In 1789, America’s first president proclaimed a “day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” George Washington implored the heavens to “pardon our national and other transgressions” and urged the citizenry to practice “true religion and virtue.” In 1863, Abraham Lincoln urged … Continue reading
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Tears for Gosnell’s House of Horrors
I recently saw the documentary “3801 Lancaster: An American Tragedy.” I went home and cried. I don’t mean tears of joy. No, I cried. The last time I cried was when my dad died. The last time before that I can … Continue reading
Presidents and Thanksgiving
Responding to a request from Congress, President George Washington issued our nation’s first Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. Only in the midst of the crucible of civil war, however, did presidential proclamations of Thanksgiving become customary. Every year since 1863 our … Continue reading
Paris, Brussels, and 21st Century Europe
Some time ago a former student emailed me a video clip that I now show my Major European Governments course. It’s a five-minute news piece by Dale Hurd of CBN News, a conservative Christian outlet—the rare kind of place where … Continue reading
Why Missouri, Yale, and Rubio are Wrong About College
The recent campus absurdities at Missouri and Yale have justifiably been met with derision by critics and real concern by parents who are paying a great deal of money to send their children to college. But some conservatives like Senator Marco … Continue reading
Obama’s College ‘Scorecard’ Doesn’t Measure Up
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Department of Education has released its “College Scorecard,” a searchable college-affordability database that President Obama described as containing “reliable data on every institution of higher education.” Unfortunately, that simply … Continue reading
Not Losing is a Loser’s Game
“ Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but above all thou shalt not be a bystander” –Yehuda Bauer, Professor of History and Holocaust Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Obama administration’s weak and failing … Continue reading
Hollywood’s Blacklisted Communist: The Truth About Trumbo
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Investor’s Business Daily. A long-touted motion picture on prominent Hollywood screenwriter and communist Dalton Trumbo debuts in theaters this weekend. I will see the film, but first I’d like to share some background … Continue reading
Surviving Hitler’s “Hell-Hole” … Remembering Frank Kravetz
“Just existing became what was important.” So said Frank Kravetz, World War II veteran and former captive of Nuremberg Prison Camp, or what Frank called the Nazi “hell-hole.” “Yet even as I struggled with the day-to-day sadness and despair,” said … Continue reading
Supreme Court Cases in the New Term (Part 1) – Race and University Admissions: Abigail Fisher v. University of Texas II
Abigail Fisher applied for admission to the University of Texas at Austin (UT) as part of the entering class of 2008. Little did she know that being rejected for admission under UT’s race-conscious program would bring her before the U.S. … Continue reading
The New American Verb: To Concuss
Of course, it’s not a new verb; it’s in older dictionaries. I have been hearing it much more frequently, however, and I am becoming alarmed. We as a society are much more aware of the risks of being concussed, and … Continue reading
Grove City College – Trustee Scholarship Program
Do you know an exceptional high school student? A student who may be interested in a tremendous scholarship opportunity? The Trustee Scholarship Program at Grove City College provides our highest performing students with a rich academic experience rooted in scholarly … Continue reading
What Bill O’Reilly’s New Book on Ronald Reagan Gets Wrong About Ronald Reagan
By Craig Shirley, Kiron K. Skinner, Paul Kengor, and Steven F. Hayward Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The Washington Post. “Killing Reagan,” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, is supposed to be a book of new scholarship on the Reagan … Continue reading
The Crucible You Never Knew … Arthur Miller at 100
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. October 17, 2015 is the centenary of the birth of Arthur Miller, one of the literary left’s shining lights and righteous crusaders against some of liberals’ worst demons: Joe McCarthy, … Continue reading
Humility in New Hampshire
In his 1850 short story, “The Great Stone Face,” Nathaniel Hawthorne described the legend of the Old Man of the Mountain: “At some future day, a child should be born hereabouts, who was destined to become the greatest and noblest … Continue reading
Feeling Good About America on a Chilly Autumn Evening
Don’t you love it when something heartwarming happens to you unexpectedly? That happened to me on October 1. My friend Ron invited me to go with him to Cleveland to see the game that night between the Indians and the … Continue reading
Tracking America’s Suicide
Amidst a plethora of sensational news reports elbowing each other to seize first place in America’s national consciousness, there is a story that has lurked beneath media radar that teaches us much more about the status of our country than … Continue reading
Tethered to Technology—Escaping the IT Trap
Increasingly, we often expect each other to be smartphone-available nearly 24/7. Or we act as if this is the case. Over time, this can lead to feelings of exhaustion and a sense of entrapment. Time to just focus on our … Continue reading
Pope Francis vs. the “Demon” of Gender Theory
Editor’s note: A shorter version of this article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Pope Francis has returned to Rome after a historic trip to the United States. It was a fascinating endeavor. There have been many papal visits to … Continue reading
America Visits Pluto
In 1989, America’s Voyager 2 spacecraft performed a reconnaissance flyby of Neptune, the distant ice giant planet that orbits about three billion miles from the sun. I was in graduate school then, and I stayed up all night watching PBS’s … Continue reading