Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Crisis Magazine. One of the most brilliant, influential Catholic intellectuals of the past half century has died at age 83. He was Michael Novak, theologian, philosopher, and gentleman—truly, a gentle man. I had … Continue reading
In fictionalized accounts of historical events, writers inevitably project incomplete portraits of characters or recast the characters for dramatic purposes. Historical fiction can be a creative and rewarding means of storytelling and thought-provoking historical commentary. One recent case in which … Continue reading
Don’t get me wrong. Churches are much more than just social clubs. Yet the evidence suggests that our churches need to be social clubs. One of our concerns as Christian leaders and role models is the secularization of America. We … Continue reading
President Donald Trump has selected the best possible person to serve as his national security advisor. Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster epitomizes the warrior-scholar in the tradition of Carl von Clausewitz. The U.S. Army was out of Vietnam for 11 … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. I’ve been getting emails from bewildered colleagues asking about a survey of presidential scholars that determined that Barack Obama is the 12th best president in the history of the United … Continue reading
Only 16 percent of recent college graduates state that their career services office was very helpful. What a devastating statistic! Brandon Busteed, the executive director of education and workforce development at Gallup, stated, “We are stunned to see the perceptions … Continue reading
In a recent television interview, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini, head of one of America’s largest health insurers, commented that selling insurance across state lines is “an outdated concept” in the discussion of healthcare reform. Bertolini went on to explain the … Continue reading
On January 27, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of only 1.9 percent for the fourth quarter and that the overall rate of growth for 2016 was a feeble 1.6 percent. During the … Continue reading
The Boy Scouts have announced that children who are biologically female but identify as male may now be scouts. By so doing they have joined a movement whose understanding of gender would make perfect sense to a typical 3-year-old, but … Continue reading
Last week President Donald Trump spoke to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., as his predecessors have consistently done since 1953. Called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast until 1970, the event routinely attracts 3,000 or more people to pray for … Continue reading
The controversy over so-called “fake news” does not seem to be going away. However, the press’s frustration about it is increasingly misplaced. After the presidential election the media fixated for months on a handful of fictitious headlines from suspect websites … Continue reading
The story of Christian higher education in America is a sad saga. Once upon a time, the nation’s premier universities were run by religious people or founded with religious missions, or at least were respectful of the Christian faith. That … Continue reading
“Repeal” and “replace” are the new buzzwords, with no signs of being bumped from the headlines anytime soon. Since the 2016 election, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been in the crosshairs of the Republican-controlled Congress and Donald Trump. The … Continue reading
After Katie Rich, a Saturday Night Live writer, tweeted last week that 10-year-old Barron Trump “will be this country’s first homeschool shooter,” she was widely lambasted on social media. Her inappropriate, insensitive remarks deserve to be widely denounced. No child should be … Continue reading
Elections have surprising consequences. It is hard to know who is most surprised by the results of the 2016 presidential race: Hillary and her supporters, who have spent the last two months vacillating between tears and anger; conservative Never Trumpers … Continue reading
President Barack Obama’s executive actions during the two and a half months of his lame duck, post-election time in office provide the perfect exclamation point to his entire presidency. His antipathy for private property has never been clearer. Look at … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at the National Catholic Register. “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” So declared Barack Obama in Columbia, Missouri on October 30, 2008, on the cusp of his … Continue reading
Social media is used today for every purpose (and many of the posts are not particularly prosocial). Too many of the “news” stories have been slanted so far (sometimes to the right, and sometimes to the left) as to become … Continue reading
“Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The key is Russian national interest.” Winston Churchill’s quote came a quarter century and two months after the start of World War I. In late August 1914, one month … Continue reading
College students are ill-prepared to connect with an employer and secure a job in today’s marketplace. With little or no career development, self-assessment, or an understanding of vocational calling, they believe that the degree alone will be the proverbial “ticket” … Continue reading
