The director of the National Park Service said Tuesday that U.S. Park Police will “very soon” begin enforcing a no-camping law at McPherson Square but that the Occupy D.C. movement has a prevailing First Amendment right to continue its vigil there. Read full article > >

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Park Service says it will begin enforcing ‘no-camping’ law for Occupy D.C. protesters at McPherson Square

The Supreme Court ruled for the first time Wednesday that federal discrimination laws do not protect employees of religious organizations who perform “ministerial” duties. The court ruled unanimously that the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion dictates the organizations “be free to choose those who will guide it on its way.” Read full article > >

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Supreme Court: Discrimination laws do not protect certain employees of religious groups

WINDHAM, N.H. It isn’t every day that political candidates are asked whether the 10th Amendment allows states to nullify federal laws, but that was precisely the question Rick Santorum faced at a forum here a few days ago organized by a libertarian-leaning group. To his credit, Santorum did not pander to the nullifier. “We had a Civil War about nullification,” Santorum said with a smile. “I’m not sure I want to go there.” Read full article > >

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GOP candidates in circular firing squad

The beer is good, but the 12-ounce can is a real hoot. Collaborators Shaun O’Sullivan and Nico Freccia of 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco and Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi Brewing Co . in Eugene, Ore., have photo-shopped their faces unto the famous picture of Churchill , Roosevelt and Stalin seated at the Yalta Conference in 1945. The side of the can is designed to resemble a 1940s-era newspaper with a banner headline screaming, Allies Win the War! (which happens to be the name of the beer). Read full article > >

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Allies Win the War!: A beer for the greater good?

To avoid lengthy treaty amendment process.

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Euro Zone May Change Budget Rules

Abortion rights supporters cheering over the defeat of the “personhood” amendment in Mississippi tend to see last week’s vote as a clear-cut setback for those who disagree with them on this hottest of hot-button issues. “The pro-choicers won handily,” Amanda Marcotte wrote in Slate . “I wonder if the Mississippi ‘personhood’ and Ohio union votes reflect an electoral shift in a more progressive direction,” tweeted New York Times columnist Nick Kristof . “Here was overreach by the right-to-life movement,” wrote Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne . Read full article > >

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Personhood amendment shows that ‘pro-life’ not a monolith, even on Roe v. Wade

A proposed amendment has rekindled an old debate, even provoking a stern warning from former Gov. Michael Dukakis, who signed the ban on happy hours 27 years ago.

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Massachusetts Mulls Letting Bars Offer Happy Hours

Personhood amendment seen as drawing in voters.

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Strong Early Turnout in Mississippi

A group of Prince George’s County residents who allege that the County Council secretly approved zoning legislation without a public hearing two years ago is engaged in a legal battle to overturn the measure. The residents say the council approved it without giving the public ample opportunity to state any objections. The bill, known as Subregion 5 Master Plan, included numerous sectional map amendments and would allow more development in some rural parts of the county, dramatically altering the area’s landscape. Read full article > >

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Prince George’s County residents say zoning measure approved without a public hearing

It was a notable political misstep for Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain: in a CNN interview, he remarked that abortion ought to be “a choice that the family or mother has to make.” Those comments forced Cain to spend last week attempting to shore up his anti-abortion credentials—an effort that included endorsing a Constitutional amendment to ban abortion. Read full article > >

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How abortion became a political litmus test

A case religious leaders and Second Amendment groups are closely watching hinges on whether keeping weapons out of houses of worship violates religious freedom.

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In Georgia, a Lawsuit Over Guns in Church

1. From Texas Gov. Rick Perry: “Not just the 16th and 17th Amendments — I want to get rid of a whole bunch of ‘em.” 2. From Mitt Romney: “RomneyCare — what did you expect? It’s Massachusetts , for goodness sakes!” 3. From Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.): “I’d love to have Sarah Palin as my VP!” Read full article > >

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Jennifer Rubin:
Ten things you won’t hear at the GOP debate

1. From Texas Gov. Rick Perry: “Not just the 16th and 17th Amendments — I want to get rid of a whole bunch of ‘em.” 2. From Mitt Romney: “RomneyCare — what did you expect? It’s Massachusetts , for goodness sakes!” 3. From Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.): “I’d love to have Sarah Palin as my VP!” Read full article > >

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Jennifer Rubin:
Ten things you won’t hear at the GOP debate

A friend and leading supporter of WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning said Wednesday he refused to testify before a grand jury, citing his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

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WikiLeaks witness takes the Fifth

On Monday, the House’s first day back in Washington following the explosion of the Anthony Weiner scandal , in some ways it was business as usual, in others not. Members took action on several amendments to an appropriations bill; committees met; and there was a buzz of activity in the Speaker’s Lobby, the long hallway just off the House floor where lawmakers and reporters often congregate during votes. Yet most of that buzz centered on the action off the floor – whether Weiner, a seven-term New York Democrat, should heed the calls from senior congressional Democrats and even the suggestion of President Obama to resign his seat in the wake of the lawmaker’s admission last week that he had repeatedly lied to cover up lewd photos and messages he sent to more than half a dozen women online. Read full article > >

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Weiner’s circle of friends, though ‘appalled’ by behavior, remains loyal