The world lost a giant this week when Bill Russell, the all-star center who led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA championships during his playing career from 1956 to 1969, died. Only Wilt Chamberlain had more career rebounds than Russell … Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2022
Which is more extreme? The evolution of abortion positions
In the land of the mainstream media, conservative and Republican positions on so-called “culture war” issues are always “extreme,” while they rarely raise such concerns about liberal and Democrat positions. They then “helpfully” suggest ways that Republicans could attract more … Continue reading
On John Mearsheimer: Or, is the West really responsible for the Ukrainian crisis?
John Mearsheimer has unquestionably earned our attention on contemporary international relations and on the Ukrainian crisis. Mearsheimer is an academic who specializes in theories of international relations (IR). If you were an IR graduate student in the 1980s or 1990s … Continue reading
Friendship, Not War, Is the Antidote to Niceness
Christians are known for being nice, or at least trying to be. But some reject niceness, saying it’s outmoded. They see a fool’s errand in trying to persuade a culture that has turned decisively hostile against Christians. The case has … Continue reading
Ukraine’s Freedom Fighter
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at The American Spectator. “Two visions of the world remain locked in dispute,” said President Ronald Reagan in July 1983. “The first believes all men are created equal by a loving … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, ‘Following the Science’ Meant Supporting Eugenics
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at National Review Online. In the 1920s, when he was still an agnostic, C. S. Lewis noted in his diary his latest reading: “Began G. K. Chesterton’s Eugenics and Other Evils.” A controversial English Catholic writer, … Continue reading
The Supreme Court’s Principled Decision in West Virginia v. EPA
In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled by a 6-3 majority that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had exceeded its statutory authority by issuing regulations that would essentially dictate to power-generating utilities what fuel … Continue reading
Corporate Social Activism Following Roe’s Reversal
The recent reversal of Roe v. Wade, acting like a starter’s pistol at a track meet, has initiated a new round of corporate social activism and virtue-signaling. American companies are racing from the starting blocks to demonstrate their support for … Continue reading
The Manhattan Project — Developing the Atomic Bomb
On August 6, 1945 the Unites States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. These are the only two times a nuclear weapon has been used in war. This is … Continue reading
The Measure of a Machine: Is LaMDA a Person?
In June 2022, Google suspended engineer Blake Lemoine from his work in artificial intelligence. Having previously assisted with a program called the Language Models for Dialog Applications (LaMDA), Lemoine was placed on leave after publishing confidential information about the project. … Continue reading
Washington’s Corn-Based Ethanol Mandates Are Poorly Timed
Recently, President Joe Biden flew into Iowa—our country’s leading corn-producing state—to announce to appreciative farmers that the Environmental Protection Agency will require American motor-fuel refiners to increase the amount of corn-based ethanol (CBE) that must be blended into motor fuels … Continue reading
The Dobbs Case: Justice Alito Leads the Court Back to the Constitution
Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization holds that both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey must be overturned. The predicted impact on elective abortions has been well-rehearsed in the print and electronic … Continue reading
1776 and Slavery
Many progressives today are eager to redefine America not as starting in 1776, which is literally when the very title “United States of America” began, but in the year 1619, before Plymouth Rock and before John Winthrop and the Arabella … Continue reading
Carson v. Makin: A Trilogy of Cases Protecting Religious Liberty, Completed
In 2017, the Supreme Court decided a case that involved a school playground resurfacing program provided by the state of Missouri. Trinity Lutheran School sought a state grant, which was generally offered to other schools, but Trinity was denied funding … Continue reading
What Reversing Roe Really Means
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at The American Spectator. Throughout the 2015-16 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, I urged conservatives not to nominate Donald Trump. When November 2016 arrived, I did not vote for Donald … Continue reading
A Call to the Church: Teaching post-Dobbs
So now it is official. The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has overturned Roe v. Wade, and the legal issue of whether and how to restrict abortion has been returned to the states. I cannot … Continue reading
“Cat’s in the Cradle” Father’s Day
The haunting refrains of Harry Chapin’s song “Cat’s in the Cradle,” like “planes to catch and bills to pay … when you coming home, dad?” started to play in my mind recently. A Fortune 500 company recruiter asked to join … Continue reading
James Madison and the Invention of Modern Politics
James Madison is perhaps America’s most enigmatic Founding Father, misunderstood by contemporaries and historians alike. But his political theory is incredibly rich, and when combined with his political career, can shed vision on his profoundly American vision of how politics … Continue reading
Congress Is Going After the Alleged Price Gougers – Again
As Yogi Berra, baseball’s preeminent wit and philosopher, would say, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Fifteen years ago, I wrote in this space about an attempt by Congress to impose additional taxes on oil companies at a time of … Continue reading
The Abortion States of America
Editor’s note: An early version of this article first appeared in Crisis Magazine last October. Roe v. Wade and so-called “abortion rights” are facing challenges unlike any time before. The chances of abortion being sent back to the states are … Continue reading