Libel, Actual Malice, and Bill Cosby
On February 19, 2019, the Supreme Court released a denial of a petition for a writ of certiorari. Katherine McKee filed a defamation suit against Bill Cosby and his attorneys after the released a...
Category: My Democratic Faith
Zorach and the Separation of Church and State
“A Christian missionary went from England to India…to save the heathen from their blindness and bring them into the light. One day, in the streets of a crowded city, he saw a beggar, seated...
Breedlove, Harper, and the Poll Tax
Justice Douglas published An Almanac of Liberty in 1954. And on December 6, he recalled the 1937 Breedlove v. Suttles decision that upheld a state poll tax. Twelve years later, he wrote the majority decision that held...
Lincoln and Wilson on a Dissident Press
When you open up your Smartphone, since no one buys a newspaper, the headlines contain a daily reminder that the press remains an enemy of the people. Justice Douglas wrote, “Acceptance by government of...
Reactionary Judges, Kavanaugh, and Eugene V. Debs
historically, the Supreme Court looked more like its current makeup. And we must remind ourselves that the Court that Douglas sat on stands out in its views of personal liberty.
Book 16 of 2018: The Radical Center
In 2002, I went with my college roommate to Washington DC as part of the Washington Semester at American University. I joined the political science cohort where I met 20 other college students who...
Voting Rights: Taking an Afternoon Off to Vote
Voting rights remain a topic for many Americans who falsely believe voter fraud occurs. I give money to Let America Vote, an organization started by Jason Kander, to try to defend voting rights in...
The Alien and Sedition Acts, Donald Trump, and Facing Criticism
220 years ago, Congress passed the first of what would become known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The government argued that these measure became necessary for national security. War with France seemed imminent...
Journeymen Cordwainers, Unions, and Compelled Speech
On July 12, 1810, a trial of trade unionists began in New York City. In 1794, Philadelphia shoemakers organized the “Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers.” Similarly New York bootmakers joined. In 1805, the union struck in Philadelphia for...
Samuel Adams, Vilification, and Vulnerable Oppositions
As we continuously discuss loyalty, partisanship, and civility, we forget how our Founders acted illegally, angered many, and defied the power-that-be. Samuel Adams organized and directed people to revolt against the King. Although loyalists...
