFlore, Clarence Thomas, Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Elena Kagan, Health Care Rights of Conscience Act, IFI Prayer Team, Illinois Parental Notice Act, John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, Qualified Immunity, Rescuing Our Children, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court | Comments Off

The Cutting Issues in Ministerial Exception Cases

Posted on August 28, 2021 by David E Smith

The U.S. Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor (2012) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (2020) embraced what Justice Samuel Alito described as the “so-called ministerial exception,” a doctrine that exempts religious organizations from discrimination laws when dealing with certain employees. Why “so-called”? Because the exemption covers more than just ministers or the top officials of a religious organization. But whom else? Certainly some teachers in church elementary schools, as the U.S. Supreme Court held in both of those cases.

Posted in Religious Liberty | Tagged Clarence Thomas, Gordon College, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Neil Gorsuch, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, Samuel Alito, U.S. Supreme Court | Comments Off

Illinois Pro-Life Lawmakers Given National Voice to Overturn Roe v. Wade

Posted on July 30, 2021 by David E Smith

A nationwide group of state legislators and attorneys have crafted an amicus (friend of the court) legal brief in support of the State of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, seeking to overturn the unlawful Roe v. Wade decision.

Posted in Sanctity of Life | Tagged Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, Elena Kagan, John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, Roe v. Wad, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court | Comments Off

Originalism is Racist and Sexist, Claims Radical U.S. Senator

Posted on October 31, 2020 by David E Smith

Still reaching for peak absurdity with ever more zeal, elements of the radical left are now smearing an honest interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and those who support it as “racist,” “sexist,” “homophobic,” and more. In fact, those are the exact words used by U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) to describe originalism — the widely accepted judicial doctrine holding that the words in the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted and understood as intended by the authors and ratifiers. The revolutionary view offered by Markey and others like him is a threat to America and every single American, fellow lawmakers warned.…

Posted in Federal | Tagged Amy Coney Barrett, Antonin Scalia, Ed Markey, Jabobin, Mike Lee, Samuel Alito | Comments Off

Shocking SCOTUS Decision Shockingly Written by Gorsuch

Posted on June 15, 2020 by David E Smith

In a shocking U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch voted with the axis of evil—that is, with Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. In Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the axis of evil decided that in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the word “sex” includes “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”—both subjectively constituted conditions. As a result, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on “race, color, religion, sex, and national origin,” now prohibits …

Posted in Federal, Sexuality | Tagged Bostock v. Clayton County, Brett Kavanaugh, Civil Rights Act, Clarence Thomas, Elena Kagan, Gay, Georgia, J.K. Rowling, Jack Phillips, John Roberts, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Neil Gorsuch, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, transgender | Comments Off

The Electoral College Debate

Posted on October 17, 2018 by David E Smith

Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, seeking to represent New York's 14th Congressional District, has called for the abolition of the Electoral College. Her argument came on the heels of the Senate's confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. She was lamenting the fact that Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, nominated by George W. Bush, and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, nominated by Donald Trump, were court appointments made by presidents who lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College vote.

Posted in Federal | Tagged Alexander Hamilton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Brett Kavanaugh, Communist Party, Donald Trump, Edmund Randolph, Electoral College, George W. Bush, H.L. Mencken, Hillary Clinton, James Madison, John Adams, John Roberts, Julia Ward Howe, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Vladimir Lenin | Comments Off

U.S. Supreme Court Recap for First Amendment Cases

Posted on July 6, 2018 by aswillis

It has been an eventful term for the U.S. Supreme Court, which has provided many closely decided cases and ended with the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. For those interested in free speech and religious liberty, there have been plenty of decisions to keep track of and digest. Here is what you need to know.

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

The story is well-known. Jack Phillips, a Christian cake shop owner from Colorado, refused to create a cake for the same-sex “wedding” of two men. They filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which …

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Anthony Kennedy, Arlene’s Flowers Inc. v. Washington, Barronelle Stutzman, Bill Jack, Clarence Thomas, Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Donald Trump, Jack Phillips, Janus v. AFSCME, John Roberts, Korematsu v. United States, Mark Janus, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, Reproductive FACT Act, Rowan County v. Lund, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Town of Greece v. Galloway, Travel ban, Trump v. Hawaii, U.S. Supreme Court, Washington Supreme Court | Comments Off

Relief from Onerous HHS Mandate Restores Religious Liberty

Posted on October 13, 2017 by David E Smith

Last week, President Donald Trump announced that his administration will exempt employers who have a faith-based or moral-based objection to providing contraceptives, including drugs that can cause abortions. This is important action to restore religious liberties that were stripped away in the Obamacare HHS mandate.

Posted in Religious Liberty | Tagged Conestoga Wood Specialties, Donald Trump, HHS Mandate, Hobby Lobby, Little Sisters of the Poor, Paul Weber, Randall Wenger, Samuel Alito | Comments Off

How The ‘Revolution’ Is Eating Its Own

Posted on October 13, 2017 by David E Smith

At a forum at the College of William & Mary on Sept. 27, the ACLU got a sample of what conservatives have been experiencing on campuses for years.

As Claire Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, began speaking to a small audience, a group of demonstrators marched in with a large banner that said, “Blood on Your Hands.” They lined up in front of the stage, holding placards.

Apparently clueless about what was about to transpire, Ms. Gastaaga said, “Good. I like this. Good.”

She went on to say that she was going to inform the students …

Posted in Education, Marriage/Family/Culture | Tagged ACLU, American Civil Rights Union, Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Claire Gastanaga, Cooper v. Harris, Felix Frankfurter, Gill v. Whitford, Hubert Humphrey, John Delaney, Nancy Pelosi, Roscoe Bartlett, Samuel Alito, white supremacy, William & Mary College | Comments Off

Should the Government Force Some Religious Americans to Violate Their Beliefs About Marriage?

Posted on August 11, 2015 by David E Smith

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of gay marriage, a question arises: Should we protect the rights of Orthodox Jews, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, Latter-Day Saints and Muslims who believe that marriage is a union of husband and wife? Two bills recently introduced in Congress show diverging answers. One seeks to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence; the other adds fuel to a culture war by treating that traditional belief as racism.

Posted in Religious Liberty | Tagged Cory Booker, David Cicilline, Equality Act, First Amendment Defense Act, General Donald Verrilli, Human Rights Campaign, Jeff Merkley, Mark Oppenheimer, Samuel Alito, Tammy Baldwin | Comments Off

Immediate Calls for the Further Unraveling of Marriage

Posted on July 11, 2015 by David E Smith

One day after the [Obergerfell v. Hodges] ruling, I received a press release from Pro-Polygamy.com one of the largest Polygamy groups east of the Mississippi, located in Maine. Their slogan is “Polygamy: The Next Civil Rights Battle.” Last Sunday they followed up with another release of an editorial. Both items complain, “all that Kennedy declared about the importance of marriage to those who choose same sex marriage (SSM) equally applies to others who choose unrelated consenting adult polygamy (UCAP).”

Mark Henkle of Pro-Polygamy states, “for UCAPs, only one obstacle to freedom remains to be overcome – …

Posted in Federal, Marriage/Family/Culture | Tagged Allen West, John Roberts, Mark Henkle, plural marriage, polyamory, polygamy, Same-sex marriage, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS | Comments Off

What the Gay-Marriage Ruling Means for Education

Posted on July 3, 2015 by David E Smith

Like fascists, Communists, and boy-band producers, the American Left has always believed it could fine-tune human nature if it could only “get ’em while they’re young.” That’s why the Left works so hard to impose its will on schools and universities. As John Dewey, America’s high priest of educational progressivism, explained in 1897, the student must “emerge from his original narrowness” in order “to conceive of himself” as a cog in the larger social order.

Posted in Education | Tagged Anthony Kennedy, Bob Jones University, Chronicle of Higher Education, John Dewey, Obergefell v. Hodges, Samuel Alito, Shane Windmeyer | Comments Off

Christian Universities Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status If SCOTUS Rules In Favor of Marriage Redefinition

Posted on June 5, 2015 by David E Smith

U.S. Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, addressed concerns that faith-based schools and institutions would be at risk of losing their tax-exempt status for upholding their biblical belief of traditional marriage if the U.S. Supreme Court delivers a pro-gay marriage ruling this month.

Posted in Religious Liberty | Tagged Donald Verrilli, Dr. Jerry Johnson, Dr. Keith Wiebe, Dr. Samuel Oliver, Mike Lee, Samuel Alito | Comments Off

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Was Right … Sort of

Posted on July 7, 2014 by David E Smith

While reams have already been penned examining the implications of last week’s Hobby Lobby decision, most of what’s been written, particularly in the liberal press, has missed the point entirely.

Though I’m mildly pleased that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is not quite ready to take gasoline to both the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), signed into law by Bill Clinton, a liberal, in 1993, I am alarmed, and so too should you be, that only 56 percent of our sitting SCOTUS justices are still willing to give the U.S. Constitution a modicum …

Posted in Religious Liberty | Tagged Anthony Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Hobby Lobby, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, RFRA, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito | Comments Off

SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Hobby Lobby!

Posted on June 30, 2014 by David E Smith

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled today that the Christian-run Hobby Lobby doesn’t have to obey the HHS mandate that is a part of Obamacare that requires businesses to pay for abortion causing drugs in their employee health care plans.

The Obama administration was attempting to make Hobby Lobby and thousands of pro-life businesses and organizations comply with the HHS mandate that compels religious companies to pay for birth control and abortion-causing drugs for their employees. However, the U.S. Supreme Court today issued a favorable ruling in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a landmark case …

Posted in Religious Liberty | Tagged Anthony Kennedy, Barack Obama, Conestoga Wood Specialties, David Cortman, HHS Mandate, Hobby Lobby, Joe Heaton, Kathleen Sebelius, Kristina Arriaga, Little Sisters, Priests for Life, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito | Comments Off