Ranxerox

Then all is forgiven.

A couple things here. Not all of the founding fathers were Christians per se. Some of them were deist and think there were some agnostics also. The other thing is that the none of the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights applied to the states until the 14th Amendment was passed in 1868. So prior to that point state churches were not a problem. However, with the passage of the 14th Amendment, they became unconstitutional.

I'm getting a real strong Tom of Finland vibe here.

This is blatantly unconstitutional, and in other times, I would just write it off. However, in this current moment, it is clearly meant as test case to bring before SCOTUS. Even now I think that it is a bit of a long shot, but if Texas gets the ruling that they are hoping for then separation of church and state is all but over.

The problem with this bill is that it places the determination of whether an organization is guilty of supporting terrorism solely in the hands of Secretary of the Treasury. This is bad because the Secretary is a) a single individual and b) a direct political appointee beholden to the president that nominate them. So, any organization that found itself with this label will never get there day in court. All it can do is appeal the decision with Secretary who made the designation in the first place. Supporting terrorism already illegal under 18 U.S. Code § 2339B which can be used against both individuals and financial institutions. All this new law accomplishes is to provide a way to go after organizations in a way that side steps the court system.

This joke really begs the question, what did that father name his youngest daughter?

Are you talking about the introduction of Cap's Kooky Quartet back in 1963? Yeah, whatever happened to those loser?

I'm sure that Vecna is offended.

Those early friendships tend to be some of the most heart felt and rewarding. I'm sorry for your loss but happy that you got to enjoy such a good friendship.

To Shape A Dragon's Breath by Monoquill Blackgoose has a pronunciation guide for character and place names right at the start of the book. To which I replied, "Yes! Is this really so hard?" Ms Blackgoose really put a lot of time and thought into her world building and it is, IMHO, the books greatest strength. The main character is likable, but some of her victories seem to come a bit too easily and the book has some pacing issues that prevent me from giving it top marks. Still, if you like YA fantasy it is worth a read.

The federal charges are likely to come later. Though, the misdemeanor charge for attacking someone with a knife does seem rather light regardless.

American Pastor Detained In China For Nearly 20 Years Released There is nothing in the article that touches on American partisan politics, but I am placing this here and not the news thread just in case responses stray into that territory.

Wall Street Knows Who Won The Debate

The whole point of the Bill or Rights was protect individuals and minorities against the tyranny of the majority. Dred Scott was not merely a failure in this but a complete betrayal, and had a crucial role in the start of the Civil War. The presidential immunity ruling is also a horrible ruling and sends all the wrong messages. However, it is not the complete presidential carte blanch that it is made out to be, and the threat of later criminal prosecution has never been one of the major checks on presidential power and overreach. Executive actions can still be struck down by the courts, legislative actions can still still be passed and vetoes overwritten, impeachment is still on the table, people can refuse to obey illegal commands, and most of all the all the electorate can choose not to vote in would-be dictators. Frankly, after all the that Trump has done, if the people vote him back into office, then a strongly conservative SCOTUS is the least of our problems and we have only ourselves to blame. So, yes it is a very bad ruling but it is no Dred Scott. We continue to be a free nation which is more than we could say after Dred Scott without putting one of heck of an asterisk after the statement. However, as always, this freedom must be earned and held onto to. So, in that sense, the presidential immunity has changed nothing.

No. It is still the worst.