Free Republic

When a group of imams tried to bring a form of “Shariah light” to Texas, they met an unlikely foe – Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne. Now, Van Duyne has been thrust into the national media spotlight, and her city is being called “ground zero” in the battle to prevent Islamic law from gaining a foothold, no matter how small, in the U.S. legal system. Van Duyne’s name and picture has popped up on Facebook pages and Twitter feeds across America in recent days, casting her with equal enthusiasm as villain or hero, depending on one’s political outlook. She’s either...

Buckley on marijuana National Review ^ | William F. Buckley Conservatives pride themselves on resisting change, which is as it should be. But intelligent deference to tradition and stability can evolve into intellectual sloth and moral fanaticism, as when conservatives simply decline to look up from dogma because the effort to raise their heads and reconsider is too great. The laws aren't exactly indefensible, because practically nothing is, and the thunderers who tell us to stay the course can always find one man or woman who, having taken marijuana, moved on to severe mental disorder. But that argument, to quote...