For a few days, the eyes of the world were turned toward the Phanar for Pope Leo XIV’s first-ever trip abroad, his visit to the see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and his official meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. This meeting was the subject of much commentary on various aspects. We will attempt here to emphasize the significance of this historical encounter and what the future might hold.

It should be emphasized from the outset that this was not the first visit of a Pope to the Phanar, nor the first joint declaration signed by a pope and an ecumenical patriarch. Indeed, Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis of blessed memory have all visited the see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, where they were received by the Ecumenical Patriarchs Athenagoras, Dimitrios, and Bartholomew, and each of these meetings was the occasion for the signing of a joint declaration on the commitment of the two Churches to their rapprochement and their quest for the restoration of ecclesial communion.

Such encounters are the result of a historical event that took place exactly sixty years ago: the lifting of the regrettable anathemas of the year 1054 between the sees of Rome and Constantinople which took place during a ceremony simultaneously celebrated in Rome in St. Peter’s Basilica and in the patriarchal church at the Phanar on 7th of December 1965. In their joint declaration, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras declared that they

“regret and remove both from memory and from the midst of the Church the sentences of excommunication […], and they commit these excommunications to oblivion.” (Common declaration, 4B).

What does this mean in practical terms? It means that there is no complete schism between the two Churches and that they find themselves in the same state of broken communion they were in at the beginning of the 11^th century. What was the cause of that? The addition of the Filioque clause to the symbol of faith (creed) by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.

But let us return to the meeting of Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew which more or less providentially coincided with the anniversary of the lifting of the anathemas and which, above all, had been placed under the aegis of the 1700^th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. It is significant that in his apostolic letter (encyclical) In Unitate Fidei, promulgated a few days before his first trip, on 23 November 2025, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Pope Leo XIV quotes the phrase from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed without the Filioque, and noting in footnote 10 following this quote: “The statement ‘and proceeds from the Father and the Son (Filioque)’ is not found in the text of Constantinople; it was inserted into the Latin Creed by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014 and is a subject of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue.” This remark, in a papal encyclical, is of paramount importance because the official recognition of this addition by the Pope himself puts an end to a millennium of controversy that has contributed to deepening the abyss of division between the two Churches.

At the common prayer of November 28th, celebrating the anniversary of Nicaea, on the very site where it took place, presided by Pope Leo and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the presence of the Patriarch of Alexandria, official delegates of the ancient Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem, and representatives of all the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Protestant World Christian communions, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed was recited together without the addition of the Filioque. Of course, this also did not happen for the first time. Already in 1987, during the official visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios to Rome, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed was recited in the original Greek without the Filioque by both Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch. The same happened with Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis at several official liturgical occasions. This proves that the Filioque is not a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church: otherwise these three popes ought to be considered as heretics by their own Church. Very recently, during the ecumenical commemoration of the martyrs and witnesses of the faith of the 21^st century presided by Pope Leo XIV at the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls in Rome on September 14, 2025, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed was recited, in Latin, without the Filioque!

These are the fruits of the theological dialogue to which the Churches are committed for more than forty years. Already in 2003, an important document of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation entitled: “The Filioque: A Church Dividing Issue? An Agreed Statement,” recommended that the Roman Catholic Church use the original Greek text alone, without the Filioque, in making translations of that Creed for catechetical and liturgical use. The same was repeated last year (2024) in a Common Statement of the Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church on the addition of the Filioque clause to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan symbol of faith, which suggested “that the translation of the Greek original (without the Filioque) be used in the hope that this will contribute to the healing of age-old divisions between our communities and enable us to confess together the faith of the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381).” This gives us great hope for the future restoration of Christian unity on the basis of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed which was considered by the Church, at least since the 5^th century, as a universal symbol of faith.

As indicated on various occasions by Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which has the official mandate of both Churches to work for the restoration of full ecclesial communion between the two Churches, is currently examining the issues of infallibility and the Filioque. In affirming in his address to Pope Leo on November 30^th that “we can only pray that issues such as the “filioque” and infallibility (…) will be resolved such that their understanding no longer serve as stumbling blocks to the communion of our Churches,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew did not ask the Pope for more than he can give, but gave hope that the restoration of communion between the two Churches, interrupted a millennium ago, could soon be re-established provided that the divided Christians grant their goodwill to this end.

The post Leo XIV and Bartholomew: The Importance and Aftermath of a Meeting appeared first on Public Orthodoxy.

markscherz:

raccoonmilf:

raccoonmilf:

Kind of fucked thinking about the fact that there is one single American legally authorized to research the critically endangered pygmy raccoon in Mexico and it is, in fact, the same person who did Dashcon.

This person is also this person

And is currently the only person from the United States legally permitted to research the critically endangered pygmy raccoons (Procyon pygmaeus) in Cozumel, Mexico.

For reference, this is me, BTW! I was 15 when I started Dashcon and 17 when it actually happens, and now study tourism’s impact on the critically endangered pygmy raccoon. I’ve been researching them before now, but due to Mexico’s laws, I’ve only been allowed to do data collection from abroad (so think surveys to tourists and video analysis on social media.) But now I’m authorized for in situ research!! Yippee! I even got a grant through my university as well to fund the whole project 🥺

This is the reason this hellsite is truly a homesite. We grow here. You can go back and see how it happened. I was a Bachelor’s student when I started my tumblr. Now I’m an Associate Professor and Curator, with my own lab and Denmark’s national collection of 70,000ish reptile and amphibian specimens in my care.

It’s December! That means Christmas is around the corner! I truly love this season. This decorations, music, movies, jollity, the YouTube video of a crackling fire I play on my TV… I look forward to putting up my wine-themed Christmas tree and watching all my favorite Christmas movies while sipping wine and over-indulging on cheese and seasonal goodies. 

Do you have Christmas traditions? Any favorite wines you like to open to celebrate the season? Maybe you’ll open something new this Christmas; let’s find out!

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

December hands you a sparkler and says, “Go on, light things up.” This month, your energy arrives in bursts—one minute you’re reorganizing your entire life at 2 a.m., the next you’re declaring you need a three-hour nap. Roll with it. The universe is basically giving you emotional permission to be delightfully inconsistent.

You’ll feel an itch for adventure, even if it’s just trying a new café or taking the long way home. People around you notice your enthusiasm and may follow your lead—mostly because you make everything look like more fun than it actually is. Expect a few moments where you accidentally say the quiet part out loud; luckily, your honesty lands as refreshing rather than chaotic.

Money and work might feel a little like a snow globe someone keeps shaking—things are in motion, but they’ll settle. Trust your momentum, not your doubts. And when in doubt: humor solves more than overthinking ever will.

Power Move: Start one small thing you’ve been “meaning to get to.” No overplanning—just press go.

Your Vibe: Warm mischief with a side of unstoppable charm.

The wine for you …

Energy, enthusiasm, charm? You have all that and more. That means, this December, you can only drink a wine that both matches your vibe but it made by people with those same qualities. That would be the Saç family behind Arda. And the best part? Their wine is quite well-priced!

Try this month a bottle of the Arda Gala Papazkarası blanc de noir. Made with the local Thracian grape, Papazkarası, coming from old vine vineyards to the east of Edirne, Arda’s Gala wines have as much charm and energy as you do!

Look for this at places like Gözde Tekel, sometimes La Cave, Mensis Mahzen, Rind, and elsewhere.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

December wraps you in a warm, velvety calm, nudging you to slow down and savor the small joys—good food, soft blankets, and the familiar comforts that make life feel grounded. You’ll notice yourself craving routines that feel soothing rather than restrictive. This is a month where you don’t have to chase anything; things drift toward you naturally, like they’re remembering who you are.

People come to you for steadiness, even when you’re mildly irritated that everyone seems slightly louder than usual. But beneath your calm exterior, something subtle is shifting—an idea, an opportunity, or a relationship you assumed would stay ordinary begins showing signs of becoming something genuinely exciting.

This is also a month to trust your body’s pace. You might feel slower, but you’re not stuck—you’re settling into clarity. And once your mind gets quiet, your intuition gets loud in the best possible way.

Power Move: Say no to one obligation that drains you. Your peace is premium real estate.
Your Vibe: Slow-burning glow wrapped in gentle luxury.

The wine for you …

Wine doesn’t always have to be a luxury cost-wise. You can find really nice wine for not a lot of money (shockingly, even here). One of those wines that drinks above its price level is the Arcadia Odrysia Narince. Arcadia’s Odrysia wines are beautifully made and drink like they’re a luxury even though they don’t charge you luxury prices for them! This will also made a great pairing for something you’re making this holiday season, or even a gift!

Find this at Mensis Mahzen, La Cave, Iyi Sarap, Casa Botti seems likely as does Dekante, I think larger Macro Centers will have this.

Gemini (May 20 – June 20)

December sprinkles confetti across your calendar. Invitations multiply, ideas bloom faster than you can jot them down, and you somehow become everyone’s favorite person to talk to. You’ll be juggling enthusiasm, half-finished plans, and a sudden desire to rearrange your entire life at 11 p.m.

Your charm is effortless this month—you talk, people listen; you joke, people cackle; you tell a story, and suddenly you’re holding court without meaning to. But in between the social whirlwinds, you’ll get flashes of clarity about what you actually want to pursue next. Don’t let these slip away.

You might also surprise yourself by having deeper conversations than you intended. Your honesty has a way of opening doors, even when you didn’t realize you’d knocked.

Power Move: Finish one of the projects you’ve been flirting with. Just pick the one that feels fun.
Your Vibe: Electric sparkle with quicksilver curiosity.

The wine for you …

Have you heard of the Turkish grape ‘fox tail’? This month, take that curiosity and sense of fun and direct it towards getting a bottle of the Likya Fox rosé. Made with a grape called Tilki Kuyruğu (fox tail in English), this is a fresh and delightful rosé that pairs well with light foods or that would drink well as an aperitif with festive holiday canapes!

Not the easiest wine to find, but look for it at places like Casa Botti, Gözde Tekel, Grand Cru, Rind, Vinus.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

December brings emotional warmth—not the overwhelming tidal wave you sometimes fear, but a gentle rising of feelings that remind you how deeply you connect with the world. You’ll crave comfort, familiar faces, and the little rituals that keep you grounded.

There may be a moment where you overanalyze something someone said (classic you), but this month brings unexpected reassurance. Someone shows up with tenderness or support exactly when you need it, melting away the worries you’ve been quietly carrying.

Your creativity is heightened, too. Whether it’s decorating your space, cooking something special, or expressing yourself in a heartfelt message, you’re glowing from the inside out. And that glow is contagious—people feel safer around you than they’ll ever admit aloud.

Power Move: Reach out with a message of genuine affection. It strengthens your world.
Your Vibe: Gentle tides warmed by hidden fire.

The wine for you …

Want to talk creativity? Let’s talk about your wine this month! The Büyülübağ Mirandus is a red wine that blends together an unexpected swirl of grapes including: Boğazkere, Çal Karası, touch of Adakarası, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. That ought to get your creative juices flowing this December!

Get it from Gözde Tekel, İyi Şarap, Mensis Mahzen, Solera, and elsewhere.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)

December practically begs you to shine bigger, louder, and brighter. You have a warm magnetism that pulls every room into your orbit, and even when you dial it down, people still look to you for direction, humor, or that sparkle you carry naturally.

This month may bring passionate opinions about things that normally wouldn’t matter—how to decorate, which party to attend, or why your idea is clearly the best one. Don’t worry, it’s part of your charm. You’re more expressive, more animated, and more inspired than usual.

At the same time, you’ll have surprising moments of softness. A compliment, a small gift, or an unexpected message might hit you right in the heart. Even your dramatic side takes a step back to appreciate genuine connection.

Power Move: Share your spotlight with someone who could use encouragement.
Your Vibe: Golden glow with theatrical sweetness.

The wine for you …

Show off that soft side this month with a sweet wine. Sweet wine isn’t just for girls! These are often high octane beverages, some of which have even been fortified with more alcohol. The Kayra Madre fortified wine blends together Turkey’s classic red grape pairing: Öküzgözü and Boğazkere. It’s a deliciously sweet way to finish a holiday meal, or sip contemplatively in front of a cozy fire. 

Look for this at places like Mensis Mahzen, Macro Center, possibly Carrefour, Gözde Tekel…

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

December plugs you directly into a steady stream of motivation. Your lists become longer (in a satisfying way), your plans become sharper, and you might even feel a strange sense of joy while organizing something that’s been driving you nuts all year. You’re unusually inspired, and your sense of timing is excellent.

But here’s the twist: you’re also more open to spontaneity than usual. A friend’s idea, a last-minute plan, or a tiny shift in routine ends up being exactly what you needed. Someone may surprise you with thoughtfulness that lands squarely on your love language: competence.

Just don’t let the urge to perfect everything steal your time. December rewards imperfection in a way that might feel unsettling—but ultimately freeing.

Power Move: Let one task stay “good enough.” Celebrate the liberation.
Your Vibe: Calm efficiency with a flicker of whimsy.

The wine for you …

Since you’re open to spontaneity this month, try a spontaneously fermented wine! Not all wines made with ambient yeasts have to fall into that funky, questionable “natural” category. Quite a few producers make beautifully-crafted, elegant wines with this method, like the Kastro Tireli Low Intervention Kalecik Karası. Beginning with organic grapes, initial fruit selection in the vineyard, and finally selecting the best of the best berries in the vineyard allows Kastro Tireli to spontaneously ferment its grapes while still creating a clean wine. 

Look for this at shops like Rind, Iyi Sarap, likely Dekante, Online Mahzen, Grand Cru, maybe Casa Botti, but always from the Kastro Tireli shop hidden away in Kuruçeşme. 

Libra (September 23 – October 22)

December turns your world into something visually delicious. You’re decorating, arranging, smoothing rough edges, and adding little touches that make everything feel prettier, softer, or more harmonious. People gravitate to your soothing presence—even if their drama threatens to tip your internal scales.

This month asks you to choose your preferences rather than default to “whatever works for everyone else.” You’ll find that once you speak honestly about what you want, people don’t resist—they actually appreciate it.

In relationships, you’re extra charming and extra thoughtful, but there’s also a gentle boldness rising inside you. You’re ready to be understood, not just liked.

Power Move: Say what you truly want instead of giving options.
Your Vibe: Elegant calm with a spark of courage.

The wine for you …

That little spark of courage is going to fan into a full flame this month! Take inspiration from AkBerg Büyükbağ Kecimen. When Akberg moved into quality wine production (which took a fair amount of courage in and of itself), it made a hugely courageous decision to do so by introducing new grapes to the market, like Osmanca, Erciş Karası, and Kecimen. 

Get it from Grand Cru, Gözde Tekel, Le Conte Wine & Whiskey, possibly Solera.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 22)

December gives you a mysterious calm, like you’re standing slightly outside the chaos and observing everything with laser clarity. Your instincts are precise, your humor is sharp, and people keep telling you personal secrets you didn’t ask for but now must protect.

You may feel more private than usual, but you’re also magnetic in a way that pulls the right people toward you. Something you thought was done—emotionally or practically—begins shifting back into your awareness, but this time with new potential.

Your intensity softens in surprising moments. Even you might be caught off guard by a burst of tenderness or the desire to open up more than your usual comfort level allows.

Power Move: Share one truth you normally keep tightly guarded.
Your Vibe: Cool depth with quiet warmth beneath.

The wine for you …

This month, you need a wine with depth and the warm glow from high alcohol. Something you can think deep thoughts while drinking, or contemplate while staring into a fire (hopefully in a fireplace, not one you set to watch the ensuing chaos), or pair with hearty, holiday meals. Your wine this December can be none other than the Sagavin Mutena Syrah! 

Get it from … well, you kind of have to order this one direct – but it’s worth it!

Sagittarius (November 23 – December 22)

December lights you up like a sparkler. You want movement, ideas, adventures—anything that reminds you the world is bigger than your daily routine. Your enthusiasm is practically airborne, and people catch it just by being near you.

You’ll find yourself saying yes to things before you’ve checked your schedule, promising more than you can realistically deliver, and laughing your way through the chaos you accidentally create. But it’s all harmless fun—you’re expanding, exploring, and rediscovering possibilities.

Somewhere amid the excitement, a meaningful insight lands. It might be about your next big step or a truth about what you actually want. Don’t ignore it—it’s important.

Power Move: Pick one plan and follow through all the way.
Your Vibe: Wild optimism wrapped in bright adventure.

 The wine for you …

You need a bold wine this month to match what’s going on in your life! 

Given the low reputation that “White Zin” has in the US and international wine world, it is for sure a bold decision to not only make “white” Zinfandel, but label it as such! That is exactly what Selva İşmen of Karnas did. Do not fear though. I would never let you drink that saccharine, American “White Zin.” With Heraki’s José Hernández behind the winemaking at Karnas, this rosé is dry, savory, and so enjoyable.

Sadly it’s not available everywhere but Mensis Mahzen definitely has it. 

Capricorn (December 23 – January 19)

December puts you in quiet command. You’re focused, prepared, and more determined than you’ve been in months. Opportunities begin lining up in a way that feels earned—not lucky—which is exactly how you like it.

People look to you for guidance, and while it’s flattering, it may also test your patience when others can’t keep up. Still, you’re far more capable of compassion than people assume. A moment of unexpected laughter or silliness breaks your seriousness and reminds you that ease is just as productive as effort.

This month is about trusting your structure while allowing some softness to seep in. You’re building something meaningful, but you don’t have to do it alone.

Power Move: Delegate one task you’re clinging to.
Your Vibe: Grounded determination softened by gentle joy.

The wine for you …

Inspire your determination this month with the story of the Heraki Novakula Boğazkere. When Fulya and José found this vineyard, the owner agreed to sell them the grapes, that year. After harvest, he planned to rip up the vines and plant – shudder – Merlot. Fulya and José made their first vintage (2019) with those grapes and went back to the owner to convince him to leave the vineyard and let them have the grapes again in 2020. Then in 2021, and so on until the owner finally agreed to sell them his grapes going forward with no more Merlot talk.

Their determination and persistence saved an old (42 years-old now) vineyard and they can continue to make this beautiful wine.

Pick this up at places like La Commune, La Cave, Mensis Mahzen, Grand Cru, maybe Santé Wine & More, İyi Şarap, Le Conte, Comedus might have it…

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)

December amps up your originality. Ideas strike you at strange hours, conversations take surprising turns, and you may find yourself bouncing between wanting to socialize and wanting total isolation. Follow your rhythm—it’s not meant to be linear.

People appreciate your quirks more than ever this month. Your offbeat humor, unusual insights, and unconventional perspective make you the person others seek out when they want something different—something honest, refreshing, or free of clichés.

You’re also more introspective than usual, working through thoughts that need time and space to settle. Your breakthroughs won’t be loud, but they will be important.

Power Move: Share one odd or unexpected idea. Someone will value it instantly.
Your Vibe: Airy brilliance with a rebellious sparkle.

 The wine for you …

You’ll want to sip something as quirky and original as you are to sip this month. You need the Mozaik Mahrem Ekigaïna. Mozaik produces wine with some of the weirdest grapes we see in Turkey and it’s hard to get weirder than Ekigaïna – of which there are less than six hectares planted around the world. In addition to being from off the beaten path though, this a fascinating wine full of flavors and layers. You’ll discover something new in each sip.

Look for it at Mensis Mahzen and Rind, possibly İyi Şarap and Gözde Tekel.

 Pisces (February 19 – March 20)

December opens up your imagination like a soft watercolor painting. You’re intuitive, creative, and deeply tuned into what feels emotionally soothing. Daydreams come easily, and they’re surprisingly productive if you give them room.

You might drift into nostalgia now and then, but in a way that inspires rather than overwhelms. Someone may offer kindness, encouragement, or connection exactly when you need it, reminding you that you’re supported even when you feel far away.

Your sensitivity is heightened, but so is your ability to turn feelings into something beautiful—art, ideas, rituals, or gentle acts of care. You’re glowing this month, inside and out.

Power Move: Take one tangible step toward a dream you’ve been nurturing quietly.
Your Vibe: Misty magic anchored by soft strength.

The wine for you …

Your December, really your whole vibe generally, lends itself to an ethereal, soft world. That’s why, this month, you should try Kuzubağ Çal Karası. While red wines don’t often get described as “ethereal,” the silkiness of the Çal Karası palate can certainly fall into that category.

Find it at places like Casa Botti, Comedus, La Commune, Mensis Mahzen,  Iyi Sarap, and Rind.

The post Your December 2025 Turkish Wine Horoscope appeared first on The Quirky Cork.

A sad but true story.

Ms. Johnson’s fiancé left her at the altar.

According to legend, that’s why she was so mean.

I never got it.

As a shy child, nobody realized I needed glasses until fifth grade. Most teachers, including Ms. Johnson, thought I was an idiot.

I once gave a presentation about Queen Victoria using my poster as a shield.

Nobody could see or hear me. It was perfect.

Queen Victoria started the tradition of wearing a white wedding dress. I’m sure Ms. Johnson would have loved that detail if she could have heard me.

Ms. Johnson phrased her note differently, but I understood the subtext.

Part of the reason I hated receiving attention was my secret: irritable bowel syndrome. Receiving attention caused me extreme anxiety. Anxiety gave me diarrhea.

I kept the secret hidden from my peers, but my teachers were well aware. I was infamous at our elementary school for my many absences.

One day in Ms. Johnson’s class, my stomach started hurting during a math test.

“Linda” has maybe two and a half minutes.

I scribbled down some nonsense, turned in the test, and approached Ms. Johnson’s desk.

I dunno, lady—I’m about to have diarrhea in my pants.

I was in serious danger of pooping myself, and I didn’t have a poster to hide behind.

Is this a grammar lesson?

My classmates looked up from their math tests.

I grabbed the hall pass and bolted.

I spent the next ten years in the bathroom.

Two toilets died that day.

I needed to move quickly before anyone found me at the crime scene.

Back in class, I walked toward my desk, hoping for a stealth return.

My desk was gone.

Paraphrasing, but Ms. Johnson said something like that.

While I was in the bathroom, she instructed the kids to hide my desk and rearrange the furniture.

My classmates hadn’t been distracted by the math test at all. For god knows how long, the entire classroom had been waiting and pondering my absence while I single-handedly destroyed the bathroom with a double-ended firehose.

For a ten-year-old girl, the worst thing in the world is having your classmates know that you poop.

The kids followed Ms. Johnson’s chorus like she was the Pied Piper.

I found my desk in the closet.

Still paraphrasing.

I will never forget the difference between “can I” and “may I.”

The purity of the blood must be maintained:

Routine naturalization ceremonies scheduled for this month in Putnam, Dutchess and Ulster counties to welcome new U.S. citizens were abruptly canceled last week by the federal government, surprising local officials.

Events planned for Wednesday (Dec. 3) in Putnam, Friday (Dec. 5) in Dutchess and Dec. 12 in Ulster were called off by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (USCIS), which approves applicants for citizenship.  . .

Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, said in a statement on Friday (Dec. 5) that he also has written Edlow to protest the cancellations and ask for more information.

Apparently the courtrooms have the wrong sort of fringe on the American flag:

In an email sent this week to the clerks in Putnam, Dutchess and Ulster counties, the agency’s Albany director, Gwynne Dinolfo, asked them to confirm in writing that their judges were authorized under federal law to oversee the ceremonies. She said that the judge must have jurisdiction over civil actions “in which the amount in controversy is unlimited. Because county courts in New York have a jurisdictional limit of $25,000 in civil cases, [the judge] may not be authorized to administer the naturalization ceremony.”

Taylor Bruck, the Ulster County clerk, told the Daily Freeman that the directive was confusing. “The law hasn’t changed, so implying that the counties have been doing something unlawful for the last 15 years without anyone mentioning it doesn’t make sense,” he said on Tuesday. “No one said anything about this during the first Trump administration, so why now?”

On Nov. 13, USCIS announced new steps aimed at “restoring integrity in the naturalization process by ensuring that only those who truly deserve it are granted the most sacred status we can bestow.”

In addition to “fully” vetting applicants, the agency in October introduced a revised civics test “to ensure that naturalization applicants have a full understanding of American history and government.”

The agency said it “refocused the way we consider the good moral character of potential citizens, looking for positive contributions to our communities rather than merely the absence of bad behavior.”

How about we give this test to high-ranking members of the Trump administration, starting with Trump himself?

I wonder what’s really going on here?

Nearly 819,000 people became naturalized citizens from October 2024 through September, according to USCIS. The top five countries of origin were Mexico, India, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic and Vietnam.

Oh.

The post Obergruppenfuehrer Miller orders cancellation of naturalization ceremonies appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money.

A guy in Tennessee spent more than five weeks in jail because of an anodyne Facebook meme that did not even jokingly threaten violence:

The officers came to arrest Larry Bushart shortly before midnight on Sept. 21.

Mr. Bushart, a 61-year-old retired police officer living in Lexington, Tenn., had posted a meme on Facebook after the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10. It was a picture of Donald Trump along with Mr. Trump’s comment in response to a school shooting at Perry High School in Iowa in 2024: “We have to get over it.” The meme was headed by the caption, “This seems relevant today.”

Mr. Bushart shared that meme in a Facebook thread promoting a vigil for Mr. Kirk in nearby Perry County, Tenn. The Perry County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant for Mr. Bushart’s arrest, claiming that the post was a threat of “mass violence” at a school. The sheriff’s office did this even though the meme referred to a shooting that took place more than a year before at a school in Iowa. The only connection — if you can even call it a connection — was that the Iowa school also had “Perry” in its name.

Mr. Bushart’s bail was set at $2 million. Unable to pay, he spent 37 days in jail before prosecutors dropped the charge.

In my 25 years working as a lawyer on free-speech cases, I have seen a lot of overreach. I have never seen anything quite like this. With the help of a local attorney, my organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, is preparing a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the Perry County sheriff and others, seeking damages and a ruling that what happened to Mr. Bushart violated the First Amendment.

This episode recalls the abuses that gave rise to modern First Amendment jurisprudence more than a century ago. The socialist leader Eugene V. Debs was convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 for giving an antiwar speech and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Though the Supreme Court unanimously upheld his conviction, it later changed course, holding that the government may punish political advocacy only when it is intended and likely to produce imminent lawless action or when it amounts to a genuine threat.

Most of the hundreds of others of people who lost their jobs for making non-reverent posts about Charlie Kirk are not First Amendment issues per se, but do lay bare the bad faith of the broader right’s CANCEL CULTURE industrial complex. It’s always meant that they should be able to say whatever you want and you should be able to shut up, and the rise in state censorship is even worse than this.

The post Life during the free speech administration appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money.