Freedom inherently involves risks. If you want your children to roam free at the local playground, they might injure themselves on the big slide. If you want the freedom to watch baseball, someone might get hit in the head by … Continue reading
Media & Culture
A Wonderful Life — Visiting Jimmy Stewart’s Life and Museum
Once again this Christmas season, countless Americans sat down to watch Frank Capra’s Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, starring the great Jimmy Stewart. I’ve seen the movie plenty of times. So why did it leave me crying again this year? … Continue reading
Averting Nuclear Armageddon—in October 1962 and Today
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at National Catholic Register. It is ironic and scary that 60 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis that brought the world’s two superpowers to the brink of nuclear Armageddon, President Joe … Continue reading
Between a Blackrock and a Hard Place: The Consequences of Corporate Social Activism
With the stock market down nearly 20% year-to-date in 2022, investors are paying close attention to the financial performance of their portfolios: seeking to protect 401Ks, looking for safe havens, and trusting that their fiduciary asset managers are making the … Continue reading
Which is more extreme? The evolution of abortion positions
In the land of the mainstream media, conservative and Republican positions on so-called “culture war” issues are always “extreme,” while they rarely raise such concerns about liberal and Democrat positions. They then “helpfully” suggest ways that Republicans could attract more … Continue reading
Corporate Social Activism Following Roe’s Reversal
The recent reversal of Roe v. Wade, acting like a starter’s pistol at a track meet, has initiated a new round of corporate social activism and virtue-signaling. American companies are racing from the starting blocks to demonstrate their support for … Continue reading
The Measure of a Machine: Is LaMDA a Person?
In June 2022, Google suspended engineer Blake Lemoine from his work in artificial intelligence. Having previously assisted with a program called the Language Models for Dialog Applications (LaMDA), Lemoine was placed on leave after publishing confidential information about the project. … Continue reading
What Reversing Roe Really Means
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at The American Spectator. Throughout the 2015-16 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, I urged conservatives not to nominate Donald Trump. When November 2016 arrived, I did not vote for Donald … Continue reading
A Call to the Church: Teaching post-Dobbs
So now it is official. The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has overturned Roe v. Wade, and the legal issue of whether and how to restrict abortion has been returned to the states. I cannot … Continue reading
“Cat’s in the Cradle” Father’s Day
The haunting refrains of Harry Chapin’s song “Cat’s in the Cradle,” like “planes to catch and bills to pay … when you coming home, dad?” started to play in my mind recently. A Fortune 500 company recruiter asked to join … Continue reading
Strength for the Fight: The Faith of Jackie Robinson
“Everyone knows about the bravery Jackie Robinson exhibited in April 1947,” declares Eli Lehrer, executive vice president of the History Channel, as he promotes its upcoming series titled “After Jackie.” Most Americans do know about this aspect of Robinson’s life. … Continue reading
To Stupidity and Beyond
“To infinity and beyond!” In November of 1995, the first of four blockbuster animated films in the Toy Story franchise was released by Walt Disney Pictures to both audience and critical acclaim. With Toy Story, astute businesspeople at the Walt … Continue reading
An Incredible Life and Legacy: Remembering Charles Wiley
My old and dear friend and mentor, Charlie Wiley, passed away in his sleep this week. He was 95 years old. If living a long life with your mind intact, your interest in life and its affairs still intense, your … Continue reading
Going Rogue for the Truth
Back in 1995, as a new director for a college office of career services, I attended the National Association of Colleges and Employers conference. One of the concurrent sessions was entitled “Going Rogue.” More and more students were formally accepting … Continue reading
Teach MLK, Not CRT
Here’s a critical question for enthusiasts of critical race theory, particularly its growing number of advocates on the religious left: How did MLK do what he did without CRT? That is, how did the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. … Continue reading
Why is America so sad? And where do we find joy?
A study by the Harvard Graduate School of Education—based on an October 2020 poll released in February 2021—deserved widespread media coverage. It got almost none. Given what was going on this past February, that is not surprising. But it is … Continue reading
COVID and Conscientious Objection
The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to stop a state vax mandate for healthcare workers invoking religious objections. It declined to halt New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s denial of the First Amendment religious rights of healthcare workers. Only three justices … Continue reading
Sparks are flying at Grove City College
You’ve heard the old saying from Proverbs “iron sharpens iron.” We feel good about friends transforming one another by principled conversations. Mutual iron sharpening is good stuff. But what about the sparks? Iron sharpening produces heat. We love the old … Continue reading
Do I teach at a Woke School?
“Do I teach at a woke school?” was not a question I seriously considered until one evening last week when I received an email from a friend assuring me of his prayers for me in my workplace. The reason was an article he … Continue reading
The cracks are showing in Roe v. Wade
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The Spectator World. Crowds gathered outside of the Supreme Court on Wednesday as the Supreme Court prepared to hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the most consequential abortion case in a generation. Pro-life groups … Continue reading