While some are calling yesterday’s change of policy with regard to contraception coverage a win-win for both the Catholic church and the Obama administration, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops does not see this as a win. Instead, they see it as one small little step, and they are pressing for much, much more.

The first amendment’s protection of religious liberty is not a license for religious organizations or individuals to disregard any law or regulation they don’t like. If the White House wants to end this fight, that’s the argument they’re going to have to make to the public. Instead, they have allowed the USCCB to set the terms of the debate, and the USCCB is quite happy to continue doing so.

This isn’t over, folks. Not by a long shot.

Ah, the confusion that reigns when folks talk about church and state . . . SCOTUS rules in favor of religious freedom on one day, and the next day — the very next day! — religious conservatives come out screaming about the threat to religious freedom.

No one could have anticipated . . .

This brutality occurs… And the West political leaders are quick to react. The European Union’s foreign policy chief urged interim authorities in Egypt on Sunday to halt violence against protesters         But in our own nation, this occurs… And the noise of condemnation from our political leaders is deafening…in that you might [...]

Tuesday night Scott Olsen stood on a street in Oakland as an American citizen, exercising his right as specified in the First Amendment to the Constitution that he pledged his life to uphold as a US Marine. And Tuesday night, as he lawfully exercised the Constitutional right he risked his life to defend in Marine uniform, someone wearing the uniform of the Oakland PD, or the “law” enforcement agencies Oakland summoned up to squash lawful protest, fired the round that felled Scott Olsen.

Well one thing we learned this weekend is that Freedom of Speech and assembly is available for crazy racists in tri-corner hats, but not those who deign to criticize the multi-millionaires of Wall Street.

As of tonight, there is still no word on AngryArabiya’s father, brother-in-law and husband –or her uncle who was arrested three weeks ago. She wrote last night: This will b one of the most difficult nights of my life, wat condition is my wonderful & kind husband in. I close my eyes & I see [...]

Good to know that Bush-era sloganeering remains as popular and bipartisan as ever.

At a time when our government is lecturing dictators in other countries about censorship, you’d think they’d be a bit bothered by the manner in which corporations are using our own public airwaves.

How dare you impede the First Amendment rights of those calling for revolution or gunfire…now shut up and don’t applaud or wear your school’s colors at a Memorial Service.

There have been a lot of attempts at false equivalencies (the last Republican Vice Presidential candidate of the United States is exactly the same as a random Daily Kos diarist) and a lot of attempts to explain away incendiary political rhetoric with a wave of the hand and something like “both sides do it.” But the responses above on their own refute this. They resort to the pretty common rhetoric of demonization to make their points. I have no interest in censoring their speech, but I sure want to highlight it.