Article VI of the U.S. Constitution prohibits a religious test as a qualification for any public office in the United States. This was a topic of interest just before the presidential election in 2012. And why? Because Republican candidate Mitt … Continue reading
Hillary Clinton is campaigning that she, of all the candidates, is the one who is a “champion for women and girls” specifically because, among other things, she protects “women’s reproductive health” and “confronts violence against women.” Her primary talking point … Continue reading
Literature reviews are a common thing in the world of academic research. They often involve esoteric topics confined to a narrow universe of scholarly interest. Few literature reviews, however, have generated as much controversy as the recently published paper “Sexuality … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at the National Catholic Register. Two very different women on the minds of Christians right now are Mother Teresa, with her canonization on Sept. 4, and Hillary Clinton, with her name on the presidential … Continue reading
In predictable economic times, it makes sense—indeed it is essential—to put money aside and save for the coming rainy day. Trouble is brewing for each and every one of us. For some, it is just two appliances failing in the … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Crisis Magazine. When many conservatives first learned back in 2007 that I had the temerity to write a book on the faith of Hillary Clinton, especially after books on the faiths … Continue reading
Everyone knows that relationships matter. But few of us pause to ponder exactly which relationships matter. Recently, I came across a study by the well-regarded Search Institute, a Minnesota research group whose early work identified a range of protective factors for young … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared at The American Spectator. In his speech at the Republican convention last week, Ben Carson made a statement that raised some eyebrows. “Now, one of the things that I have … Continue reading
Mary Poppins was “practically perfect in every way,” except that Mary Poppins isn’t real. I fall very short of “practically perfect” in any way, every single day. I do things I regret; even more I fail to do things I … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A shorter version of this article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. On July 4, 1826, America awaited a special moment. It was the young nation’s Jubilee. It was the 50th anniversary of its birth, of the signing of … Continue reading
Over the weekend a reporter on Fox News said something that focused my attention: “There is a move to have the Republican Convention Rules Committee enact a measure that would prevent bound delegates from abstaining from votes on the first … Continue reading
For millennia, the ability to interpret hieroglyphics had been lost to the ages. So when Jean-Francois Champollion decoded the Rosetta Stone it was a monumental breakthrough. Since then, a “Rosetta Stone” has come to refer to anything that offers a … Continue reading
Father’s Day invites us to ponder the father figures we have known—not just our biological fathers, but any man who has blessed us with fatherly action at some point in our lives. Several years ago, I wrote about never having … Continue reading
My heart aches over the stories I hear about heroin overdoses. Local fathers post stories about their sons and daughters, fatal victims of the heroin market. Police conduct raids. The illegal marketing demand continues to fund Afghanistan poppy farmers. Other … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared in Crisis magazine. The 2016 presidential race, like all presidential races, has raised questions and controversies regarding the religious faiths of the candidates. Donald Trump’s beliefs have been questioned, as were … Continue reading
Five score and two years ago, Robert Frost wrote “Mending Wall,” a poem seeking to extract wisdom from stony New England soil. It begins: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” While he didn’t have Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric in mind, … Continue reading
The news could not have been worse. Starvation, malnutrition, diseases such as typhoid, smallpox, dysentery, and pneumonia, along with freezing temperatures that assaulted thousands of shoeless feet bloodying the snow, attached to bands of “walking skeletons” exposed to the elements … Continue reading
Back during Memorial Day 2014, I wrote a piece on five brothers who served in World War II. I was impressed by the Bailey boys, from my neck of the woods in Western Pennsylvania, and still am. Imagine my surprise when a … Continue reading
I can’t believe that I’m writing an article about using the bathroom. But then, I can’t believe that at a time when our country is faced with immense challenges such as international Islamist terrorism and fiscal and monetary insanity in … Continue reading
The first job I ever wanted was to be a “garbage man,” as that is what I called it at age five. I would run out to the curb each week when the garbage truck came. The garbage man would greet … Continue reading
