Freedom New Mexico The U.S. Supreme Court heard a curious case Tuesday that highlights the absurdity of the 2002 McCain-Feingold law’s limits on contributions to political candidates. Davis v. Federal Election Commission was about a curious amendment to that law called the “millionaire’s amendment.” McCain-Feingold set limits on campaign contributions (currently $2,300 for primaries and […]
Birth certificate denials send wrong message
February 25, 2008
Freedom Newspapers One of the most challenging issues in the national debate over illegal immigration is what to do about the children of such immigrants who gain automatic U.S. citizenship at birth. Despite the wishes of anti-immigration extremists, the federal courts almost universally have agreed the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. […]
Flexible approach to gun laws will tighten standards
January 15, 2008
By Freedom New Mexico In a brief filed last week with the Supreme Court, the Bush administration paid lip service to the idea that Americans have an individual right to possess a firearm. But the practical implications of its argument show the government is speaking with a forked tongue. Last year, the U.S. Court of […]
Texas General Election propositions
November 5, 2007
The General Election in Bailey County will be held at the Bailey Coliseum. Here are propositions in the Texas General Election. Proposition 1 The continuation of constitutional appropriation for facilities and other capital items for Angelo State University. Proposition 2 Authorizing $500 million in general obligation bonds to finance educational loans to students and authorizing […]
First Amendment protects artists as well as media
November 5, 2007
By Freedom New Mexico Journalists get passionate about the First Amendment, mainly because it helps shield the press against those who attempt to silence it. Because such attacks are becoming more frequent, thanks in large part to the Bush administration, most news coverage of the First Amendment revolves around the media. But the First Amendment […]
Reform laws give justices chance to make statement
May 1, 2007
By Freedom Newspapers A case argued last week to the U.S. Supreme Court highlighted the absurdity of relatively recent reform laws that restrict political speech during the period just before an election. Such laws require regulators and courts to make absurdly fine distinctions that such bodies are not really qualified to make and should not […]
Supreme Court dusts off second amendment
March 17, 2007
By Freedom Newspapers Viewed narrowly, the decision March 9 by a federal appeals court to overturn the 1976 District of Columbia law barring the ownership of handguns with just a few exceptions — such as for law enforcement officers in the course of duty — applies only to the District of Columbia. Therefore it has […]
Students give hope for free speech
March 17, 2007
By Bob Johnson: Guest columnist “Transparent” is the word my parents used when, as a young kid, I told a whopper to try to talk my way out of trouble. Maybe yours did, too. I learned from that. I discovered that the primary definition of transparent is “transmitting light so that objects and images can […]
Checkpoints lack intended effectiveness
December 28, 2006
By Freedom Newspapers “Opponents of sobriety checkpoints tend to be those who drink and drive frequently and are concerned about being caught.” That’s what Mothers Against Drunk Drivers says. And that’s correct, or as correct and logical as it is to say that only pornographers oppose obscenity laws, communists oppose blacklists and terrorists oppose the […]
Tithing may alleviate federal spending
December 13, 2006
By Walter Williams: Syndicated columnist Last year, talk-show host Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder co-authored “The FairTax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS.” It turned out to be a No. 1 New York Times Best Seller. In 2005, the Fair Tax bill was introduced in both the U.S. House of […]
National park safety needs growing issue
November 28, 2006
By Freedom Newspapers We only wish he’d done this two years ago. Virginia Sen. George Allen, a Republican who narrowly lost to Democrat James Webb on Nov. 7, in one of the races that overturned control of Congress, seems intent on going out with a bang rather than a whimper. Allen recently unveiled S. 4057, […]
Allowing flag burning honors our forefathers
June 19, 2006
Freedom Newspapers Syndicate The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday took a step toward limiting the First Amendment by sending to the Senate floor a constitutional amendment that allows Congress to ban flag desecration. Conservatives have been trying to get the amendment through Congress since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down flag protection laws in 1989. […]
Conservatives in danger of giving up values
May 21, 2006
By Steve Chapman: Syndicated columnist Conservatives, almost by definition, have an appreciation of the past: They want to conserve valuable traditions and principles. But one of the paradoxes of many people who go by that name is they are forgetting essential precepts of their own philosophy. Their current eagerness to amend the U.S. Constitution, not […]
12/25 Letters to the editor
December 24, 2005
War on ‘Christmas’ sign of decline At this Christmas season in America, it has become evident there is a diabolical plot to destroy the Judaic-Christian foundation of the greatest nation on God’s green Earth by attacking the word “Christmas.” The First Amendment to the Constitution has been blatantly misinterpreted by the liberal minds of judges […]
Torture ban chance to rebuild U.S. credibility
December 19, 2005
Freedom Newspapers President Bush tried to put as good a face on it as possible, but his decision to support an amendment by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain to ban torture and “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment at U.S. prison camps was a defeat for him. It came after months of administration resistance to the […]
