In an important victory for religious liberty in Canada, the country’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that the government cannot force a private Catholic high school to teach a government-mandated ethics and religion course that includes teaching contrary to Catholic belief. An attorney working with the Alliance Defending Freedom International filed a brief last year with the high court in defense of the school after the court granted them the right to intervene in defense of the school’s freedom of...

An amicus brief is a learned treatise submitted by anamicus curiae(Latin for “friend of the court”), someone who is not a party to a case who offers information that bears on the case but that has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist a court. The amicus brief is a way to introduce concerns ensuring that the possibly broad legal effects of a court decision will not depend solely on the parties directly involved in the case....

I taught high school for a number of years, but as a religion teacher, I escaped most of the trials and tribulations my fellow teachers went through annually as new teaching methods were rolled out. Even private school teachers seem to get a new set of rules each year: teach this way, not that; use these techniques, not those. However, few teaching restrictions seem to be as questionable as Common Core. What about teachers? What are their thoughts on Common...

There will be some twists and turns here, so hold on. Earlier this month, the BBC highlighted what it called “YouTube sensation ‘I, Russian Occupier'” the hit propaganda film that “feels more like the opening sequence of a big budget Hollywood movie than a homemade political message.” So far, it’s racked up 5.6 million views and more than ments. (“likes” are outpacing down votes by a 5-1 margin. The video also “attacks Western values, dropping in visual references to same-sex...

A key way to reduce pollution is to provide a mechanism that allows some firms to pollute as much—or even more—than they normally would. That idea may sound ridiculous—reduce pollution by allowing pollution?—but it’s been proven to be a surprisingly effective means of cleaning up the environment. In 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act were added which included market-based incentives to reduce pollution, such as “emissions permits” for certain pollutants. As Robert W. Crandall explains, These are, in effect,...

A new report from the liberal Brookings Institute finds that “despite the large increases in economic inequality since 1970”, American survey respondents exhibit no increase in support for redistribution. This holds true even for the two groups who have historically been most reliant on redistribution: the elderly and blackAmericans. The report expresses surprise by the results, as does the Washington Post. As the Post‘sMax Ehrenfreund says, Thepolling data challenges mon-sense ideathat voters support policies that are in their material interest,...

A bill designed to aid victims of human trafficking in the U.S. should not be divisive. It should not be stalled in the House of Representatives. It should be enacted swiftly, so as to get help to as many victims as possible, as quickly as possible. This bill would improve programs already in place that are specifically designed to aid underage victims of trafficking, increase the ease of which local law enforcement and prosecutors can investigate possible trafficking and child...

Today’s parents are obsessed with setting their kids on strategic paths to “success,” filling their dayswith language camps, music lessons, advanced petitive sports, chess clubs, museum visits, and so on. Much of this is beneficial, of course, but amid the bustle, at least one formative experience is increasingly cast aside: good, old-fashioned hard work. In an essay for the Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Breheny Wallace points to a recent survey of U.S. adults where “82% reported having regular chores growing...

Jane Marcet is remembered most often for her scientific work in chemistry. Born in London in 1769, she was well-educated, and shared a passion for learning with her father. When she married Alexander Marcet, a physician, she would proof-read his work and eventually decided to publish her own thoughts. In a series of pamphlets entitled, “Conversations,” Marcet wrote on chemistry, botany, religion, and economics. She was a member of the London Political Economy Club, founded by James Mill. In the...

There is a lot of talk about “privilege” in our nation: white privilege, the privilege of the “1%,” privilege of living in one school district versus another. Yet, the greatest “privilege” in America is hardly ever mentioned. It’s a privilege that creates happy, healthy, smart kids, a privilege that helps ensure economic stability for everyone involved, a privilege that keeps our neighborhoods and cities safer and more productive. It’s marriage. (I was going to say “mah-widge” and give a Princess...