Until now the only thing for which Irving Middle School has been notorious was that the infamous spree murderer Charlie Starkweather (1938–59) attended there, in the 1950s, when it was a Junior High School. It is in the news today, however, because . . . Continue reading →
Civil Life
Sometimes Nebraska Is Just Too Nice (UPDATED)
The Big Factory
The Left’s model of society is still the model of Marx and Bismarck: one big factory to be managed by experts. The government schools are an assembly line for human widgets, who are in theory there to be taught what the state . . . Continue reading →
Why Governments Fail
The breezy confidence of the White House and CDC is the kind of happy talk that relies on all the links in the chain having the same strength. —Rick Wilson, “The Uninvited Guest“
Because It Is
Constitution Day 2014
2009: No Federal Dollars For Abortion
(HT: Daily Signal)
Do Not Forget
Remembering The Wrong Things
The Twofold Government And Citizenship
Cal State Has Crossed A Line
In (1559) Institutes 3.19.15 Calvin wrote that God has instituted a “twofold government in man” (duplex esse in homine regimen). This truth means that we have a legitimate interest in both sacred and secular spheres. By distinguishing between sacred and secular spheres . . . Continue reading →
Discomfort As Ground For Silencing Dissent
When you invite very conservative speakers here who perhaps have controversial views on Islam or homosexuality, you essentially make Yale a very uncomfortable place for a large percentage of the people here on campus, and everyone should feel at home at college…. . . . Continue reading →
The Cruelty Of Political Correctness
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 →
Limousine Greens
If greens were going to match their advocacy with concrete action, they would move from Santa Cruz or Mill Valley to Eureka or Yuba City where the rain falls — or at least inward to Fresno and Visalia where for eons runoff . . . 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 →
The Difference Between Tolerance And Approval
All right, then. I understand there are men who have not attained the healthy masculine nature I hope my son will attain. I don’t make fun of them. I don’t wish them ill. I count some among my friends. I extend to . . . 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.