On November 16, 1990, a film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus took the country by storm: Home Alone. Today, 26 years later, the film is still part of the Christmas season. In the spirit … Continue reading
Media & Culture
Melania Trump, Fashion, and Religious Liberty: A Strange Combination
People magazine recently reported news that a number of prominent fashion designers have refused to work with Melania Trump because they do not approve of her, or more likely, her husband’s politics and language. Given Donald Trump’s often offensive way … Continue reading
Grandchildren of the Sixties
College students in the streets protesting a Trump presidency are not so very different from the demonstrators who took over Columbia University in April 1968. Nevertheless, what took place in less than three weeks back then did a lot to … Continue reading
Why Were the Presidential Polls Wrong?
The election-night coverage of the 2016 vote began with images of the Clinton campaign team gathering in the Javits Center—under the symbolic glass ceiling. Hillary Clinton supporters were enthusiastic, upbeat, and expectant. The polls gave them every reason to expect … Continue reading
American Farms and Hillary Clinton’s Tax Proposal
America’s agricultural resources are among the best in the world. American farmers, or perhaps we should call them America’s agribusiness professionals, produce essential financial crops including wheat, corn, beans, grapes, apples, etc. We are all dependent on their productivity. Indeed, … Continue reading
The Inside Story: What Really Happened with Roe v. Wade?
Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, courts have struck down many attempts by state governments to regulate the abortion industry. Just this past summer a Texas law requiring abortion-providing facilities to meet the same health and safety standards as outpatient … Continue reading
The Cruel Irony of Hillary Clinton’s “Pro-Women” Stance
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
Thoughts on the Passing of Three Sports Legends
With the recent passing of Arnold Palmer, yet another all-time great sports icon has left us in 2016. How ironic that three athletes, each of whom was the face of his sport in the 1960s—Arnold Palmer in golf, Muhammad Ali … Continue reading
A Memo to Washington: Don’t Box in Our Freedom
C. J. Box is a New York Times best-selling author. Although he has published some stand-alone novels, he is best known for his Joe Pickett series. The 17th Joe Pickett novel is scheduled for release next spring. These novels feature … Continue reading
Born That Way? A False Hypothesis
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
The Great Ty Cobb
Editor’s note: A version of this review first appeared at the Claremont Review of Books. Charles Leerhsen’s “Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty” may be the most important baseball book in decades. It is historically significant in two respects: First, it … Continue reading
My Brother’s Pregnancy?
I am a Baby Boomer who grew up with Time magazine. From before I was born it arrived at our home every week. We were subscribers, and I devoured every issue. Time was solid—carefully researched and cogently written. When I … Continue reading
Storm Clouds are on the Horizon
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
Hillary Clinton, Saul Alinsky and … Lucifer? What was Ben Carson talking about?
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
The Gong Show Election of 2016
Many of those reading this article remember The Gong Show. It ran on NBC from June 1976 to July 1978 and briefly reprised in the 1980s. It featured amateur talent, much of it rendering absurd humor. Three judges awarded ridiculous … Continue reading
Trump vs. Reagan: Unprincipled vs. Principled
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at ConservativeReview.com. In my previous piece in this series, I quoted a Ronald Reagan speech to CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, from February 6, 1977, where Reagan defined conservatism. Among his crucial points … Continue reading
The Incredible Hopelessness of America’s Gun “Conversation”
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
The Truth About Socialism: The Venezuelan Disaster
Many Millennials are finding socialism attractive—at least as presented by Bernie Sanders. This is perplexing because there is ample and dramatic evidence of how a full-fledged socialist state fails its own citizens so miserably. Witness Venezuela. Fifteen years under socialist … Continue reading
More than Ever, We Need Each Other
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
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