Rules Are for Schmucks: The Pope vs. Air Conditioning – Part 1

Despite my quite biased view, I show more respect for Pope Francis than a lot of liberal politicians and other talking heads who’ve fallen all over themselves in praise of his Laudato Si’ environmental encyclical... Read More
Rules Are for Schmucks: More Faith-Based Initiative Loopholes

There are a couple of different ways to look at the “faith-based initiative” launched by President George W. Bush and expanded by President Obama. One is that it’s simply a way to make it easier... Read More
Rules Are for Schmucks: The Danger of Religious Enclaves

Former House Speaker Tip O’Neill used to say that “all politics is local.” So are most concerns about religious privilege, especially when communities become dominated by gangs of God experts anxious to throw their weight... Read More
Rules Are for Schmucks: How Bernie Sanders Can Make It Interesting

I admire Hillary Clinton. She’s one of the only politicians I’ve ever written anything unabashedly positive about, as I did when she helped spread hackers’ access to the unrestricted internet in places where it’s censored.... Read More
Rules Are for Schmucks: Little Sisters of Deceit

Al Gore, who won the popular vote for president in 2000 and who many believe would have taken office but for Supreme Court interference, gets laughs when he tells audiences, “You win some, you lose... Read More
Rules Are for Schmucks: Obergefell, Roe v. Wade, and Bob Jones

In 1985, a shrewd legal observer explained why she believed that the legalized abortion opinion in Roe v. Wade–not the narrow conclusion, but the sweeping way that conclusion was justified–caused unnecessary problems: Roe v. Wade... Read More
Rules Are for Schmucks: Religion Run Amok in Hawaii

Sometimes it seems that the religious special privilege mania is problematic only in the abstract. Often, the complaint is that a tiny slice of the taxes we pay is diverted to promote the God industry,... Read More