Columnists

May 21, 2012

The Controversial Faith of Barack Obama

by Gary S. Smith

President Obama’s recent statement on gay marriage has again thrust his religious views onto the front pages. In defending his position, Obama stressed that he and his wife were “practicing Christians” and that his stance was supported by Christ’s teaching…

May 18, 2012

China’s Demographic Crisis

by Marcus Roberts

I am following up a recent blogpost about China’s demographic decline. This piece from the Economist shows that the inexorable rise of the Dragon will be hindered by its demographic Achilles heel. According to the UN medium variant population projection, China’s population will…

May 17, 2012

More Educated Women Opting to Have Families

by Shannon Buckely

Many people I talk to are worried that it seems to them that the ‘wrong’ sort of people are having all the babies – those who are not in stable relationships or who are, rightly or wrongly, perceived to have…

May 16, 2012

Afghanization: A Half Year Plan

by Earl Tilford

President Barack Obama’s five-point plan for turning the war back to the Afghans is designed to cover the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces and “forge a just and lasting peace.” What does the plan involve, and can it work?…

May 15, 2012

An Unsurprising Marriage Epiphinay

by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas

It may have erupted in the Twitterverse and on MSM sites, but the only possible surprise element may have been the timing. Maybe. Because President Obama’s was among the most expected and awaited coming out moments in the nation. Which…

May 14, 2012

Reflections on the French Election

by Mark W. Hendrickson

The election of Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande to the presidency of France epitomizes the sorry state of contemporary democracy. By that, I don’t mean to imply that the French people should have voted for the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy. Neither…

May 11, 2012

When Sitting Down Gets You Arrested

Graham Preston, a 56-year-old father from Queensland, Australia, went to jail recently for refusing to pay fines of roughly $8000 that have accumulated after 10 years of non-violently blocking the entrances of four abortion clinics around the state capital, Brisbane….

May 10, 2012

Carter Redux: Same Old Story on Energy

by Jarrett Skorup

As spring bloomed, the president addressed the nation on energy. The president told us, “Without our planning for the future, it will get worse … The oil and natural gas that we rely on for 75 percent of our energy…

May 10, 2012

Marriage or Savagery: Lithuania Debates the Family

by Carolyn Moynihan

Some of the most interesting debates on family policies are taking place in the European countries of the former Soviet bloc. In 2008, Lithuania passed legislation to define “family” as the married union of a man and a woman together…

May 9, 2012

Biblical Illiteracy and Bible Babel

by George Weigel

One of the disappointments of the post-Vatican II period has been the glacial pace of the growth in Catholic biblical literacy the Council hoped to inspire. Why the slow-down? Several reasons suggest themselves. The hegemony of the historical-critical method of…

May 9, 2012

The Unaccountable Popularity of “The Scream”

by Carolyn Moynihan

There seem to be two types of people in the world; those who think Edward Munch’s picture, The Scream, is an inspired and profound work of art, and those who can’t see what all the fuss is about. The anonymous…

May 8, 2012

Recognition of the Real Population Problem

by Marcus Roberts

Another mainstream newspaper from the UK, this time the Telegraph, has put the problem of an ageing, declining population into the spotlight. A couple of weeks ago the New York Times and the Guardian did the same thing, so hopefully we will…

May 8, 2012

Lessons from the island of Utøya

by Michael Cook

News reports on the trial of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian who murdered 77 people on the island of Utøya, near Oslo, last year, are being filed from a different moral universe. In The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells…

May 7, 2012

Remembering V-E Day

by Marvin J. Folkertsma

December 1941 is usually remembered by Americans as that fateful month when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, thus thrusting the United States into World War II. However, consider an alternate scenario: Adolf Hitler appears triumphantly before the Reichstag announcing the destruction…

May 4, 2012

Teddy Roosevelt for President in 2012?

by Dr. Joseph Postell

The 2012 presidential election is shaping up to be one of the most significant elections in American history. The outcome of major political issues such as Obamacare, carbon regulations, and our looming fiscal calamity hang in the balance. In a…

May 3, 2012

Of Female Bondage

by Carolyn Moynihan

Here’s something strange. Just when you thought women had cast off the last of their chains, it turns out that they are rushing headlong back into bondage. Female enthusiasm for a sadomasochistic “romance” called Fifty Shades of Greyhas seen tens…

May 2, 2012

Gothic and Glorious: Pugin at 200

by George Weigel

The prospect of “redecorating,” or any other form of “home improvement,” generally gets me thinking, quickly, about a lengthy research trip abroad. Yet I can, and recently did, spend several pleasant hours contemplating ceramics, furniture, and–would you believe it?—wallpaper. But…

May 1, 2012

Doom Predicted for Nigeria

by Marcus Roberts

In the New York Times recently, there was a story about Nigeria’s ongoing population explosion and the terrible consequences that are flowing from it. According to the headlines, Nigeria is being “tested” by its rapid population growth and it is seen as…

April 30, 2012

Greek Youth Getting Back to Basics

by Carolyn Moynihan

A couple of weeks ago a retired Greek pharmacist shot himself outside the country’s parliament in protest at austerity measures that include major cuts to pensions. But alongside this story of despairing protest comes news of youths who are adapting…

April 30, 2012

The Culture Behind the Cartagena Scandal

by Carolyn Moynihan

President Obama has called them “knuckleheads”. A CNN columnist says the actions of a dozen Secret Service agents in Colombia amounted to “stupidity”. United States Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the episode, also involving military personnel, was a “huge…

April 27, 2012

Making Noise, Not Arguments

by Jennifer Roback Morse

In my work as a social conservative, I have been puzzled by some of the rhetorical strategies of my opponents. Sometimes I feel my head spinning, as if I have been going around in circles, with no obvious conclusion in…

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