Peter Vlaming lost his job teaching high school French because he could not refer to a transgender student according to the student’s preferred pronouns without violating his sincerely-held religious beliefs. Now, his lawsuit against the West Point school board is a prime example of why Americans must pay closer attention to religious freedom protections at the local and state level. Thankfully, Napa Legal Institute’s 2nd inaugural “Faith and Freedom Index” shows which states are lacking in religious freedom protections. It also provides a roadmap as to how state governments can strengthen these protections and best allow their citizens to flourish. Vlaming represents countless Americans who have been unlawfully punished for exercising their First Amendment rights, and who remain fearful about the future of the nation – especially in an uncertain election year. From preferred pronouns, abortion, and transgenderism to burdensome tax regimes and regulations, there are countless ways that people of faith are essentially being told to renounce their beliefs or step away from the public sphere altogether. Properly addressing these attacks goes far beyond federal elections and policies, however. Local and state governments often make the decisions that have the most direct consequences on American’s daily lives, from zoning and land use regulations to tax laws. And local institutions – churches, schools, charities – often make a greater impact on the lives of ordinary Americans than the White House and Congress. This means that those seeking to protect religious Americans from discrimination must focus more of their time and attention on the laws that help local institutions thrive, particularly the faith-based nonprofit organizations that do so much to benefit society. This is why this week, the Napa Legal Institute released the second annual Faith and Freedom Index, an unprecedented state law analysis. The Index looks at 14 types of state laws – from religious freedom restoration acts and employment laws to charitable registration laws and tax exemptions – and ranks all 50 states (plus Washington, D.C.) on their friendliness (or lack of friendliness) towards faith-based nonprofits. There are some results that are not surprising: Alabama and Indiana receive the highest overall scores in the country; Kansas, Texas, and Mississippi round out the top 5. But there are other results that do not quite fit the political narrative. Red states like South Dakota and West Virginia score in the bottom 10 for overall scores, while Oregon and California are both in the top 10 for regulatory freedom for faith-based nonprofits. The results do not fall on purely partisan lines. Some laws have changed for the better since Napa Legal first released the Index in June 2023. For example, several states (including Nebraska, Iowa, and Utah) have passed religious freedom restoration acts. These crucial laws, which are now in place in 28 states, protect the free exercise of religion against intrusions by “neutral” laws that may not directly target religion but that can seriously affect religious exercise in practice. Additionally, a major development took place in Virginia in December 2023, when the Virginia Supreme Court decided the Vlaming case. Vlaming’s case ultimately clarified that, under the Virginia Constitution, the free exercise of religion receives much stronger protection than the minimum required by the First Amendment. The Vlaming decision is an encouraging reminder that states have the ability to strengthen religious freedom protections and better support the work of faith-based nonprofits. Yet while it is encouraging to be able to highlight positive changes in state law, the fact that no state in the nation scores above a 72% on the Napa Legal Faith and Freedom Index means there is much more work to be done, even in states friendly to religion and to faith-based nonprofits. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28 State legislatures can do much to allow faith-based nonprofits to flourish within their states. They can create just employment and public accommodation laws that respect the beliefs and work of faith-based nonprofits. They can ensure that state of emergency laws do not violate the freedom of worship and religious exercise. They can enact corporate governance laws that respect the internal autonomy of religious organizations. And they can pass charitable registration laws and tax laws with proper exemptions for religious organizations, so that these nonprofits that do so much good for society can be free from unnecessary taxes, fees, paperwork, and administrative burdens that prevent them from accomplishing their missions. Local institutions in general and faith-based nonprofits in particular are a foundational part of a healthy society. While these institutions are formed privately by citizens of good will, the government plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the laws help rather than hinder the work of faith-based nonprofits. By reviewing the Faith and Freedom Index, passing laws that respect religious freedom, and eliminating burdensome regulations, state governments can do their part to achieve the common good and help our society to flourish. No American should be forced to lose his job because of his religious beliefs like Peter Vlaming did. Through a better understanding of where state religious freedom protections are lacking and the ways to address them, the Napa Legal Institute hopes to create an America where no one is prevented from or punished for living his faith. * * * Frank DeVito serves as Counsel at Napa Legal. Prior to his position at Napa Legal, he served as the full-time solicitor for the Carbon County, PA Children & Youth Services Agency and as an associate at the law firm of Lesavoy Butz & Seitz LLC. His written work has been published in the Penn State Online Law Review, The American Conservative, The Federalist, First Things Online, The Public Discourse, and several other publications. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Twice failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton claimed this week that former President Donald Trump was trying to reenact an infamous Nazi rally in the U.S. from the 1930s with one of his upcoming political events. Clinton made the inflammatory remarks Thursday night during an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when Collins asked Clinton if she believed Trump was a “fascist.” “You know, Kaitlan, I do,” Clinton said, later adding, “Sadly here in America, the term fits.” “And one other thing that you’ll see next week, Kaitlan, is Trump actually re-enacting the Madison Square Garden rally in 1939,” Clinton said. “President Franklin Roosevelt was appalled that neo-Nazis, fascists in America, were lining up to essentially pledge their support for the kind of government that they were seeing in Germany.” The New York Post noted that the venue hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1924, 1976, 1980, and 1992 — the year that former President Bill Clinton went on to win his first term in office. “So I don’t think we can ignore it. Now, it may be a leap for some people and a lot of others may think, I don’t want to go there,” she added. “I don’t want to say that. But please, open your eyes to the danger that this man poses to our country because I think it is clear and present for anybody paying attention.” MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28 Clinton’s remarks come as many, including Trump, have blamed extreme remarks from the political Left for the two assassination attempts on his life this year. WATCH: Crooked Hillary, increasingly bitter about the fact that she will never be president, says that everybody who attends President Trump’s rally at MSG on Sunday is a Nazi. pic.twitter.com/7cUXIlNuor — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 25, 2024 Related: ‘I Worked For John Kelly And Don’t Believe Him’: No One’s Buying Atlantic ‘Trump Loves Hitler’ Smear

Since October 7, roughly 40 Wikipedia editors have worked to “delegitimize Israel, present radical Islamist groups in a favorable light, and position fringe academic views on the Israel-Palestine conflict as mainstream over past years,” according to a new report. Dozens of editors of the Wikipedia site have coordinated to promote radical Islamist ideas and undercut the Jewish state on the popular online encyclopedia, according to Pirate Wires. In addition to the editors, the group Tech For Palestine made a similar push to propagandize Wikipedia’s pages, though the group stopped its efforts once they were discovered. “A separate but complementary campaign, launched after October 7 and staged from an 8,000 member-strong Discord group called Tech For Palestine (TFP), employed common tech modalities — ticket creation, strategy planning sessions, group audio ‘office hour’ chats — to alter over 100 articles,” according to the Pirate Wires report. “Type ‘Zionism’ into Wikipedia’s search box and, aside from the main article on Zionism (and a disambiguation page), the auto-fill returns: ‘Zionism as settler colonialism,’ ‘Zionism in the Age of the Dictators’ (a book by a pro-Palestinian Trotskyite), ‘Zionism from the Standpoint of its Victims,’ and ‘Racism in Israel,’” it added. Google grants Wikipedia a “most favored nation” status, allowing Wikipedia articles to be listed first on any topic-related search result, according to the report. “The recent issue with the ‘Zionism’ Wikipedia page is fundamentally a Google problem,” a source told Pirate Wires. “Wikipedia articles act as an unprotected back door to top Google search results, with the article’s introduction often populating the knowledge panel, giving the impression Google has vetted this content — when it hasn’t. Malicious editors exploit this vulnerability, platforming fringe views and giving them priority over more reliable sources.” The groups perpetrating this diabolical effort violate a guideline called Canvassing, which “prohibits secret coordination with the ‘intention of influencing the outcome of a discussion in a particular way,’” according to Pirate Wires. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28 “To skirt this, the pro-Palestine group leverages deep Wikipedia know-how to coordinate efforts without raising red flags,” the report explains. “They work in small clusters, with only two or three active in the same article at any given time. On their own, many of these edits appear minor, even trivial. But together, their scope is staggering, with two million edits made to more than 10,000 articles.” One example: an article about Hitler supporter Amin Al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem from the 1920s to the 1950s, that showed Al-Husseini touring a Nazi concentration camp, had the photo removed. Another example: an article called  “Zionism, race and genetics,” later changed to “Racial conceptions of Jewish identity in Zionism,” tried to tie Zionism’s roots to 19th-century views on “race science” embraced by the Nazis. A third example: an Iran-sympathizing editor edited an article on the Mahsa Amini protests to make it look like there was widespread support for the Iranian regime and “whitewash violent calls from pro-government counter-demonstrators,” according to Pirate Wires.

Doug Emhoff’s reputation faces scrutiny due to emerging accusations from an ex-girlfriend alleging misconduct during their brief relationship. Serious Allegations Surface Doug Emhoff’s ex-girlfriend, a New York attorney, has made claims that challenge the public image of Kamala Harris’ husband. According to her, Emhoff slapped her during an event in France in 2012. She has described the relationship as controlling and marked by infidelity, sparking concerns about the congruity between Emhoff’s public and private personas. Emhoff denies these allegations, with his spokesperson affirming he has never hit a woman. Despite the denial, there is currently no official statement from Emhoff directly addressing the accusations. The ex-girlfriend claims Emhoff had an affair with his children’s teacher, who allegedly miscarried due to the stress caused by Emhoff. Doug Emhoff Spokesman Denies Second Gentleman Assaulted His Ex-Girlfriend https://t.co/pmUm8qW8Xw — Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 3, 2024 Reactions and Additional Accusations The public response includes mixed reactions, given the high-profile nature of Emhoff’s current role. The ex-girlfriend expressed urgency in revealing these claims, stating she felt misrepresented by his public persona. She highlighted how Emhoff discussed marriage and children early in their intense relationship. “I had never really wanted to talk about Doug slapping me, to be honest with you, because I was with him for a few months, it was this one moment. And it was enough to wake me up and leave. In retrospect, it was the best thing that could possibly have happened, because his mask dropped, and I realized I shouldn’t waste another moment with him.” – The ex-girlfriend of Doug Emhoff – The ex-girlfriend claimed Emhoff settled with the teacher for $80,000, requiring her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. She’s criticized the lack of media coverage on her claims, which she insists are not politically motivated, as she is a registered Democrat. A spokesperson for Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff denied allegations Thursday that Emhoff slapped a girlfriend in 2012.https://t.co/0H9URsn0mA — The National Desk (@TND) October 3, 2024 Concerns Over Media Coverage The attorney has expressed disappointment over the lack of formal responses and media interest in her story. Despite her efforts to be heard, she fears that the mainstream media has overlooked these serious allegations. She feels strongly about the importance of dissecting Emhoff’s portrayal to accurately reflect her experiences. “What’s frightening for a woman that’s been on the other end of it, is watching this completely fabricated persona being portrayed. He’s being held out to be the antithesis of who he actually is. And that is utterly shocking.” – The ex-girlfriend of Doug Emhoff – Sources: Emhoff’s ex-girlfriend alleges abuse. The post Doug Emhoff Allegations Emerge: Ex-Girlfriend Reveals Past Misconduct Claims appeared first on The Conservative Brief.

'The two things seem a little bit separate'

'I will not stop fighting'

They claim he contracted the death of another rapper in retaliation

A post shared on social media purports that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk endorsed Caitlin Clark and will donate $10 million to her. Verdict: False The claim stems from satire. Fact Check: Tesla share price spike over 18% recently in part due to Musk telling investors about the company’s vehicle delivery numbers, Forbes reported. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has increased […]