Even though reports were reaching social workers of the crimes in Rotherham as far back as the 1990s, nothing of consequence was done for more than a decade. The police were pigheaded and clueless, and the fear of being called “racist” paralyzed . . . Continue reading →
Civil Liberties
Heidelcast 74: Nomism And Antinomianism (12)
Before I began this series my intent was to do a series of episodes on the Reformed understanding of the Christian use of the moral law as the norm or rule of the Christian life. Confessional Protestants (Reformed and Lutheran) call it . . . Continue reading →
The Wild Card
Race is the wild card in all this. The idea that you can tell who is innocent and who is guilty by the color of their skin is a notion that was tried out for generations, back in the days of the . . . Continue reading →
Classical Liberalism Now Looks Conservative
Silber was often labeled “conservative.” In fact, and as he always insisted, he was a liberal of the old school. He believed in advancement according to merit, not quotas; colorblind justice; the disinterested pursuit of truth; and open debate, not ideological conformity. . . . Continue reading →
Silent Dissent No Longer Permitted
The message to all employees is perfectly clear: You are expected to fall into line with the approved and required thinking. Nothing short of assent is acceptable. Silent dissent will no longer be permitted. — Anonymous Employee at Chase Bank
Independence And The Practice Of The Faith
On Independence Day 2014 we should remember that one of the principal concerns of the founders of the Republic was the freedom not only to assemble for public worship but also to practice one’s religion. Since the so-called (and self-described) Enlightenment of . . . Continue reading →
Frightening Times
The most ominous development in the IRS scandal is the confederation of executive and congressional authority in opposition to our fundamental rights. The accumulation of all government powers in the same hands, Madison warned, “may justly be pronounced the very definition of . . . Continue reading →
No Patience For One Year And Counting
I’ve got no patience with it, I will not tolerate it, and we’ll make sure that, uh, we find out exactly what happened. —President Barack Obama, May 13, 2013 on the IRS scandal.
The Power Of The Group To Extract Conformity
But the face of Big Brother seemed to persist for several seconds on the screen, as though the impact that it had made on everyone’s eyeballs was too vivid to wear off immediately. The little sandyhaired woman had flung herself forward over . . . Continue reading →
How Public Discourse Sounded In 1965
(HT: Pundit Press) Warning: This debate occurred in 1965. James Baldwin uses an objectionable word that was more freely used then to describe American Blacks, which is forbidden today.
Who Needs Discussion When You Already Know The Answers?
And, before I go any further, I would like to express my personal thanks to all of you for not rescinding my invitation. I know that matters were dicey for a while, given that I have held and defended actual positions on . . . Continue reading →
It All Depends Upon Who Says It
As a follow up to my recent interview with Stella Morabito I thought that this clip illustrates some important realities that we discussed. Joe Klein and Jeff Greenfield have impeccable mainstream media credentials. Klein writes for Time. Greenfield is perhaps best known . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 69: Stella Morabito On Political Correctness
The Heidelcast is a broadcast about history and theology and recovering the Reformed confession but one of my great concerns in recent years has been the potential and actual loss of religious and other civil liberties. It’s not unusual for Reformed ministers . . . Continue reading →
Outraged America
I grew up in a mostly white neighborhoods but, for several years, I went to mixed-race schools. There was a lot of racial tension in my hometown back then. There were “race riots” in 1968 and tensions simmered for years after. Maybe . . . Continue reading →
Morabito: This Is A Test AND An Actual Emergency
Lots of folks have been scratching their heads wondering how genderless marriage — which seemed just a fantasy on the fringes just a decade or so ago — so quickly became a reality of American public policy today. There are a lot . . . Continue reading →
On The Most Generous Interpretation, It Still Looks Bad
The University of East Anglia’s official report about the leaked e-mails concluded that “opposing interpretations can be obtained from the same statement.” But even if we give those involved the benefit of the doubt — presuming that “trick” and “hide the decline” . . . Continue reading →
Murray To Azusa Pacific Students: Think For Yourself
The task of the scholar is to present a case for his or her position based on evidence and logic. Another task of the scholar is to do so in a way that invites everybody into the discussion rather than demonize those . . . Continue reading →
An Elitist Mob Tells The Unwashed Masses
As with all such discussions, an elitist few take it upon themselves to tell the unwashed masses what they may and may not say — or by logical extension, what they may or may not think. These self-appointed arbiters of speech and . . . Continue reading →
Dislocation, Fear, and Dependency
In her 1995 book Cults in our Midst, Margaret Thaler Singer (d. 2003) explores in detail the methods and processes of coercive persuasion. These methods are used not just by cult leaders, but by anyone who manipulates the behavior of others in . . . Continue reading →
Samuel Miller Contra The Peculiar Institution
Pride, indeed, may contend, that these unhappy subjects of our oppression are an inferior race of beings; and are therefore assigned by the strictest justice to a depressed and servile station in society. But in what does this inferiority consist? In a . . . Continue reading →