The central thesis of our civilization is found in the following passage from Plato’s Gorgias: "For no one who is not totally bereft of reason and courage is afraid to die; doing what’s unjust is what he’s afraid of. For of all evils, the ultimate is that of arriving in Hades with one’s soul … Read more
A colleague of mine was once in over his head with investors to whom he owed millions of dollars. On one particular day, they paid him a polite visit at his home, asking about the status of the investment and hoping for some indication of how soon they would receive their promised return. My colleague … Read more
A few years ago, I met a woman I will never forget. Sally Savery was a waitress in Wamego, Kansas, who had recently gone through a divorce and bankruptcy. Through a twist a fate, she had met a missionary from Brazil and was inspired by the woman’s story to travel back with her. After saving … Read more
While the politicians run around the country telling us of their plans to make our lives better — what wizardry they command; merely to make speeches, pass laws, and print paper, thereby making us prosperous and secure! — free enterprise is busy actually accomplishing this, and with little or no fanfare. This is the thought … Read more
You’ve surely heard of the economic stimulus payments that the government is planning to send out this summer. Most people will receive $300. The government hopes that we will all rush out to buy things, and that this will revive a slumping economy. Trying to stimulate the economy with an infusion of cash is not … Read more
During Lent, you will hear some version of the following from the pulpit: “This is the season to volunteer in charitable causes, to give back in service to the community, in a labor of love.” One cannot argue with the instruction here, or the sentiment behind it. Lent is indeed a time for giving and … Read more
Tom Rooney is Catholic and pro-life, and he is running for the Republican nomination in Florida’s 16th Congressional District. Rooney comes from a football family; his grandfather, Art Rooney Sr., founded the Pittsburg Steelers in 1933. Former Army captain and JAG (Judge Advocate General), Rooney will need all his experience — football, military, and legal … Read more
As we settle into the new year and reflect on the past twelve months, we naturally recall the things that have made us happy, those areas of our lives in which we want to see improvement, and the meaning of life in general. Some see life as the culmination of a series of time-bound goals, … Read more
See if you can spot anything wrong with the following claim, a version of which seems to appear in a book, magazine, or newspaper every few weeks for as long as I’ve been reading public commentary on economic matters: The dominant idea guiding economic policy in the United States and much of the globe has … Read more
Paul and Patricia (Pat) Hundt are co-founders of Aquinas Academy, one of the first independent Catholic schools in the United States. Aquinas is a private school operated by Catholic lay people, dedicated to instilling traditional Catholic values in students from Pre-K3 through 8th grade. In 1991, with the help of several Catholic families, Paul … Read more
My husband is paranoid. The other day, I was about to leave for a quick run on our peaceful, tree-lined, country roads when he stopped me to ask, ”What are you bringing for protection?” Protection? What on earth was this man talking about? “I’ve got a couple of these,” I offered, holding up two of … Read more
At first blush, you’d be hard-pressed to figure how a trio of middle-aged nuns could be victims of the Church’s sex-abuse scandal. But there’s no other way to describe the plight of the three Sisters of Bethany — one of them a hunched and wrinkled 69 — who will soon be evicted from the convent … Read more
There’s big money to be made in undermining traditional Christianity. We saw it first in the phenomenal success of The Da Vinci Code, the film version of which will be in theaters later this month. You’re already no doubt familiar with the book’s unrelenting attack on the Church. And the movie looks to be no … Read more
Bjørn Lomborg is an associate professor of statistics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. In 1998, he published four articles offering a statistician’s look at the environment in the leading Danish newspaper. His findings initiated a massive debate throughout the European environmentalist community. He later expanded his articles into … Read more