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
Feature
Better Homes and Guardians
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
Vietnam in the Rear View Mirror
There were 2,709,918 Americans who served in the Vietnam War. Of that number approximately 850,000 are alive. The youngest is 54. Because there were senior officers and non-commissioned officers in Vietnam who fought in World War II, the oldest are … Continue reading
Trump’s Revised Tax Plan: Will it be Acceptable to Conservatives?
Now that Donald Trump has locked up the Republican nomination, we can look more closely at his policy proposals. In April, when the two candidates were still battling for the Republican nomination, I compared Donald Trump’s tax plan to Ted Cruz’s … Continue reading
A “What If” Memorial Day
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
Seven, Eight … Nine Brothers in World War II
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
Supreme Court Avoids the Issue: Little Sisters Get a Win
In a highly unusual move, the Supreme Court passed off the case of Zubic v. Burwell like a hot potato. It passed the case to the lower federal appeals courts. The high court, short by one justice due to the death of … Continue reading
Which Bathroom Did Klinger Use?
In M*A*S*H, one of America’s longest-running TV shows, the beloved character Max Klinger dressed as a woman. Klinger hoped to get a so-called “Section 8,” which is a mental-health discharge in the military. Everyone who watched the show when it … Continue reading
Barack Obama’s Bathroom Overreach
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
“Calling” for Meaning In Our Work
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
I Have an “Incomplete” in Life 101
During the commencement ceremony at Grove City College in Grove City, Pa., where I am a professor, we will be singing Isaac Watts’ “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” Tears will come to my eyes as we harmonize the … Continue reading
When the Left Liked Conscientious Objection
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Crisis magazine.Do you remember the name Daniel Berrigan? Berrigan was a Jesuit priest well-known for his protests of the Vietnam War. He became a household name in the 1960s, along with his brother, Philip Berrigan, also a … Continue reading
Registering Women for the Draft: A Charade, Not a Necessity
The Armed Services Committee (ASC) recently approved a measure requiring American women aged 18 to 26 to register for the draft and sent it to the full House for consideration. If this measure becomes law it will do nothing to … Continue reading
Whatever Happened to Conservatism?
As Republicans prepare to gather in Cleveland to nominate Donald Trump as their nominee, the question that many may ask is: Whatever happened to conservatism? To the extent that conservatism is defined by limited government, free enterprise, respect for federalism, … Continue reading
An Autopsy of a Movement
With Ted Cruz having dropped out of the 2016 presidential race, there will be a string of eulogies seeking to autopsy his campaign. At least some of those critiques may hit the mark. In particular, Cruz’s campaign strategy went awry … Continue reading
STREAMING VIDEO – 2016 – America’s Three Religious Cultures: Embattled Christians, Pop Heretics and Highbrow Skeptics in the 21st Century
The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat speaks to over 600 people during the Center’s 2016 Conference: Media and American Culture: How the Church, Ideas, Elites, Social Networks, and Technology Shape Society. Ross joined The New York Times as an … Continue reading
Conservative Solutions for Just Wages
There is much talk and action right now on the issue of a minimum or “just” wage. Typically, those who favor raising the minimum wage tend to the liberal camp. However, some of those who want to raise the minimum … Continue reading
Western Civ in the Crosshairs—and A Glimmer of Hope
Students at Indiana University-Bloomington recently went into panic mode at the sight of a Dominican friar, who they mistook for a Ku Klux Klan member. Funny? Yes, but also sad. It is a further sign of the state of our universities, and … Continue reading
Cruz vs. Trump: Comparing their Tax Proposals
As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz battle to become the Republican nominee for president, it is time to closely consider their policies. Although both propose cutting taxes, the details of their plans are very different. Ted Cruz is proposing a … Continue reading
Putin Sends a Message to Obama
“Si vis pacem, para bellum” (“If you want peace, prepare for war”) On April 11-12, two Russian SU-24 fighter-bombers made repeated low-level passes over the USS Donald Cook, an American destroyer sailing in the Baltic Sea. The ship’s crew recorded … Continue reading