One hundred years ago this month, the United States and even the world turned its attention to Dayton, Tennessee, to witness a trial purported to be a showdown between modern science and backwards religion. Despite the widespread media coverage, or … Continue reading
Feature
America Needs a Rational Energy Policy
America Needs a Rational Energy Policy With rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence, ever-larger data centers, cloud computing, quantum computing, etc., causing our society’s demand for electricity to increase at an accelerating rate, it is imperative that we find … Continue reading
Against All Odds: The Fascinating Dharavi Slum Economy
One billion dollars of product is produced each year by the informal economy of the Dharavi slum in India. Many have called it a “money-minting” economy. How is that possible in a squalid, seemingly uninhabitable slum? The facts behind this … Continue reading
Butler: The Riveting Untold Story of the Shooting of Donald Trump
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. Growing up in Butler, Pennsylvania in the 1970s and 1980s, I surely at some point must have encountered a book titled Butler, but it would have been at the town … Continue reading
Memorial Day—Not Thankful Enough
I had to go to show my respect. I felt compelled to watch the motorcade escort this warrior to his true and final resting place. Glenn Herbert Hodak, U.S. Army Air Forces Corporal, of Cambridge Springs, PA, came home this … Continue reading
“Peace Be With You:” The Deep Meaning in Leo XIV’s First Words
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. The world is watching every word and move of the new head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Robert Francis Prevost. I say formerly because, as … Continue reading
Mom, Meet My New AI Girlfriend
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. I suppose we should have seen it coming. After all, it was pretty predictable, given trends such as the explosion and heightened usability of AI applications; rising levels of loneliness, … Continue reading
Italy, Giorgia Meloni, and the Future of the West
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. The eyes of the world are focused on Rome right now because of the death of the pope, but they should also be directed at Italy’s increasingly influential prime minister, … Continue reading
The Great Marijuana Lie: Why Americans Should Jump off the Smelliest Bandwagon of All Time
Let’s not kid ourselves. Pennsylvanians who want to buy adult-use cannabis are just driving across the border to one of our five neighboring states where it’s legal. Up to 60% of the customers at those stores just over the border … Continue reading
Hail, Caesar! Hollywood Commies, and Holy Week
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. I was recently sent a podcast conducted by two of my favorite thinkers: Bishop Robert Barron and Michael Knowles. It was a wide-ranging discussion of theology, philosophy, politics, culture, and film, prompted … Continue reading
The Man Behind Reagan’s ‘Evil Empire’: Tony Dolan, RIP
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. I was saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Tony Dolan, who passed away at age 76. Tony was the chief speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan in a “speechwriting … Continue reading
NCAA’s NIL Policy: No Integrity Left
$4.8 million is the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) valuation of Cooper Flagg, a freshman Duke basketball player. How is that even possible? In essence, Duke was able to buy the hired gun, Flagg, one of the most highly decorated … Continue reading
The Promise and Peril of DeepSeek
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. There’s an old story that, sometime in the 1960s, NASA spent millions to create a pen that worked in space. American engineers worked for years on a high-tech marvel that could write … Continue reading
Hollywoke: The Motion Picture Academy of Bigotry
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. Our 2024 Reagan film received widespread acclaim from moviegoers (albeit not from ideologically motivated critics) for the roles rendered by several key actors. They included Dennis Quaid as Reagan, David Henrie as young Reagan, Penelope Ann Miller as … Continue reading
The Mission of the NFL’s Comeback Kid
Editor’s note: This paper is a production of the Center for Faith & Public Life. To learn more about the Center, please click here. To view, print, or share the final paper, please click here. Frank Reich has set himself … Continue reading
Divided Loyalties
My father was a devout Catholic and enormously proud of his Irish heritage. On September 30, 1995, I learned just how much faith and heritage meant to him. That was the day that two storied football programs, the Ohio State Buckeyes and … Continue reading
Federal Court Finds Mt. Lebanon School District Violates Parents’ Rights
Carmilla Tatel’s daughter attended teacher Megan Williams’ first grade class at Jefferson Elementary School, one of the schools in the Mt. Lebanon School District near Pittsburgh, PA. When her daughter came home from school on March 21, 2022, the little … Continue reading
A Postscript to “Reagan,” the Movie
As the end of the year approaches, professional movie reviewers are publishing their lists of the year’s best movies. I am at a stage of life where I don’t go to the movies often enough to presume to name my … Continue reading
Jimmy Carter: A Man of Faith
As Americans mourn the death of the nation’s oldest ex-president and celebrate his life, they will disagree about the effectiveness of his presidency and the impact of many of his policies. One fact, however, is undisputable: Jimmy Carter’s robust Christian … Continue reading
Lee Edwards, Dean of Conservatism, RIP
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. The conservative movement this week lost an elder statesman, its dean. He was Lee Edwards, 92 years old. Edwards was so very important and dear to both the conservative movement … Continue reading