Joseph Knippenberg

By denying certiorari , the Supreme Court let stand a 9th Circuit ruling that affirmed World Vision’s right to fire employees who didn’t share the organization’s religious views.  For my money, this is an important tea leaf to read before the Court takes up the Hosanna-Tabor . . . . Continue Reading »

The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki by a drone strike focuses our attention on the increasing use of drones in our fight against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.  And it raises a number of compelling issues for those who care about the moral use of deadly force. Consider, for example, . . . . Continue Reading »

As Wesley Smith notes below , Iranian Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has refused to recant his faith.  Absent any new action on the part of the Iranian regime, this paves the way for death by hanging .  I’ve recently raised questions about the Obama Administration’s . . . . Continue Reading »

One of the  casualties of the latest round of budget battles in Washington may be the U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom , which has from time to time done invaluable work in highlighting threats to this basic human right.  While there are some disputes about the . . . . Continue Reading »

One of the twenty physician members of Congress , Rep. Phil Roe  (an unusual name for an OB/GYN, no?) helped save a man’s life at the Charlotte-Douglas airport yesterday. Also, of the twenty physicians in Congress, eighteen are Republicans.  Of the Republicans, twelve are in . . . . Continue Reading »

Maureen Dowd resurrects an old meme in her most recent NYT column : The Republicans are now the “How great is it to be stupid?” party. In perpetrating the idea that there’s no intellectual requirement for the office of the presidency, the right wing of the party offers a Farrelly . . . . Continue Reading »

I don’t watch a lot of television (yes, I’m a BAD PUNDIT), so I didn’t see the Wolf Blitzer-Ron Paul moment live.  And I’m not a big fan of Ron Paul (which means that there’s a pretty good chance that some folks will criticize me just for that). But here I kinda . . . . Continue Reading »

After he unveiled his latest proposal to spur economic growth, President Obama told us how he proposed to pay for it— by increasing tax revenue . At first glance, this makes no sense, unless all you want to do is pull money out of the economy in one sector and put it into the economy in . . . . Continue Reading »

Michael Ruse notes and rather generously comments on Leo Behe’s public debut as an atheist .  Young Master Behe seems like an engagingly quirky homeschooler, though I don’t think that his views on religion actually yet rise to the level of being interesting.  Indeed, I . . . . Continue Reading »

My friends at the invaluable Mirror of Justice blog have noted and commented on New York Times editor Bill Keller’s snarky questions for and  about the religious beliefs of various Republican candidates, but I feel compelled to add my two cents’ worth. Here’s one of . . . . Continue Reading »