From the News

357 – Municipal Theft

We’re all familiar with the fact that our property is taxed. And if you don’t pay your taxes, it’s going to cost you. But how far can a city, town, or any government agency go to collect your taxes?

In 2014, after several personal and business issued, Alan DiPietro purchased some property straddling Stow and Bolton, MA for the purpose of raising alpacas. What ensued was several years of battle between Mr. DiPietro and the town of Bolton over his use of his own land. While what was described in Mr. DiPietro’s law suit was pretty terrible, I want to focus on the foreclosure of the property.

353 – Qualified Immunity

Imagine you have immunity for any bad actions you take. You’ve probably heard of diplomatic immunity, where officials of other countries are shielded from prosecution. Then there’s sovereign immunity, when the head of government cannot be charged. But in America, our legal system has come up with the idea of qualified immunity. While the idea of qualified immunity may make sense, like so many other things, it has been badly abused by those in government.
The State of New York is considering legislation that may put the brakes on some of the abuses of qualified immunity. Would this make things better or worse?

352 – How Important is Freedom of Speech?

In 1722, writing as Silence Dogood, Benjamin Franklin wrote:

“Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech;”
Silence Dogood, No. 8, 9 July 1722

Why is freedom of speech so important? As Mr. Franklin stated, there is public liberty without it, but what does that mean. Yes, without freedom of speech people cannot express themselves, but there’s more. Without freedom of speech we would never be exposed to contradictory ideas, and we would never grow. The basis of the scientific method is the testing of contradictory ideas. If freedom of speech is so important, why do people keep tying to shut it down? Take New York State’s “Online Hate Speech Law”. Why is the State of New York attempting to get social media networks to act as government censors for them?

349 – Wishful Thinking Going to the Supreme Court

We all indulge in wishful thinking from time to time. What would happen if that wishful thinking made it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States? That may be just the case with Brunson v. Adams, et al. Mr. Brunson has petitioned the Supreme Court to hear his case against 388 federal officers, including President Biden, Vice President Harris, former Vice President Pence and 385 members of the U.S. House and Senate. Does his case have a constitutional leg to stand on, or is it just wishful thinking?

348 – The Road to Dystopia is Paved with CBDCs

In every dystopian novel or movie I can think of there is either an oppressive government or not functioning government at all. As we travel this road of life, we should be asking ourselves, does this head to more liberty or more control? Take for example Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs for short. Would this new currency allow Americans more liberty or would it give government more control of our lives. To understand this, we first need to look at what are CBDCs. Then we can look at both sides of this preverbal digital coin and decide for ourselves, do the benefits outweigh the costs.

347 – Grudge Match Between Sexual Orientation and Religious Freedom

I hear this all the time, how does homosexual marriage impact your marriage. This platitude has a small grain of truth, but it only works if you ignore the rest of reality. It’s not that recognizing other marriages changes your own, but how allowance morphs into coercion and then extortion.

For almost a dozen years there’s been a feud between the State of New York’s Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and New Hope Family Services (New Hope). New Hope was granted a perpetual corporate authorization as an adoption agency by OCFS. However, between January 2011 and November 2013, OCFS created policies and rules that would require that New Hope place children with couple that would violate their religious beliefs. The suit New Hope filed in December of 2018 has been through ups and downs. With the latest court orders, it appears New Hope is currently enjoying the protection of their religious liberty. Will it be challenged again?

345 – The Respect for Marriage Act?

There is legislation working its way through Congress called the Respect for Marriage Act. But does this act truly respect marriage? Let’s face it, the definition of marriage has been changing for centuries. Marriages used to include polygamy and other relationships that are no longer legal. But does this act respect the institution of marriage, change it to make it better, or merely open the door to its degradation. Does Congress even have the legal authority to pass such legislation.

340 – When is Freedom of Speech Not Freedom of Speech?

You may have heard about Texas bill H.B. 20, an attempt by the government of Texas to prevent censorship by social media companies. You might also have heard about the case making its way through the federal judicial system regarding this particular law. The central question we should be asking is, when is freedom of speech not freedom of speech? Put another way, can government, either legislatively or judicially, force private companies to share communication they disagree with?