Professor of Law, Harvard University
Bemis Professor of Law at Harvard University and contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine; author of Divided by God: America's Church-State Problem--and What We Should Do About It and Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDRs Great Supreme Court Justices; former Senior Adviser for Constitutional Law to the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq
Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes heat for Trump comments Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg caught heat this week from both sides of the aisle for calling presidential candidate Donald Trump “a faker” who has “an ego.” Trump responded by calling Ginsberg a disgrace, tweeting, “her mind is shot – resign!” Americans expect members of the high court to avoid wading in political muck; but Ginsberg isn’t called “Notorious RBG” for nothing.
Reading the US Constitution, Then and Now The new Republican majority in the House, especially those with Tea Party backing, revere the US Constitution as the last word on American government. But what was read yesterday on the House floor was actually a redacted version, one omission being the reference to a slave as three fifths of a human being. The Founding Fathers themselves disagreed over fundamental principles, and ratification by all 13 colonies was a very close call. So why is the original document treated like holy writ? Did current arguments about government powers originate in 1776?
Language, Culture - and God - in Public Education With religious diversity on the increase, Christmas carols and crosses have raised controversies for America's public schools. But debate has been raised to a new level by an Arabic "themed" school in Brooklyn, New York and a Hebrew "charter" school in Hollywood, Florida. "Another school year, another round of controversy about religion in public education" reads an article in this coming Sunday's New York Times Nagazine about the two schools. Both schools say they will focus only on language and culture. Critics say it's inevitable they'll be teaching Islam and Judaism at taxpayer expense. It's question as old as the Constitution. Are there guidelines to help public schools from crossing the line that separates church and state?
New Stumbling Blocks for Crisis Diplomacy Just hours before his meeting with President Bush, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was hit by two challenges to his leadership of Iraq. The first was a leaked memo from National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley saying al-Maliki is either unwilling or unable to control sectarian violence; the second, withdrawal from al-Maliki's government by a key bloc of supporters led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. How damaged is al-Maliki's leadership of his own divided country? Would more American troops make a difference?
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.