If you’re a mayor, and you find yourself telling townspeople to report their neighbors for praying, it’s probably time to stop and ask: “Am I the bad guy?” But (as this video shows) the mayor of University Heights, OH, showed no signs of self-doubt when he did just that in 2021. His target was Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jewish resident who had invited friends to a Sabbath prayer meeting in his home. Daniel hoped to start a weekly prayer meeting for around a dozen men: a small prayer group known as a minyan. Because Orthodox Jews don’t drive on the Sabbath, the only men attending would be those near enough to come on foot. Traffic or parking in the neighborhood would be a non-issue. Most of us would find it absurd to suggest that hosting a weekly prayer group would turn one’s home into a “house of assembly”—or require a zoning permit. Hosting dinner parties doesn’t turn your home into a restaurant. A poker night doesn’t turn your home into a casino. And University Heights didn’t target secular gatherings like these. But as soon as the mayor learned of Daniel’s prayer invitation, he sent a “cease and desist” letter, telling Daniel he was forbidden to host prayer meetings without obtaining a special-use zoning permit. Daniel initially tried to comply with the city’s demand. He applied for the permit and pleaded his case at a contentious, three-hour public meeting. But later, he realized that the zoning framework in question was not designed for a private residence at all. In fact, the law makes it clear that if he were granted special use as a “house of assembly,” he and his family would no longer be permitted to live in their home. Daniel withdrew his application. But town officials continued to harass him, threatening him with criminal prosecution if he hosted prayer meetings. Neighbors were instructed to watch Daniel’s property for signs of religious activity. Police patrols began driving by his home. None of this is remotely acceptable under the First Amendment. Government officials cannot use zoning laws as a guise to target religious activity or chill religious worship. Daniel rightly filed a federal lawsuit. In court, the city argued that Daniel’s case should be dismissed because he had withdrawn his zoning permit application. He may only sue after his application is fully processed and denied, they said. The Sixth Circuit agreed. But here’s the truth: the city violated the Constitution much earlier. The moment they sent a “cease and desist” letter forcing Daniel to seek a permit to pray in his own home, they ran afoul of the First Amendment—and may be held accountable in court. If the Sixth Circuit’s ruling stands, local governments will be empowered to chill religious exercise—and discriminate against any disfavored viewpoint—simply by slow-walking their own zoning processes. That’s unacceptable. @ADFLegal, alongside our co-counsel, @Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, is honored to be representing Daniel Grand in his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case—Grand v. University Heights—is scheduled for conference this Thursday. Every American who cares about religious liberty and government accountability should be watching this case. And if you’re inclined, please say a prayer. No permit required.

These two giant turtles have been fighting each other for more than 120 years. According to the zoo, one turtle stole the other’s food 120 years ago, and since that day they became enemies. There hasn’t been a single day where they don’t fight for 2–3 minutes😂

Big abortion pharma claims they need an emergency stay because they will lose massive amounts of money if they can’t kill more babies quickly and efficiently by mail without medical oversight. The administrative stay is temporary, and I am confident life and the law will win in the end. #lalege #SCOTUS

I think of this a lot while on this website.

🔥NEW: Clarence Thomas — full remarks on progressivism, its foundations, history, and impact from his appearance at University of Texas at Austin: “Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao were all intertwined with the rise of progressivism, and all were opposed to the natural rights on which our Declaration is based.” "Many progressives expressed admiration for each of them shortly before their governments killed tens of millions of people." "It comes as no surprise that the progressives embraced eugenics... It was only a small step for Wilson to resegregate the federal workforce." "It was only another step for the government to launch sterilization programs on those deemed by the experts of the day to be unfit to reproduce." “European thinkers have long criticized America for remaining trapped in a Lockean world, with its weakened, decentralized government and strong individual rights. They say our 18th-century Declaration has prevented us from progressing to higher forms of government." "But we were fortunate not to trade our Lockean bonds for the supposedly enlightened world of Hegel, Marx, and their followers. Fascism, which after all was national socialism, triggered wars in Europe and Asia that killed tens of millions." "The socialism of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China proceeded to kill tens of millions more of their own people. This is what happens when natural rights give way to higher-good notions of history or progress, or, as Thomas Sowell has written, the visions of the anointed." "None of this, of course, was an improvement on the principles of the Declaration. Tocqueville's Democracy in America is largely about how America owed its superiority over Europe to its conscious decision to reject central planning and administrative rule, root and branch." "Progressivism, in other words, is retrogressive.”