Mr. Shackelford is a constitutional scholar who has argued before the United States Supreme Court, testified before the U.S. House and Senate on constitutional issues, and has won three state landmark First Amendment and religious liberty cases in the past few years alone. He was recently named one of the 25 greatest Texas lawyers of the past quarter-century by Texas Lawyer, and is the recipient of the prestigious William Bentley Ball Award for Life and Religious Freedom Defense for his leadership and pioneering work protecting religious freedom.

Merrill Matthews, Ph.D., is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation, a research-based, public policy “think tank.” He is a health policy expert and weekly contributor at Forbes.com. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Texas Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Dr. Matthews is a past president of the Health Economics Roundtable for the National Association for Business Economics, the largest trade association of business economists. Dr. Matthews also served for 10 years as the medical ethicist for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Institutional Review Board for Human Experimentation, and has contributed chapters to several books, including Physician Assisted Suicide: Expanding the Debate and The 21st Century Health Care Leader and, in 2009, Stop Paying the Crooks (on Medicare fraud).

He has been published in numerous journals and newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s, USA Today, Forbes magazine and the Washington Times. He was an award-winning political analyst for the USA Radio Network.

Dr. Matthews received his Ph.D. in Humanities from the University of Texas.

By: Ann E. Marimow - washingtonpost.com - May 22, 2025 With only eight justices voting, the 4-4 tie leaves in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that a public religious charter school would violate the ...

A prominent leader in the American Catholic Church known for feuding with one of the most powerful political figures in United States politics has been appointed to the advisory board of President...

Republicans’ proposed work requirement for Medicaid recipients between the ages of 19 and 64 is expected to save the government $300 billion over seven years, while helping individuals regain the dignity and self-respect that comes ...

The government appears confident that the attack was ‘targeted terrorism.’ Expect federal capital murder charges in the coming weeks.

The Trump administration initiated a considerable reduction in force (RIF), cutting over 50 percent of the agency’s staff. The court suggested that the administration cannot make such significant changes without congressional approval. US District Judge ...

Planned Parenthood released its annual report right in the middle of House Republicans’ effort to defund the organization. What timing!

The report shows that, in 2024, Planned Parenthood committed more abortions than the previous year and soaked in 13 percent more funding from the U.S. taxpayer.