Free Republic

Court says Virginia Military Institute must stop prayer before supper. On April 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the tradition of voluntary supper prayer at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is an unconstitutional "establishment of religion." The unanimous decision for a three-judge panel was written by Judge Robert King, an appointee of President Bill Clinton. The Fourth Circuit covers North and South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. The court sits in Richmond, Virginia. It's not the first time a court has addressed VMI affairs. In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the...

It's good to know where politicians stand on important issues. Senate Democrats say they are filibustering Miguel Estrada's appeals-court nomination because they don't know enough about him. But wait, this week they said they will filibuster Priscilla Owen's nomination because they know everything about her. Nailing down a principle here is like nailing Jello to a tree in July. Miguel Estrada received the American Bar Association's highest "well qualified" rating. He appeared alone before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year for nearly seven hours, answering more than 100 questions. He properly refused to discuss his personal views on issues or...