July 21, 2020
by Paul Kengor
Progressives eagerly remind America of its past of slavery and racism. So much so that The New York Times’ 1619 Project literally dates America that way, defining the country’s start by the year 1619 (rather than 1620 or 1776), with the arrival of the first Africans to Virginia that year. Mobs target statues of everyone [...]
February 19, 2020
by R.M. Fields
When asked about the political plight of pro-life Democrats, presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg responded with what I call the “pro-choice fallacy.” According to Mr. Buttigieg, “I know that the difference of opinion that you and I have is one that we have come by honestly, and the best I can offer… is that if we [...]
October 12, 2017
by Fr. David Andrew Fisher
“Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother. To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philemon, 1:1-3) Paul’s Letter to Philemon is one of the shortest writings in [...]
October 6, 2017
by Fr. John A. Perricone
Hollywood award shows used to be de rigeur viewing for most Americans. No more. Perhaps because a kind of collective delirium has set upon the artist class. Take the Emmy’s this past Sunday, for instance. One of the celebrity winners, Donald Glover—a black man—snidely remarked, “I want to thank Trump for making black people number [...]
September 27, 2017
by Fr. George W. Rutler
The current Neo-Puritanical mania for tearing down statues and stifling free speech by cultural ingénues ignorant of history and logic, has reached a stellar absurdity in demands to censure “The Star Spangled Banner” on lame claims that it is racist and advertises bigotry. Given the low level of contemporary culture, and the remarkable fact that [...]
February 27, 2017
by William Kilpatrick
Two years ago, Georgetown University made a show of repenting of its past connections to slavery by renaming two buildings whose namesakes had once sold slaves. It might be expected then that when a Georgetown faculty member defends slavery, not just online, but in the course of a ninety-minute lecture, the reaction would be swift [...]
January 19, 2017
by Peter Maurice
In an unforgettable scene in the film Dr. Zhivago, the adaptable lawyer Komarovski bellows from the foot of the frozen stairs, where he had been flung by the eponymous hero: “We’re all made from the same clay, you know!” Komarovski, whose name suggests “mosquito” in Russian, is not a card-carrying communist, but a broad-minded member [...]
September 9, 2016
by Fr. Cornelius Buckley, S.J.
On September 1, John J. DeGioia, the president of Georgetown University confirmed and published the recommendations of the university’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation. For almost a year the members of this group have been studying the ties of the Georgetown Jesuits with black slaves, and particularly, with the sale of 272 slaves [...]
September 11, 2014
by Fr. George W. Rutler
The staircase in my rectory is lined with pictures of the twelve pastors who preceded me in my parish, which is called Hell’s Kitchen. I hope that thirteen is a benign number. While the neighborhood now is experiencing the most promising real estate development in the history of the nation, it did not get its nickname for [...]
June 30, 2014
by Fr. George W. Rutler
In the splendid biographies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow the leitmotif that bursts into a glorious finale is that Washington truly was one of the noblest of men and Hamilton, in some ways the son that Washington never had, was a stunning genius and no less entertaining as a character. Jefferson [...]
February 20, 2012
by Fr. George W. Rutler
The eclectic national Presidents Day, homogenizes our veneration of the man General “Lighthorse Harry” Lee eulogized as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” It also neglects Abraham Lincoln, who with the Father of Our Country made a pair unmatched for virtue and genius appropriate to their tasks [...]
January 25, 2012
by Gary S. Smith
Among America’s amazing pantheon of founders, Patrick Henry stands out for his stirring speeches and fervent commitment to liberty, virtue, and small government. The Virginia planter, lawyer, and politician strongly denounced Great Britain’s political and economic control of the American colonies and played a leading role in the movement for independence. More controversially, Henry’s love [...]
December 30, 2011
by Gary S. Smith
Have you heard any good news lately? Bad news abounds. It’s been another tough year. Economic woes continue. Greece and Italy are on the verge of bankruptcy. Unemployment is still high in the United States (around 8.6 percent), and the stock market has taken a beating. With approximately $108 billion in insured catastrophic losses, 2011 [...]
November 14, 2011
by Jason Jones
One of the most insightful things I've ever read about America is G.K. Chesterton's quip that it is “a nation with the soul of a church.” It's a comment that cuts two ways. Chesterton made it at a time when the U.S. enforced on its citizens the unjust laws of Prohibition. That policy had been [...]
October 25, 2011
by Patrick J. Buchanan
A conservative's task in society is "to preserve a particular people, living in a particular place during a particular time." Jack Hunter, in a review of this writer's new book, Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? thus summarizes Russell Kirk's view of the duty of the conservative to his country. Kirk, the [...]
October 18, 2011
by Marvin J. Folkertsma
The ink was barely dry on the asterisk in Jimmy Hoffa Jr.’s rant about taking out those “sons-of-b*tches” -- referring to Tea Party members -- when the vice president made his own contribution at a Labor Day rally. “This is a fight for the existence of organized labor,” the veep shouted. “You are the only [...]
September 26, 2011
by Mary Jo Anderson
The current battles over the fate of thousands of babies conceived via in vitro fertilization would confound even King Solomon. Sensational news reports surrounding the $180,000 price tag for Ukrainian black-market babies shocked the determinedly secular segments of society, and few remain unmoved by the story of the FBI's round-up of "baby-brokers." Beyond the initial [...]
July 26, 2011
by Mark W. Hendrickson
This past Fourth of July marked 235 years since the Declaration of Independence was published. In this immortal document, the Spirit of ’76 was given its fullest, most eloquent expression. The Declaration is a timeless document, espousing eternal principles that, while forever historically identified with America, are universal in their application. The Fourth provided an [...]
June 28, 2011
by Walter E. Williams
Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., referring to his race and the Constitution on John Stossel's recent show "The State Against Blacks," said, "I wasn't even considered three-fifths of a guy." The Rev. Al Sharpton, debating on Sean Hannity's show, said, "Any black, at any age at any stage, was three-fifths of a human." Even eminent historian [...]
June 1, 2010
by Mark P. Shea
It's been a while since the Crusades. As a general rule, when our president goes abroad, he does not get waylaid on his triumphal ride home and find himself in the hands of brigands, who send wax-sealed notes back to the vice president saying, "Give us £40,000 and we will release your Dread Sovereign, that [...]