In our politically contentious era, it’s popular to claim the Constitution is outdated; that it was drafted in a bygone era by men whose moral failings (like slave ownership) discredit every other contribution they made to the founding of our country. But each passing day only reinforces the wisdom of the principles the founders chose as the basis for our nation. Here are a few to consider as we celebrate our 247th Independence Day this month: No. 1: Yes, the United States is a “Christian nation”; no, it is not a theocracy.

Except for a modest number who go by ferry, almost everybody who travels between Marin County and San Francisco does so by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in some kind of vehicle. They may do it in a car, a truck, a bus or on a motorcycle -- unless they are President Joe Biden.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dennis Prager is off this week. We hope readers will enjoy the following guest column by Ben Shapiro.

The Lampasas Economic Development Corp. is probably not a household name, but they should be. Their 20-year record of failure and money wasting should alarm and concern every taxpayer in Lampasas. Their lack of transparency and accountability is even more disturbing.

Back in 1998, iconic feminist Gloria Steinem wrote a now-infamous editorial defending then-President Bill Clinton, whom multiple women had accused of sexual harassment, assault and even rape. Steinem argued that Clinton’s conduct wasn’t really sexual harassment, much less criminal conduct, and that in any case the accusations against Clinton were in a different category than those made against Republican politicians (who had been forced to resign).

The Second Continental Congress, having been convened for six months, had been engaged in the wrestle for or against independence, the vast majority of delegates being decidedly against such drastic action most of this time. Surely there should be a way of reconciling their differences with Great Britain instead.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the greatest majority opinion ever written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts. That one-time Obamacare savior, who in 2012 rewrote the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate as a “tax” in order to salvage President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy, this time penned a landmark ruling abolishing something the Left has been clamoring to abolish ever since the 2020 death of George Floyd and the subsequent “Great Awokening” that rocked the republic: “systemic racism” in America.

In today’s America, it sure is nice to be a Biden. Presidential prodigal son Hunter Biden’s transparently sweetheart plea deal consummated last week with his daddy’s Justice Department encapsulates, in many ways, the two-tiered system of justice that conservatives have been decrying at least since then-FBI Director James Comey let then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton off scot-free for her infamous email server because, in his words, “no reasonable prosecutor” would have brought the case.

After a speech in Romania last week, I was asked a question by a young member of the audience that, remarkably, I don’t remember ever having been asked: What is leftism? The question seems so simple and so basic to understanding contemporary life that you would think it would be posed frequently -- and if it weren’t, the reason would be that almost anyone who cares about society would already know how to answer it. But the question is rarely posed, and few know how to answer it.

Another federal judge has struck down a state law protecting children from what should be impermissible medical experimentation. Last Tuesday, United States District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against a law passed by the Arkansas Legislature banning the administration of puberty blockers, crosssex hormones and surgical interventions for minors suffering from gender dysphoria.