Category: Politics & Government

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

The Ferguson Debacle

I’m glad having a black president and a black attorney general has taken care of the racial issues in America once and for all. Yes, I’m being slightly sarcastic. I’ve watched the unfolding events in Ferguson, Missouri, as I’m sure everyone else has also, but have refrained from commenting until all the facts are established. That may not happen for some time, though, so I do want to offer some thoughts on what is already obvious. First, the killing of… Read more »

Sabbatical Update: Wheaton College

I’ve written previously in this blog about the blessing I’ve received for the coming academic year: a sabbatical to do research and writing. I also promised to provide updates. For the past week, I’ve been at Wheaton College in Illinois, delving into the papers of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and also materials relating to C. S. Lewis. I’ll talk about Lewis in tomorrow’s post; today, I’ll focus on Graham. As a reminder, one of my projects during this… Read more »

America’s Nero?

So now we’re sending humanitarian aid—finally—to those displaced in Iraq by the bloodthirsty ISIS terrorist organization. And we’re dropping a few bombs on ISIS positions. I wonder how many Americans have been fooled into thinking this somehow represents decisive action? I don’t recall which military spokesman it was, but someone in the last day or two clearly stated that our pinprick policy of bombing wasn’t going to put any real dent in the ISIS forward movement. Back when President Obama… Read more »

The Pilgrim Story: The Mayflower Compact

Probably everyone has heard of the Mayflower Compact, but I wonder how many really know its significance? I’ll address that today as we continue our trek through American history. As I noted in my last Pilgrim post, getting to America was a major trial in itself. The preparations put this small band deeply in debt and the voyage was memorable, to say the least. They wouldn’t soon forget the storms and the cramped living conditions. Yet, up to this point,… Read more »

Obama’s Strange Dichotomy

It’s a strange dichotomy. On the one hand, President Obama is fully engaged, while on the other, he’s about as disengaged as a president can be. What am I talking about? On his watch, government has become more intrusive than ever, yet America has nearly disappeared as a world power. I say that’s strange, but the more I think about it, it actually makes sense in an Obama kind of way. He believes fervently that government direction and control over… Read more »

No Moral Equivalence in the Middle East

I support Israel. Why? It is the ancient homeland of the Jews, the place where God handed down His law, the center of the world from the establishment of His people through the ministry of Jesus. It is where Jesus suffered and died for us all. It was the scene of His resurrection. Now, none of that necessarily means I should support Israel today. If that nation was a hotbed of terrorism and a threat to the world, I wouldn’t… Read more »

Margaret Thatcher: Unintended Consequences

I’m taking my time reading through Margaret Thatcher’s The Path to Power, going one section at a time, as I try to increase my knowledge of the history of the United Kingdom in the late twentieth century. As I’ve followed her life from her time with her family, to her university years at Oxford, to her early political career, I’ve been fascinated with her observations of the era. I was struck particularly by a section of the book dealing with… Read more »