Constitution

Cowtown Cops vs. the Constitution

If the FWPD Gets the First Amendment Wrong, They Can’t Be Trusted on the Fourth Fort Worth, Texas—Cowtown. The city that still carries the scent of stockyards and the stubborn spirit of independence. Yet this June, at Trinity Pride Fest, officers of the Fort Worth Police Department turned that proud legacy into a black mark. Multiple officers, including a supervisor, warned Christian street preachers that “offensive speech” could earn them tickets and that stepping onto public sidewalks risked arrest for trespassing. One preacher pressed: Could saying “homosexuality is a sin” or addressing a biological male as “sir” get him cited? Officers…

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The Birthright Citizenship Decision

How the Majority Rewrote the Fourteenth Amendment—and Why Congress Must Now Act The Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Barbara ranks among the most consequential rulings of the Term. In a 6-3 opinion by Chief Justice Roberts, the Court struck down President Trump’s Executive Order limiting birthright citizenship for children of parents who are unlawfully present or only temporarily in the United States. The majority held that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause demands automatic citizenship for virtually every child born on American soil, no matter their parents’ status. On the surface, the opinion gleams with scholarly polish—historical citations to Blackstone and…

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Why Mike Johnson’s Stand Matters

The House Fidelity to Framers’ Design In the raging battle over DHS funding and border enforcement, Speaker Mike Johnson is not merely holding a tough line — he is leading the House of Representatives to fulfill its precise constitutional purpose: acting as the energetic, popularly accountable check against a Senate that the 17th Amendment has nationalized and detached from the states the Framers intended it to protect. The fresh events of this weekend have laid the drama bare for anyone willing to see it. In a rare overnight session, the Senate under Majority Leader John Thune passed a unanimous consent deal…

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Your Blue Slip is Showing

The Blue Slip: Last Bastion or Final Betrayal of the Framers’ Senate? A Follow-Up to “Restore the Republican Soul of the Senate” In the sweltering summer of 1787, as the delegates to the Constitutional Convention debated the bones of the new republic in Philadelphia, one institution emerged as the deliberate brake on the wheels of government: the Senate. It was not born of compromise alone but of a profound suspicion of unchecked majorities. James Madison, scribbling notes in the margins of his copy of Montesquieu, envisioned an upper house that would "refine and enlarge the public views" while tethering them to…

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Restore the Republican Soul of the Senate

Repeal the 17th Amendment and Raise the Filibuster Threshold In an era where the U.S. Senate resembles a perpetual partisan battlefield more than the deliberative body envisioned by the Founders, it's time for bold restoration. The chamber, once a bastion of federalism and compromise, has devolved into a populist arena dominated by national fundraising machines and agenda-driven elites. This transformation has not only amplified gridlock but also eroded the core principles of our constitutional republic, where power is balanced between the federal government and the states. To reclaim its republican essence-prioritizing states' sovereignty, minority protections, and thoughtful governance-we must repeal the…

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Trump is Wrong on Loan Forgiveness

Trump’s Expansion of Loan Forgiveness: An Originalist and Principled Critique The Trump administration’s October 2025 decision to process $400 billion in student debt cancellation for 30 million borrowers under the Higher Education Act (HEA) represents a significant act of executive overreach. By accelerating forgiveness through adjustments to income-driven repayment (IDR) plans-reducing timelines to as little as 10 years for many-the Department of Education has revived and broadened a framework originally developed under prior administrations. This move comes despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Biden v. Nebraska, which invalidated a comparable $430 billion plan for lacking explicit congressional authorization. As an…

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Trump’s Troop Pay Directive

Trump’s Troop Pay Directive: Executive Authority, Legal Maneuvering, and the Politics of Shutdown Survival In the midst of a federal government shutdown that began on October 1, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a directive to War Secretary Pete Hegseth, instructing him to redirect available funds to ensure that the October 15 paychecks for approximately 1.3 million active-duty troops are issued on time. This move, amounting to a roughly $4 billion infusion, draws from multi-year Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) funds to cover Military Personnel (MILPERS) accounts, bypassing the freeze on new spending imposed by the lack of a fiscal year…

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Restoring Hamiltonian Vigor

Implications of a Supreme Court Sweep Victory for Trump in Reviving the Pre-Watergate Presidency As the Supreme Court's 2025-26 term commences on Monday, October 6, 2025-less than two weeks from today-the timing could not be more urgent or consequential. With President Trump's aggressive executive actions already sparking a flurry of lower-court battles over firings, tariffs, and agency overhauls, the Court's docket arrives amid a high-stakes constitutional showdown. This term's focus on presidential authority promises to define the boundaries of executive power in real time, directly influencing ongoing policy battles and the administration's "drain the swamp" agenda. Rooted in Alexander Hamilton's timeless…

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The AI Moratorium is Unconstitutional

Constitutional Concerns Surrounding the AI Moratorium in the Senate Budget Reconciliation Bill Introduction The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has introduced novel challenges to child safety online, particularly through AI-generated content like deepfake pornography and harmful chatbot interactions. States have historically played a critical role in regulating content to protect minors, as affirmed by the Supreme Court’s decision in Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton (606 U.S. (2025)), which upheld Texas’s H.B. 1181, a law requiring age verification for websites hosting content deemed obscene for minors. However, a proposed 10-year moratorium on state AI laws, embedded in the U.S.…

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Paxton Decision Affirms State Power to Shield Kids from Online Pornography

An Originalist Victory in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton, 606 U.S. ___, upheld Texas’s H.B. 1181, a law requiring age verification for websites with material deemed “obscene for minors.” From an originalist perspective, interpreting the Constitution by its 1791 public meaning, this ruling affirms state authority to protect societal welfare while honoring the First Amendment’s core protections. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas and joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, applied intermediate scrutiny, aligning with the Founding-era…

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