Would you be outraged if the Department of Justice shut down The Foundry without any warning and blocked access for more than a year? That’s exactly what happened to a hip-hop blog called Dajaz1.com, which was falsely accused of criminal copyright infringement. The blog posted music from artists promoting their work. But federal authorities viewed it differently. They seized the domain name, then shared virtually no information with its owner for more than year. Only recently did they quietly drop the case. The government’s handling of this hip-hop blog is … More

It seems people think that they have a right to everything these days: a right to the Internet, to free health care, to a good job, and to a free college education. The Supreme Court is famous for finding new rights in the “penumbras” and “emanations” of the Constitution. Today marks the 220th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. What better opportunity to look at the rights the Constitution actually guarantees? A right is not merely something you want or claim. You may, for example, want a … More

On December 15, 1791, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution – known as the Bill of Rights – came into effect through the process of ratification by the States.

People who are supposed to be teaching our children civics want to deny them the protection of the Constitution. It’s known as the candy-cane case. And it’s all about religious discrimination. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments today [May 23, 2011] in Morgan v. Swanson. The case demonstrates just how badly political correctness has corrupted our public schools and illustrates the extremes to which radical school administrators will go to impose their ideological, anti-religious views on our children. The lawsuit was filed by the families of … More

A constitutional amendment offered in the House of Representatives would strip American companies of all protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. While the amendment is aimed at curbing free speech rights afforded third party groups by the Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC, it would, whether intended or not, open the door to a host of gross violations of Americans’ civil rights. The proposed amendment, offered by Rep. Theodore Deutch (D-FL) on Nov. 18, is wholly a product of the violent and subversive “Occupy” protest movement currently unwinding across the … More

Most of us have heard or read at least part of Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation at some point. But even those who have heard it many times can overlook two important aspects of this important document. The first is its timing: October 3, 1863. The nation had already endured two years of appalling carnage on the battlefields of the Civil War. And although Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg seemed to mark a turning point in favor of the Union, there was no clear light at the end of the … More

This Thursday, millions of families will celebrate Thanksgiving with roasted turkey, buttery mashed potatoes, and (with only a slight amount of guilt) another piece of pumpkin pie. But in early America, days of Thanksgiving weren’t always about food. Reflecting American religious practice, Presidents and Congresses from the beginning of the republic have from time to time designated days of fasting and thanksgiving (the Thanksgiving holiday we continue to celebrate on the third Thursday of November was established by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War). Following a resolution of Congress, President … More

The Boston Pamphlet was the product of the Boston “committee of correspondence,” a group consisting of patriots such as James Otis and Sam Adams.

Protesters set up camp in New York City more than a month ago and have spread to other cities around the country, prompting many Americans to ask: What exactly do they want? The decentralized nature of the protests makes official demands difficult to come by, but the movement has released a number of positions that are fairly representative of the left-wing, anti-capitalist tenor of the protests. We decided to examine one such list of demands, and to give readers a sense of the conservative approach on the varied goals of … More

The liberal perspective on the “Occupy” movement is really something spectacular. Before the movement had really even announced a position or set of “demands,” progressives were pushing each other out of the way to embrace it. When they did finally come up with a set of ideals, which mostly involve eliminating their personally accrued debt, President Obama practically made it his new national agenda, branded “We Can’t Wait.” Now you have Hollywood “celebrities” like mega-millionaires Russell Simmons, Katy Perry and Russell Brand hopping by for a photo-op with the anti-capitalist … More