In war, the inability or refusal to recognize the enemy’s intentions and capabilities has disastrous consequences. America experienced this on December 7, 1941. But as 9/11 and subsequent events have demonstrated, it is a lesson soon forgotten and often reviewed in sorrow and bitterness. Sadly, there is little reason to think that the leaders of … Read more
In a speech delivered to the Annual MAS-ICNA (Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America) Convention in December 2015, Nihad Awad, the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), urged Muslim Americans to take up the cause of Black Lives Matter. “Black Lives Matter is our matter,” he said; “Black Lives … Read more
The chaos of the present election cycle calls to mind a story about the great African king, Shaka (1787-1828), the founder of Southern Africa’s Zulu Empire. It is told that Shaka lamented the slowness of his warriors when they entered into battle. To remedy the problem, he ordered them to take off their sandals to … Read more
It is shaping up that one of the major issues this election year is going to be free trade and the international trade deals that the U.S. has negotiated over the past quarter-century. The major agreements that come to mind, which have generated so much controversy, are the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and … Read more
It is a week for mourning certainly. We mourn the loss of an important Supreme Court case that would have protected women in abortion clinics. We mourn the inevitable loss of life that will be the direct result of this decision, the lives of unborn children but also women who would have otherwise had at … Read more
The Statue of Liberty used to be the face America projected to the world. A gift from the people of France in 1886 and an emblem of how Americans saw themselves and how they wanted to be seen by the world. Liberte eclairant le monde is the name given the statue—”Liberty enlightening the world.” The … Read more
Many commentators tried to implicate Christians in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Orlando. But might it not be true that Western secularists have more in common with Isis than Christians? The two realities of Islamic extremism and Western consumerism are like shadowy doppelgangers showing up each other’s bankruptcy. Consider: I. ISIS and secularists … Read more
The world is abuzz with talk of Brexit—the British vote to leave the European Union. Britain’s reclamation of its independence is now prompting talk that other nations might exit the EU—the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Italy, and a dozen more. Over on this side of the Atlantic, the Brexit initiative has renewed discussion about the U.S. … Read more
The British have voted to leave the European Union. In all likelihood, other European countries will follow suit, a real nightmare for Brussels bureaucrats. The British vote is another indication that the West’s attempt at reducing man to materialist categories has failed and that the only way to save the EU is a return to … Read more
As a gleeful gaggle of the nature-redefining left celebrates the one-year anniversary of the horrific Obergefell decision, which magically discovered—nay, invented—a “constitutional right” to same-sex “marriage” in all 50 states, there is a name that likewise deserves recognition. It is a name that will not be mentioned but merits some credit in the secular left’s … Read more
Syndicated columnist Derek Hunter made an observation in the aftermath of the Orlando shootings that parallels my own impression at the time: If you only watch network news and read the New York Times you easily could come away with the impression that last Sunday morning a conservative Christian man, draped in crosses and screaming … Read more
If the Orlando massacre at a gay night club teaches us anything, it demonstrates the grip that political correctness has on our society. One might call it a death grip. We now know that fears about being thought Islamophobic prevented colleagues of Major Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood killer, from reporting his jihadist sympathies even … Read more
Mary Eberstadt is a master of analogy. In her masterful work Adam and Eve After the Pill, she compared the Sexual Revolution to communism, an ideology that hasn’t so much as failed, don’t you know, as one that simply needs one more good try. Neither empirical evidence, nor high body count, will convince true believers … Read more
Mark Twain would have understood the protest of Yogi Berra: “Most of the things I said I didn’t say.” To Twain, with no evidence, is attributed: “Denial is not just a river in Egypt.” The source of the quotation is debated as is the source of the Nile, but the meaning is as valid as … Read more
The first and last sentences of a Texas Criminal Court’s ruling from earlier this week state: “Defendant David Robert Daleiden’s motion to quash the indictment is pending before this Court … Cause No. 2071353 is ORDERED DISMISSED for want of jurisdiction.” Those sentences reveal what we at Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund (FCDF) have been … Read more
The Sibyl of Cumae is one of those mysterious figures from antiquity. She was a prophetess and priestess of the ancient world. In his Metamorphoses Ovid relates that the god Apollo offered the Sibyl any wish she desired. “I pointed to a heap of dust collected there,” the Sibyl later explains to Aeneas, “and foolishly … Read more
I write frequently about the danger of Islamization in the U.S.—the incremental spread of Islamic law and culture that culminates in Islamic dominance. Many people, no doubt, consider that to be an unrealistic fear—about as likely as a takeover by shape-shifting aliens. After all, Muslims make up a relatively small proportion of the population. Besides, … Read more
The prospect of drafting women is exposing some of the second-order consequences of fully integrating the combat arms. Constitutionally speaking, women’s combat exemption was the primary circumstance standing between America’s young women and registration for Selective Service. Now that women’s exemption has been repealed and the House and Senate are weighing amendments that include forcing … Read more
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Once again common sense has been turned on its head in our culture, this time by transgender activists agitating for people to be able to use the bathroom that they feel corresponds emotionally to their self-identified gender rather than the anatomical gender of their biological sex. The issue … Read more
We Catholics constantly deal with questions about pro-abortion or pro-“gay marriage” Catholic politicians and their conflict with Church teaching. The likes of a Nancy Pelosi or Andrew Cuomo or Kathleen Sebelius are regularly called out. During the 2004 presidential race, Democratic nominee John Kerry, a lifetime Roman Catholic, was strongly criticized for his support of … Read more