Having just viewed Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” and knowing that Lincoln’s birthday is approaching, it seemed fitting to ponder one of Lincoln’s most famous speeches, and perhaps a lesson for Americans today. On June 17, 1858, Lincoln gave his famous “House … Continue reading
American History & Presidents
The End of the Reagan Era?
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared at American Spectator. With Barack Obama’s second inauguration, liberals are touting an altogether new epoch: the end of the Reagan era. Unfortunately, I believe they are largely correct. We are witnessing a period … Continue reading
"So Help Me God"—The Second Inaugural of Barack Obama
On Monday the United States will celebrate one of its great festivals of civil religion as Barack Obama is inaugurated for a second time. Although nothing in the Constitution mandates it (the only things the Constitution specifies are the date … Continue reading
Obama’s Medical Devices Tax … It May Be Harmful to Your Health
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared in The Washington Times. With the start of the New Year, one of the little noticed but potentially harmful features of Obamacare has now gone into effect. It is the tax … Continue reading
Economic Outlook for 2013: ZIRP, Zombies, and the Japanization of the American Economy
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. I recently indulged in some wistful, year-end nostalgia, but now that 2013 is underway, let’s turn our attention to a time more crucial to our well-being: the future in … Continue reading
Human Freedom Matters
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. “If it matters, measure it” is the motto of the Fraser Institute, the leading Canadian think tank, where I have been a trustee since 1991. More than a motto, … Continue reading
Slouching From Gomorrah: Remembering Robert Bork
On the Monday morning following the Oscars, U.S. news websites splashed the announcement that the “little film that could,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” had garnered the Best Picture of 2008 award. Buried on many of the same web sites was the news … Continue reading
A Nostalgic New Year’s Look at the ’50s
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. New Year’s observances blend recollections of the past, celebrations in the present, and anticipation of the future. For a variety of reasons, I’m feeling nostalgic this year. I’ve been … Continue reading
It Can Be Worse Than the Cliff
Editor’s note: This piece was written exclusively for Investor’s Business Daily by a member of the board of advisors for The Center for Vision & Values, a trustee of Grove City College, and president of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation: … Continue reading
Do You Get the Picture? Classic Christmas Films Through the Lens of Creation, Fall, and Redemption
The greatest stories are stories that show in some way the drama of creation, fall, and redemption. In Advent, the story of stories comes to life. The story comes to life in hymns, liturgies, and customs that touch us in … Continue reading
Robert Bork and Grove City College
On a dark February afternoon in 1988, 25 students in a U.S. Constitutional History class waited expectantly in a little-used dining hall on the campus of Grove City College (in Grove City, Pennsylvania) for a special guest lecturer to arrive. I was the … Continue reading
Fleeing Socialism: French Actor Gérard Depardieu Wants His Freedom Back
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. “I am leaving because you consider that success, creation, talent, anything different, must be punished.” This quotation from French actor Gérard Depardieu comes from the letter he sent on … Continue reading
France: Is Anybody There? France’s Socialists Generate a New Class of Tax Exiles
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. The fiscal frenzy that has seized French socialists is not only grinding France’s economy to a halt; it is also attacking the very foundations of French society by destroying … Continue reading
What Should Be Done About the Fiscal Cliff
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com.Everyone is talking about the “fiscal cliff”—the likely impact of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the planned cuts in government spending that are part of Budget Control Act … Continue reading
Christmas Thoughts, 2012
The gentle spirit of Christmas brings a sense of fresh promise and renewal every year. The remembrances and commemorations of the birth of an innocent baby have a softening effect. Christmas provides a respite, even surcease, from the stresses, bruises, … Continue reading
The Fiscal Cliff: What Would Reagan Do?
By Dr. Paul Kengor & Michael Reagan Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at FoxNews.com. As President Obama and Democrats urge Republicans to increase taxes, some liberals are curiously invoking the name of Ronald Reagan, the ultimate tax-cutting … Continue reading
Testimonies of Heaven
Earlier this year I went to the WPXI television studio in Pittsburgh to tape an interview. The technician who escorted me inquired, “What are you here to discuss today?” When I replied, “heaven,” he asked, “Have they found it?” As … Continue reading
America’s Growing Government Class
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared at American Spectator. The latest unemployment figures are again depressing, but not for the usual reasons. They provide further confirmation of Barack Obama’s fundamental transformation of America, specifically through his … Continue reading
American Politics as a Confidence Game
Reading post-2012-election news reports can be hazardous to one’s mental health, particularly for the sanity-challenged among us. But perhaps the singularly most prescient comments come from long ago—from the pen of America’s most profound novelist, Herman Melville, whose words in … Continue reading
Compromise or Gridlock in Washington: Two Unpalatable Alternatives
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. As soon as the elections were over, a wave of commentaries extolling the virtues of compromise appeared in the press. The common theme is that it is time for … Continue reading