Category: Politics & Government

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

The Road Back to Spiritual Sanity

  

Islamic terrorism comes to Canada. On Monday, a jihadist used his car as a weapon and killed a Canadian soldier. Yesterday, a more concerted attack occurred at the Canadian Parliament. Another soldier is dead and others are injured. The Islamic convert, fortunately, lost his life before he could kill others. Prime Minister Stephen Harper called it what it was: Islamic terrorism. Our president and his administration are still “getting the facts” and “studying” what happened. Wouldn’t want to rush to… Read more »

Houston, You Have a Problem

  

We’re about to turn a corner on religious liberty in America, and it’s a chill wind that greets us. Quoting from the story: The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court. Wait a minute. Houston? Texas? One of the most conservative states in the… Read more »

Journalism Today

  

If you’ve paid any attention to what I write daily, you have to know my opinion of modern journalism is pretty low. Unlike some critics, though, I don’t really believe that there was ever a time when journalism ranked high on the truth-and-objectivity scale. Being a historian has allowed me to analyze past journalistic approaches. Most of the time, there always was an agenda for any newspaper or other means of communication. Political parties hired their own editors and published… Read more »

The Ebola Scare

  

I’ve been following the Ebola saga, as I’m sure most Americans are. We’re not used to the idea that a killer disease might find its way over here. We expect such things to happen in some other part of the world while we sit safe and protected. Now we have to reconsider our expectations. I’m no alarmist when it comes to the Ebola scare. I’m not yet convinced we’re going to be overwhelmed by it. Yet the government’s attempts to… Read more »

Lewis: Leavening Society

  

C. S. Lewis didn’t write extensively on government or economics; in fact, he had a hard time being interested in either. Yet he did have a grasp of the basics. In this excerpt from Mere Christianity, he offers what may seem to be a simplistic solution to our problems, but, if followed, really would take care of them: Some Christians—those who happen to have the right talents—should be economists and statesmen, and . . . all economists and statesmen should… Read more »

A Tale of Two Speeches

  

So there was President Obama, standing before the UN, sounding like a true warrior against Islamic terrorism. But was the speech all sound and fury, lacking in substance? It certainly wasn’t the same type of speech he gave to the UN last year. On Fox’s The Kelly File, an interesting comparison was made between what Obama said in his newest UN speech with what George Bush said in 2001. They were strikingly similar: Both speeches spoke of the bloodthirsty, evil… Read more »

Thoughts on the Syrian Bombing

  

Just a few thoughts today, now that we’ve begun bombing ISIS targets in Syria. First, good, in the generic sense. It’s well past time to act. We should have undercut this terrorist organization a long time ago instead of allowing it to grow and fester. Second, I’m glad to see that some Arab nations are helping. The extent of that help is still unclear to me, yet, if for no other reason than self-interest and survival, they need to be… Read more »