Weekly Writers Round-Up: Georgia’s Mimosa Mandate, School Choice in Puerto Rico, and New Threats to Free Speech

Each week, we’ll be featuring the work of the alumni and current participants of AF’s Writing Fellows Program. A few highlights from the past week are below. For more information on how the program can help launch your career in writing, see here.

Saving Nigeria’s Christians by Tamara Winter (Fall 2018) in The Washington Times
Last month, Amnesty International released a new report that outlined the costs of a dangerous and often deadly cycle of violence occurring in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region between Christian farmers and Muslim herders — 3,600 people have been killed in the past 3 years, with 2018 being the worst year on record so far…

Georgia’s ‘Mimosa Mandate’ Is a Victory for Alcohol Freedom by Billy Binion (Spring 2018) in Reason
Bottoms up, Georgia residents: Among the slew of measures that voters passed in the November midterms, perhaps none was as vital as the “Brunch Bill,” which allows cities and counties to let restaurants serve alcoholic beverages as early as 11:00 a.m. on Sundays, as opposed to the previously sanctioned 12:30 p.m. (The bill itself passed the state legislature in early 2018, but local communities held referenda during the midterms on whether to take advantage of the new rules.) Now the law is gradually taking effect, with Grovetown up next this weekend…

How School Choice Is Breaking Down Barriers in Puerto Rico by Jude Schwalbach (Fall 2018) in The Daily Signal
The new year is bringing exciting developments to Puerto Rico’s education reforms. Not only will the U.S. territory open new charter schools, but it will also launch a new pilot private school voucher program in the fall…

9 Years after Citizens United, the Decision Lives Rent-Free in Liberals’ Heads by Eric Peterson (Fall 2014) in The Washington Examiner
Does the government have the power to suppress a film if it criticizes a candidate running for office? Nine years ago to this day, the Supreme Court said no and ruled in favor of Citizens United, a nonprofit group that wanted to distribute and advertise a movie criticizing Hillary Clinton. This was a massive win for free speech and democracy. The First Amendment guarantees the right to speak about candidates…