Category: Politics & Government

Opinions on contemporary political happenings and the workings of civil government.

The Lord’s Continuing-Education Program

  

The Lord always has a continuing-education program for me. There are so many books I’ve never read (well, who can say otherwise?) that I need to delve into not only for head knowledge but for spiritual growth also. I seek to read resources that will do both. Here’s an update on what He is doing with me currently. I’ve now completed two-thirds of Dante’s The Divine Comedy. I’ve chosen the Dorothy Sayers translation because of my intense interest in her… Read more »

Lessons from the Clinton Impeachment

  

It was February 8, 2000, one year after the conclusion of the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, and I was in the office of Congressman Henry Hyde, the man who had led the House Managers over to the Senate to argue for Clinton’s removal from office. From one perspective, the attempt had been an exercise in futility, but I was there to interview Hyde about the experience and why he had chosen to participate. This was the first of thirteen… Read more »

Impeachable Offenses: A History (Part 3)

  

In my previous two posts, I offered insights on impeachable offenses from the preeminent expositor of the Constitution in early America, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, and from one of the most learned legal scholars of the twentieth century, Raoul Berger. In this, my final post dealing with the subject, I turn to what the House of Representatives concluded during its investigation of Richard Nixon’s potential impeachment. Yes, that House conclusion was written when Democrats controlled the House, but it… Read more »

Impeachable Offenses: A History (Part 2)

  

In my last post, I drew from my book, Mission: Impeachable, on whether an impeachment and removal from office required the violation of a specific law. I quoted Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story (served 1812-1845) who, in his Familiar Exposition of the Constitution, noted that the history of impeachment, both in theory and in practice, had never laid down such a requirement. Story was the most eminent constitutional commentator of his day, and his view needs to be taken seriously…. Read more »

Impeachable Offenses: A History (Part 1)

  

We are in the midst of another impeachment drama, the third in my lifetime. The first, that of Richard Nixon, didn’t reach a full House vote or a Senate trial due to Nixon’s wise decision to resign. The second, that of Bill Clinton, went to the Senate but suffered from the tribalism that so affects us still today, with not even one Democrat voting to remove him from office. After that failed attempt to turn the presidency over to VP… Read more »

Christians in Politics: A Lewisian Caution

  

One of the highlights of the coming year for me will be the Oxbridge Conference sponsored by the C. S. Lewis Foundation. I’ve never attended this particular conference before. “Looking forward to it” seems too mild a description for what I am anticipating. This will be my third Lewis Foundation conference and, as before, I will presenting a paper in the Academic Roundtable portion of the conference. The theme overall is “Surprised by Love: Cultivating Intellectual Hospitality in an Age… Read more »

What God Has Called Me to Do

  

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. I do, however, conduct a daily assessment of God’s direction in my life. That, I think, should be the real resolution for all of us. Writing this blog has been a part of God’s direction for me for nearly twelve years now. The goal is the same as when I started it in 2008: dedication to Biblical principles in life, whether that be with respect to our personal relationship with Christ, commentary on the… Read more »