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Freedom From Religion Foundation: Okla. Plaintiffs Urge Federal Court to Uphold Rejection of Religious Public Charter School
MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 6 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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Okla. plaintiffs urge federal court to uphold rejection of religious public charter school
A group of seven Oklahoma taxpayers today urged a federal court to uphold the state's rejection of an attempt to open the nation's first religious public charter school. The intervenors are represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Education
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MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 6 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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Okla. plaintiffs urge federal court to uphold rejection of religious public charter school
A group of seven Oklahoma taxpayers today urged a federal court to uphold the state's rejection of an attempt to open the nation's first religious public charter school. The intervenors are represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union and the EducationLaw Center.
At a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, attorneys for this group of taxpayers -- which includes families with children attending public schools, teachers and clergy -- argued that allowing the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation to operate a religious public charter school would be a clear violation of state and federal law that defines charter schools as public schools that must be secular and open to all students. Ben Gamla is seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow it to open while its lawsuit, National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation Inc. v. Shellem, proceeds. The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board rejected the school's application, which made clear that Jewish religious teachings would be integrated into "every dimension of ... life" at the school, including classroom instruction and other activities. Charter schools, like all public schools, cannot lawfully indoctrinate religion or discriminate.
The Oklahoma taxpayers who were granted intervenor status to participate in the lawsuit oppose Ben Gamla's effort to force Oklahoma to authorize and fund an unconstitutional religious public charter school. They object to their tax dollars funding a public charter school that will indoctrinate students into a particular religion. The intervenors also object to public funds being diverted from their nonreligious and inclusive public schools - which already face serious resource limitations - to a religious school that plans to discriminate based on religion.
Americans United attorneys Alex J. Luchenitser, associate vice president and associate legal director, and Luke Anderson, constitutional litigation fellow, argued on their behalf during today's hearing. In addition to opposing Ben Gamla's request for a preliminary injunction, the attorneys argued against a request by Ben Gamla to block the intervenors from obtaining documents and other information about the school's planned operations. The attorneys representing the intervenors also include Nancy A. Noet and Samuel T. Grover of the Freedom From Religion Foundation; Brent Rowland and Morgan Bandy of the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice; Dan Mach and Heather L. Weaver of the ACLU; and Jessica Levin, Wendy Lecker, Patrick Cremin and Katrina Reichert of the Education Law Center.
"The federal court should rule according to constitutional principles," says Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "A religious public charter school has no place in our secular public education system."
"We urge the court to protect all Oklahomans' religious freedom and affirm that this religious public charter school violates Oklahoma law and the U.S. Constitution," says Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser. "Oklahoma public school families, Jewish leaders, and taxpayers have spoken - they want their public schools to remain open to all beliefs."
"Oklahoma has been down this road. Our courts said charter schools are public schools, and public schools don't teach religion -- that's still the law here, and it doesn't change because a different faith is asking this time. Our clients want that principle applied evenly, which is the only way it protects anyone," says Brent Rowland, executive director, Oklahoma Appleseed.
"We're urging the court to reaffirm the time-honored, core legal principle that public schools can't be religious and religious schools can't be public schools," says Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. "That foundational idea has been crucial to protect both religious liberty and public education for so long, and there's simply no reason to abandon it now."
"It should be beyond question that every part of our public education system must be open and welcoming to all students," says Robert Kim, executive director of Education Law Center. "Our clients are standing up for the values that define not just our public schools but our democracy as well."
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a religious freedom advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, AU educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. Learn more at www.au.org.
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The Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is a 501(c)3 public interest law firm that fights for the rights and opportunities of every Oklahoman.
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Education Law Center (ELC) pursues justice and equity for public school students by enforcing their right to a high-quality education in safe, equitable, non-discriminatory, integrated, and well-funded learning environments. ELC seeks to support and improve public schools as the center of communities and the foundation of a multicultural and multiracial democratic society. Visit edlawcenter.org.
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For more than 100 years, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has worked in courts, legislatures, and communities to protect the constitutional rights of all people. With a nationwide network of offices and millions of members and supporters, the ACLU takes on the toughest civil liberties fights in pursuit of liberty and justice for all.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/okla-plaintiffs-urge-federal-court-to-uphold-rejection-of-religious-public-charter-school/
[Category: Religion]
Foundation for Economic Education Issues Commentary: Who Decides What Makes A "Good" School?
DETROIT, Michigan, Aug. 6 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary by Education Entrepreneurship Lab Director Kerry McDonald:
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Who Decides What Makes A "Good" School?
Why a decentralized market is the solution for schooling.
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I recently stayed in an Airbnb for the first time. I was visiting my older daughter in Milwaukee, where she was doing a summer undergraduate math fellowship at UWM. I generally prefer hotels, but there weren't any near the university, so I downloaded the Airbnb app and began searching for a spot to stay. I looked at proximity, price,
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DETROIT, Michigan, Aug. 6 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary by Education Entrepreneurship Lab Director Kerry McDonald:
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Who Decides What Makes A "Good" School?
Why a decentralized market is the solution for schooling.
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I recently stayed in an Airbnb for the first time. I was visiting my older daughter in Milwaukee, where she was doing a summer undergraduate math fellowship at UWM. I generally prefer hotels, but there weren't any near the university, so I downloaded the Airbnb app and began searching for a spot to stay. I looked at proximity, price,and pictures to find a good fit. I ruled out some places based on tangible reasons, such as a lack of air conditioning, but also on intangible ones. I couldn't quite say why I didn't like certain spots, but I didn't. They just weren't for me. As I narrowed down my options, I scanned customer reviews and ratings to see what others thought of my finalists. Some of their assessments of quality mattered to me; others didn't. Then, I took the leap and booked my stay. It was a lovely home in a great location and I would happily return.
This experience got me thinking more about how we make choices in our lives. We all have distinct needs and preferences. Some of us like pickup trucks; others like Priuses. Some of us demand Dunkin' coffee (me!); others swear by Starbucks. Some of us prefer to live in the city; others in the suburbs. Some of us like to read mystery novels; others prefer science fiction. Some of us want one type of Airbnb experience; others prefer something else. We are all different, and that diversity is what makes our society so dynamic.
It's also why decentralization is crucial. No top-down policy could possibly satisfy all of our individual needs and preferences, and imposing such a policy would understandably breed discontent. As the Nobel Prize-winning economist Friedrich Hayek writes in The Road to Serfdom: "Our freedom of choice in a competitive society rests on the fact that, if one person refuses to satisfy our wishes, we can turn to another."
In education, we are thankfully starting to see the choice, variety, and abundance we enjoy in all other parts of our lives where market competition prevails. As education entrepreneurs launch new K-12 schools and learning spaces, and as the expansion of school-choice programs makes these learning environments more accessible, families are increasingly able to find an educational setting that satisfies their wishes, or turn to another when needed.
Like an Airbnb stay, that satisfaction is highly subjective. For some families, a school that satisfies their wishes is one that prioritizes rigorous, rote academics; for others, it could be a school where their kids spend most of the day outside, playing in nature. For many, it's likely somewhere in between.
I met a mom who recently enrolled her son in a private high school whose stated pillars are athletics, faith, and academics. In that order. Some families might choose schools with those three pillars in a different order, while others will choose different pillars altogether. In a free society, freedom of choice is paramount.
All of us will have our educational wishes satisfied in myriad ways, which is why we should be leery when politicians and policymakers seek to impose one-size-fits-all school-accountability requirements or other top-down metrics of educational "quality," such as student performance on standardized tests. This holds true for both public schools and private schools, including emerging ones and those participating in school-choice programs.
Some families value standardized test scores--the often-touted tool of education central planners--when choosing schools, but many do not. Polling from EdChoice finds that out of 14 reasons why parents chose their child's current school, including public, private, charter, and homeschool, test scores ranked near the bottom of parents' priorities. Other factors--such as proximity and peer socialization for public school parents, and safety and academic quality for private-school, homeschool, and charter-school parents--were cited as the top reasons for choosing a particular school.
As the economist Thomas Sowell reminds us in Knowledge and Decisions: "The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best." In education, that decision rests with parents, not policymakers. Look at their revealed preferences--where parents choose to enroll their children when given options--as the primary metric for educational quality and accountability. Which schools and learning spaces are growing, and which are shrinking? Which educational models are increasingly sought after, and which are stagnating?
In Massachusetts, for example, Boston University researchers found that enrollment is down 2% in traditional public schools, while it is up 14% in private schools and up an astonishing 45% in homeschooling, compared with pre-pandemic rates. That's in a state without any private-school-choice programs. In choice-friendly Florida, where all K-12 students are eligible for an education savings account (ESA) of around $8,000 a year, more than half of students attend a school other than their assigned district school, with private schools and homeschools seeing particularly strong increases.
The path toward greater educational freedom for families is widening, despite ever-present centralizing and standardizing forces--including from some proponents of school-choice policies who think they know what makes a "good" school. To keep those forces at bay, we should encourage entrepreneurship and competition to expand education options and enhance consumer choice. We should favor decentralized decision-making over top-down planning. We should accept that some schools will close because they do not satisfy the wishes of their consumers, and recognize that as a sign of a healthy education marketplace. We should acknowledge that school "quality" is in the eyes of the consumer, and each of us will define it differently based on our own unique needs and preferences.
Finally, to unlock greater educational freedom and individual flourishing, we should, as FEE founder Leonard Read urged, have "a faith in free people." We should trust that parents--not politicians or pundits--know what is best for their children's education and should have the freedom to choose. "Freedom is impossible without this faith," said Read.
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Kerry McDonald is a Director, Education Entrepreneurship Lab and Senior Fellow at FEE, where she leads the Education Entrepreneurship Lab and hosts the LiberatED podcast. She is also the Velinda Jonson Family Education Fellow at State Policy Network, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a regular contributor at Forbes.com and The 74. Kerry is the bestselling author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press, 2019), and the author of the forthcoming book, Joyful Learning: How To Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling (Hachette/PublicAffairs, 2025).
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/who-decides-what-makes-a-good-school/
FFRF Prompts Removal of Religious Displays From Michigan Classroom
MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 6 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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FFRF prompts removal of religious displays from Michigan classroom
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has persuaded Michigan's Zeeland Public Schools to remove numerous religious displays from an elementary school classroom.
A concerned community member informed the state/church watchdog that a Spanish immersion teacher at Lincoln Elementary School had displayed several religious messages and religious books. The displays included bible verses in Spanish, the Ten Commandments, Christian
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 6 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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FFRF prompts removal of religious displays from Michigan classroom
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has persuaded Michigan's Zeeland Public Schools to remove numerous religious displays from an elementary school classroom.
A concerned community member informed the state/church watchdog that a Spanish immersion teacher at Lincoln Elementary School had displayed several religious messages and religious books. The displays included bible verses in Spanish, the Ten Commandments, Christianbooks, a cross-decorated box and multiple bibles available to students. It was unclear whether these materials were also being used in lessons or highlighted during independent reading time.
FFRF stood up for student rights, demanding that the district investigate the situation immediately.
"The district has an obligation under the law to ensure its teachers are not violating the rights of its students by proselytizing or using their position to push their personal religious beliefs," FFRF Patrick O'Reiley Legal Fellow Charlotte R. Gude wrote to Superintendent Rod Hetherton.
FFRF reminded the district that parents -- not public school teachers -- have the constitutional right to direct their children's exposure to religion, if any. Displaying Christian Scripture and iconography in a public school classroom conveys official favoritism toward religion and Christianity specifically, and may coerce students into engaging with religious messages they cannot reasonably avoid.
Following FFRF's letter, Superintendent Hetherton confirmed in an email that the displays had been properly dealt with.
"The principal had a conversation with the teacher. The principal formalized the conversation in writing," Hetherton wrote. "The teacher removed the religious artifacts from the classroom."
FFRF is pleased to see positive action to remedy a serious constitutional violation of the rights of conscience of a captive audience of elementary-school aged children.
"The language of instruction may be in Spanish, but the constitutional principle remains the same," FFRF Co-President Dan Barker says. "Parents entrust public schools to educate their children, not to promote religious doctrine through classroom decor. Whether a bible verse reads 'The Lord is my shepherd' or 'El Senor es mi pastor,' the Constitution requires public schools to remain neutral on matters of religion. Students deserve classrooms devoted to education, not religious proselytization."
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With over 41,000 members across the country, including more than 1,100 members in Michigan, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-prompts-removal-of-religious-displays-from-michigan-classroom/
[Category: Religion]
YMCA of the USA and The Jed Foundation Collaborate on Comprehensive, Community-Based Mental Health Support for Young People
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 5 -- The Jed Foundation issued the following news release:
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YMCA of the USA and The Jed Foundation Collaborate on Comprehensive, Community-Based Mental Health Support for Young People
The new national partnership will bring expert technical assistance, coaching, and crisis planning to local YMCAs and their youth through training, resources, and strategic guidance.
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[New York City and Chicago] -- The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults, today announced a new national partnership
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BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 5 -- The Jed Foundation issued the following news release:
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YMCA of the USA and The Jed Foundation Collaborate on Comprehensive, Community-Based Mental Health Support for Young People
The new national partnership will bring expert technical assistance, coaching, and crisis planning to local YMCAs and their youth through training, resources, and strategic guidance.
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[New York City and Chicago] -- The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults, today announced a new national partnershipwith YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community by empowering young people, improving the health and well-being of people of all ages, and inspiring action in and across communities. The Y now joins a growing network of 22 community-based organizations (CBOs) representing 8.5 million young people, all working alongside JED to improve youth mental health, reduce suicide risk, and foster environments where young people can thrive.
JED's partnership with the Y meets a critical need by reaching young people who may face barriers to care and limited access to resources, and who are at greater risk for suicide. Youth come to the Y and other community-based organizations with a wide variety of backgrounds and lived experiences. By fostering connectedness and belonging within the spaces young people already trust, organizations can help create conditions that support well-being and enable youth to reach their full potential.
For 175 years, the Y has been a cornerstone of community life, creating spaces where meaningful connections help individuals and families flourish, serving more than 18 million members across 2,600+ locations reaching 10,000 communities. Each year, millions of children and teens participate in the Y programs, including early learning, afterschool programs, day and overnight camps, youth sports, teen programs, swim instruction, and more.
"With a presence in communities from coast to coast, the Y has a unique opportunity to support the emotional well-being of young people and their families where they live, learn, and grow," said Ebone' Mitchell, director of teen strategy at Y-USA. "Partnering with JED means investing in a proactive, comprehensive approach to mental health and suicide prevention -- one that equips our staff, volunteers, and leaders to strengthen connections and build environments where every young person feels a sense of belonging, possibility, and purpose."
During the 18-month technical assistance program, JED will collaborate with Y-USA to assess their practices related to mental health and well-being, including existing policies, programs, and practices; identifying strengths and opportunities for growth in mental health promotion and suicide prevention strategies; establishing goals and implementation strategies; and developing measurable benchmarks to track progress and evaluate impact through JED's CBO technical assistance programming.
"For generations, community-based organizations like the Y have been a trusted presence in communities, creating spaces where young people and families can build connection, develop resilience, and thrive," said Kiana Davis, JED's Senior Director of Community Initiatives. "JED is proud to welcome the Y into our community-based programming to further embed mental health and well-being into the Y's existing programs, practices, and systems nationwide. Together, we're building stronger, more connected communities where mental health support is woven into the places people already know and trust."
JED is dedicated to making programming and support accessible to all organizations. Email community@jedfoundation.org to learn more about fee structures and funding opportunities.
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About the Y
Driven by its founding mission, the Y has served as a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community for more than 175 years. The Y empowers everyone, no matter who they are or where they're from, by ensuring access to resources, relationships, and opportunities for all to learn, grow and thrive. By bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and generations, the Y's goal is to improve overall health and well-being, ignite youth empowerment and demonstrate the importance of connections in and across 10,000 communities nationwide. Learn more at ymca.org.
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About The Jed Foundation
JED is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation's teens and young adults. We're partnering with high schools, colleges, school districts, and youth-serving community-based organizations to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. We're equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. We're encouraging community awareness, understanding, and action for young adult mental health.
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Original text here: https://jedfoundation.org/ymca-of-the-usa-and-the-jed-foundation-collaborate-on-comprehensive-community-based-mental-health-support-for-young-people/
Foundation for Economic Education Posts Commentary Entitled 'Brexit, Ten Years On'
DETROIT, Michigan, Aug. 5 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following commentary by Mark Nayler, freelance journalist and critic based in Malaga, Spain:
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Brexit, Ten Years On
The mixed effects on the UK of its historic decision to leave the EU.
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In the run-up to the UK's referendum on EU membership in June 2016, extravagant claims were made by both the Remain and Leave campaigns. Leaving the EU, the so-called Remainers warned, would propel the UK into recession and mass unemployment. Brexiteers, as they were dubbed, countered with promises of enhanced sovereignty, tighter
... Show Full Article
DETROIT, Michigan, Aug. 5 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following commentary by Mark Nayler, freelance journalist and critic based in Malaga, Spain:
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Brexit, Ten Years On
The mixed effects on the UK of its historic decision to leave the EU.
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In the run-up to the UK's referendum on EU membership in June 2016, extravagant claims were made by both the Remain and Leave campaigns. Leaving the EU, the so-called Remainers warned, would propel the UK into recession and mass unemployment. Brexiteers, as they were dubbed, countered with promises of enhanced sovereignty, tighterborders, and liberation from Brussels's stifling bureaucracy. The latter won the Brexit vote (as it came to be known) by 52% to 48%. But just over a decade on from that historic decision--and six and a half years since the UK officially left the bloc--it's less clear whether they also won the argument.
This is in large part because of geopolitical turmoil since the vote. Throughout the last decade, there has been a global pandemic, Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine (which, in turn, caused an energy crisis across Europe), and Donald Trump has waged a series of tariff wars across the world. The difficulty of disentangling the effects of these events on the UK economy from those caused by Brexit is formidable. One analyst has even said that "we will never know precisely what the impacts of Brexit were."
Overall, however, the sweeping transformations predicted by both Brexiteers and Remainers--positive in the former case, negative in the latter--have not occurred. The actual changes have been less dramatic, more gradual, and more mixed than either side forecast. One also has to factor in the UK's lack of a stable leadership since the vote: when Labor's Andy Burnham took over from Keir Starmer on July 20, he became the UK's 7th prime minister in 10 years. This, perhaps, has so far prevented the theoretical autonomy now possessed by the UK from being fully realized. According to a poll conducted in June, 57% of Britons now believe that it was a mistake to leave the EU--meaning there are a lot of dissatisfied Brexiteers out there.
Remainers forecast economic ruin for the UK if it chose to leave the EU. According to the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, "A vote to leave would represent an immediate and profound shock to our economy [and] that shock would push our economy into a recession." A recession failed to materialize, although the pound suffered its biggest-ever one-day drop on June 24, 2016, the day after the vote, falling 10% against the dollar and 7% against the euro (it still hasn't returned to its pre-Brexit values against either currency, although Trump's tariff wars and the pandemic are also factors here). That said, researchers broadly agree that Britain's economy has contracted due to Brexit. According to a 2025 paper for the US National Bureau of Economic Research, UK GDP per capita is 6-8% lower than it would have been had the UK remained in the EU. Investment is down by 12-13%, employment by 3-4%, and productivity has been reduced by about 4%, according to its authors.
Immigration was a major theme of the Leave campaign. The UK Independence Party's widely criticized poster showed a large group of Syrian refugees at the Croatia-Slovenia border in 2015, next to a massive slogan reading "Breaking Point"--and, underneath it, in smaller letters, "The EU has failed us all." The center-right party was playing to concerns about a surge in migration over the decade and a half preceding the referendum, triggered by EU enlargements in 2004,when ten new countries joined, and in 2007. In 2000, migration to the UK from other EU countries stood at 6,000, but by 2015 it had risen to 330,000. In 2015 and 2016 alone, more than a million migrants arrived in Britain. According to a poll conducted on the day of the referendum, 33% of Leave voters said the main reason for their decision was a belief that leaving the EU "offered the best chance for the UK to regain control over immigration and its own borders." It seems the poster had done its job.
The composition of Britain's migrant population has changed radically since Brexit, with an increase in non-EU migration more than compensating for the reduction in arrivals from the EU. But immigration has not decreased. In fact, the UK has witnessed record levels of immigration over the last decade. In the year ending March 2023, just over three years after Britain's withdrawal from the bloc, net migration peaked at 944,000.
Here, though, the effects of Brexit are hard to separate from those of the pandemic, after which the UK government liberalized immigration rules to boost a stricken labor market. Humanitarian routes for Syrians and Hongkongers were introduced, the skilled worker visa was extended to include medium-skilled jobs, hospitals were incentivized to hire migrant over British nurses, and an attractive new Graduate Visa came into existence. One recent study estimates that Brexit reduced the number of EU-born employees in the UK by approximately 800,000 and increased the number of non-EU-born employees by almost a million.
Irregular migration--the focal point of many Brexiteers' concerns ahead of the vote--has also increased. In 2018, just 299 people were found crossing the English Channel in small boats, a figure that peaked at over 45,000 in 2022. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began in February of that year, undoubtedly contributed to that spike; but whatever the causes of illegal migration, the UK now has less control over undocumented arrivals than it did before leaving the EU--mainly the result of losing access to the Dublin Convention on returns. Nor can British authorities use the SIS II database anymore, making it more difficult for them to detect criminality among illegal arrivals (UK law enforcement consulted SIS II 600 million times in 2019).
Also contrary to the promises of Brexiteers, bureaucracy has increased. David Cameron, the Conservative prime minister who authorized the referendum (a Remainer who resigned after the vote), aggressively downsized the UK's civil service until 2016, with one minister saying it was at its smallest since World War II. But it has since expanded again to cope with the regulatory challenges of leaving the EU. (Ironically, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Conservative heavyweights such as Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Cockfield advocated joining the EU's Common Market to reduce regulatory burdens on the UK economy.)
British companies now face complex customs procedures and rules-of-origin requirements when dealing with their European counterparts, despite not having to pay any tariffs. Trade has slowed as a result. According to the UK's Office for National Statistics, UK exports to and imports from the EU in 2025 were down 14% and 10%, respectively, compared to 2019 (although services exports from Britain to Europe have boomed over the last decade). Nor has there been a clean divergence from the EU's legal systems, with one expert saying that "large swathes of EU law are still on the [UK] statute book"--again, despite the assurance of Brexiteers that Brussels would no longer dictate law to London.
Burnham, the UK's new leftist prime minister, believes that Brexit was "damaging." Although he's said that he would like to see the UK rejoin the EU within his lifetime, he has also stressed that he has no intention of trying to make that happen himself. Remainers who forecast an economic disaster that never came might not be too bothered about that, but one wonders if the most disillusioned Brexiteers are quietly disappointed.
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Mark Nayler is a freelance journalist and critic based in Malaga, Spain. He writes regularly for The Spectator and Times Literary Supplement and is working on a biography of the philosopher Bryan Magee, due to be published by Bloomsbury (London) in 2028.
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/brexit-ten-years-on/
A New Chapter: Lisa's Journey with Scleroderma and Lung Transplantation
DANVERS, Massachusetts, Aug. 5 -- The National Scleroderma Foundation posted the following news:
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A New Chapter: Lisa's Journey with Scleroderma and Lung Transplantation
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For more than 20 years, Lisa dedicated her career to helping children learn and grow. A Tampa-area teacher, wife, and mother of two daughters, she spent much of her career at Bevis Elementary School, making a difference in the lives of countless students and families along the way.
Behind her commitment to her students, Lisa was also facing an increasingly difficult battle with diffuse scleroderma and interstitial lung
... Show Full Article
DANVERS, Massachusetts, Aug. 5 -- The National Scleroderma Foundation posted the following news:
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A New Chapter: Lisa's Journey with Scleroderma and Lung Transplantation
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For more than 20 years, Lisa dedicated her career to helping children learn and grow. A Tampa-area teacher, wife, and mother of two daughters, she spent much of her career at Bevis Elementary School, making a difference in the lives of countless students and families along the way.
Behind her commitment to her students, Lisa was also facing an increasingly difficult battle with diffuse scleroderma and interstitial lungdisease.
As her condition progressed, everyday life became more challenging. She became dependent on supplemental oxygen and eventually required a feeding tube due to complications from the disease. Still, she continued serving her students and community for as long as her health allowed.
Earlier this month, after years of uncertainty and declining health, Lisa and her family received the call they had been waiting for: donor lungs were available.
At UF Health, she underwent an approximately 11-hour double lung transplant and heart bypass surgery. The complex procedure marked the beginning of a new chapter, one filled with renewed possibility, but also a long road of healing and rehabilitation.
Through every stage of her journey, Lisa has demonstrated extraordinary strength and determination. That same spirit has inspired the many people whose lives she has touched, both inside and outside the classroom.
As her family shares updates about her recovery, former students, coworkers, friends, and community members have rallied around them with an incredible outpouring of encouragement and support. Their response is a reflection of the lasting impact Lisa has made throughout her career and within her community.
For families affected by scleroderma, stories like Lisa's also highlight the serious complications that can accompany the disease. Interstitial lung disease, which causes inflammation and scarring in the lungs, can make breathing increasingly difficult and is one of the most significant health challenges faced by some people living with systemic scleroderma.
Today, Lisa is focused on recovery, surrounded by the family and community that have stood beside her throughout her journey. Although the path ahead will take time, her courage, perseverance, and dedication to others continue to shine through.
The National Scleroderma Foundation is honored to share Lisa's story and joins her family, friends, students, and community in sending strength and encouragement as she begins this next chapter.
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Original text here: https://scleroderma.org/a-new-chapter-lisas-journey-with-scleroderma-and-lung-transplantation/
'God Front and Center': FFRF Condemns Blanche's Shocking Christian Nationalist Views
MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 5 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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'God front and center': FFRF condemns Blanche's shocking Christian nationalist views
A highly alarming aspect of Todd Blanche's record is being overshadowed as he appears headed toward confirmation as U.S. attorney general.
Blanche has explicitly embraced Christian nationalism and has been determined to use the Justice Department to privilege conservative Christianity. Although Blanche's nomination has drawn scrutiny over ethics concerns and his close ties to President Trump, the Freedom
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 5 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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'God front and center': FFRF condemns Blanche's shocking Christian nationalist views
A highly alarming aspect of Todd Blanche's record is being overshadowed as he appears headed toward confirmation as U.S. attorney general.
Blanche has explicitly embraced Christian nationalism and has been determined to use the Justice Department to privilege conservative Christianity. Although Blanche's nomination has drawn scrutiny over ethics concerns and his close ties to President Trump, the FreedomFrom Religion Foundation warns that his intent to unite religion and government deserves equal attention. It is shocking that Blanche declared, during a July 30 call organized by the White House Faith Office, that his goal is to ensure that "God is front and center again" in America and that "being a Christian in this country ... is actually a benefit." FFRF is urging senators and the public not to ignore Blanche's un-American objective to transform the Justice Department into a vehicle for advancing religion.
"Blanche's words are not those of someone committed to equally serving Americans of every faith -- as well as the nearly one-third of U.S. adults who are free from religion," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "They're the words of a zealot who views the government as a tool to elevate Christianity. The attorney general's duty is to uphold the Constitution and equal justice under the law, not to put God 'front and center.'"
Blanche's rhetoric has already been reflected in his actions, FFRF asserts.
Under Blanche's leadership as acting attorney general, the Justice Department has issued sweeping new guidance on religious liberty. While portrayed as protecting religious freedom, the updated memorandum dramatically expands religious exemptions and privileges while weakening longstanding First Amendment protections.
The guidance embraces a controversial "history and tradition test" for interpreting the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, echoing claims by Christian nationalists that America was founded as a Christian nation. It broadly authorizes religious activity by federal employees in the workplace, rejects efforts to remove government endorsements of religion from public life, expands access to taxpayer funding for religious organizations and significantly strengthens religious accommodation claims against employers and federal agencies.
The guidance also directs federal agencies to proactively advance religious liberty in policymaking, broadens protections for religious organizations that discriminate in hiring and contracting, and threatens government officials with personal liability under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act for decisions that allegedly burden religion. According to FFRF, the cumulative effect is to institutionalize Christian privilege while steadily eroding the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.
Blanche's public statements reinforce that goal.When the nation's chief law enforcement officer says his goal is to ensure Christians enjoy special favor, Americans should take him at his word.
If confirmed, Todd Blanche would assume enormous authority over civil rights enforcement, constitutional litigation and the federal government's interpretation of religious liberty. His own words make clear that Americans should expect an attorney general committed to advancing a Christian nationalist agenda.
"FFRF has spent nearly 50 years defending the First Amendment against government-sponsored religion, and we will continue to vigorously oppose every unconstitutional effort by the Justice Department to dismantle the wall of separation protecting American freedom of conscience," adds Gaylor.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With more than 40,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/god-front-and-center-ffrf-condemns-blanches-shocking-christian-nationalist-views/
[Category: Religion]
