of course, all people argue. That’s what a democracy is. When you stop arguing, that’s when you have a dictatorship. —David Mamet (HT: Barry Ickes).
Democratic Socialism Isn’t Free
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Civil Liberties
Mamet: When People Stop Arguing
Does The IRS Have Secret Procedures For Auditing Churches?
Alliance Defending Freedom asked a federal district court Friday to order the Internal Revenue Service to identify records it has withheld for nearly two years that are related to secret procedures for investigating churches. The existence of the secret procedures became known . . . Continue reading →
Socialism: The Utopia That Ends In Misery
No doubt the stated intentions are oh-so-pure and oh-so-good, like “liberte, egalite, fraternite.” It’s the sort of compassion Flannery O’Connor wrote of when she noted that “tenderness leads to the gas chamber.” That’s because, at the end of the day, socialism is . . . Continue reading →
With Chris Buskirk On Downstream Politics
I am not a political analyst and I do not play on TV or radio (nor in the pulpit) but Christians do live in a twofold kingdom and I was happy to talk with Chris Buskirk, host of Downstream Politics, about media, . . . Continue reading →
Sasse: The Government Exists To Secure Natural Liberties
Of Common Grace, Nature, And Bathrooms
On a quick trip to and from Washington D.C. I read P. J. O’Rourke, The Baby Boom And How It Got That Way…. As always O’Rourke is funny, insightful, and often right on the mark. I’m not sure that I’m convinced that . . . Continue reading →
The LGBT War On Free Thought And Speech
The vitriolic reaction of the LGBT lobby to honesty from Americans about their consciences, religious beliefs, scientific knowledge, and political stances shows that their agenda boils down to shutting down free speech. This sounds counter-intuitive. After all, the media and Hollywood conditioned . . . Continue reading →
Another End Of Watch
Before Political Correctness
If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act . . . Continue reading →
From The Campus To The Culture: The Potential Death Of Free Speech
“If you believe as I do that ideas have consequences, what happens on American college campuses will eventually percolate its way down and through the culture as a whole. And if we lose free speech on college campuses, we will eventually lose . . . Continue reading →
Tocqueville On The Effects Of Socialism On Liberty
A third and final trait, one which, in my eyes, best describes socialists of all schools and shades, is a profound opposition to personal liberty and scorn for individual reason, a complete contempt for the individual. They unceasingly attempt to mutilate, to . . . Continue reading →
A Muslim Approaches The Truth About Global Islamism And Jihad
(HT: @muddygravel) It should be added that the Ft Hood and San Bernardino attacks and others suggest that the line between ideological Islamism and violent jihad is fluid and rapidly crossed. The high percentage of Islamic Study Centers (mosques) in the USA . . . Continue reading →
Supreme Court In 1957: Academic Freedom Is Self-Evident
The State Supreme Court thus conceded without extended discussion that petitioner’s right to lecture and his right to associate with others were constitutionally protected freedoms which had been abridged through this investigation. These conclusions could not be seriously debated. Merely to summon . . . Continue reading →
2011 Study: 84% Of Mosques In America Advocate Study Of Texts Advocating Violence Against Non-Muslims
A random survey of 100 representative mosques in the U.S. was conducted to measure the correlation between Sharia adherence and dogma calling for violence against non-believers. Of the 100 mosques surveyed, 51% had texts on site rated as severely advocating violence; 30% . . . Continue reading →
Sen Sasse: This Is About Who We Are
The Theodicy Of The State: A Primitive Religious Reaction
The theodicy of federal government seeks to defend the goodness of government in the face of tragedy. So just as some religious groups might blame a weather event on insufficient fealty to the relevant god, some progressives blame — before we actually . . . Continue reading →
Political Correctness At Work
Now, however, publicly supporting the entire LGBTQ movement’s agenda is mandatory. If employees refuse to participate in a company Gay Pride event, their behavior may be interpreted as discriminatory insubordination. If a female employee complains about a male using the women’s restroom, . . . Continue reading →
A Rational Alternative To “Safe Spaces” On Campus
The promise of a liberal arts education is to provide challenging, unpredictable, and even uncomfortable intellectual and interpersonal encounters in order to produce the capacity for critical thinking, open-mindedness, and critical self-examination in graduates who are less dogmatic and prejudiced than when . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: After Obergefell (pt 1)
Recently the Supreme Court of the United States issued a very significant decision widely known as Obergefell. In that 5–4 ruling, writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy argued that same-sex marriage is protected under the 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the . . . Continue reading →