Category: Politics & Government

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

The Message That Must Be Spoken

  

The homosexual advancement in our society is distressing to me. Now I know not everyone who reads this will agree, but I believe it foreshadows a shift in culture from which we may never recover. The problem goes beyond the same-sex marriage issue—that’s simply the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The only reason we are now debating same-sex marriage is because we have come to a place where traditional morality based on the Judeo-Christian belief system has nearly been destroyed…. Read more »

Culture of Corruption Continues Unabated

  

I remember how Democrats used the corruption issue against Republicans in 2006, when they took back the Congress. There certainly was some corruption evident: Duke Cunningham of California is now in prison over financial irregularities; there were at least three sexual scandals as well. I oppose corruption no matter which party it hits. At the same time, though, there was Democrat William Jefferson of Louisiana, who had $90,000 of FBI money in his office. He is also now in jail…. Read more »

Congress Was a Good Idea

  

The Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention had a good idea—setting up a national Congress with two houses: one to act as representatives of the people directly; the other to answer to state legislatures. Neither one seems to be working the way the Founders originally intended. The Senate lost its representative nature in 1913 with the passage of the 17th Amendment. No longer were the senators chosen by state legislatures; now the people would choose them directly. This sounded good… Read more »

False Faith & A New Reality

  

I’ve commented before on the unrealistic expectations some of President Obama’s supporters had for him as he assumed the office. As historian Paul Johnson has noted, the loss of Christian faith in the Western world has allowed all sorts of false messiahs to rise to the top. People want to have faith; they simply choose the wrong gods. There is only one. Consequently, it’s not surprising when disillusionment sets in. Many promises were made. The most outlandish had to do… Read more »

A Reagan Reflection On the Future of America

  

I’m a historian, so I have the developed habit of looking back as I contemplate the future. I look back for instances when leaders stood on principle and hope we will have such leaders as we go forward as a nation. Many of us are rightly distressed over the current state of affairs, but I would like to offer a few words of encouragement. When Ronald Reagan took office in January 1981, the country was a mess economically, militarily, and… Read more »

Issues: No Dichotomy

  

The issue that first got many evangelicals involved in politics was abortion. After that, it was a threat to private schools from the IRS. Those were both in the 1970s. As the 1980s progressed, so did the “gay rights” agenda. That has increasingly received attention. All of these are sometimes categorized as the “social issues.” Commentators often talk about those being the hot-button issues for evangelicals because they are focused on problems of morality. I cannot argue with that. They… Read more »

Supreme Decisions

  

This seems to be Supreme Court week. First, we have the confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan, then two decisions are handed down by the Court that have significant ramifications, one for good, the other just the opposite. The good: the Second Amendment has survived the scrutiny of the Court—how nice of them to decide it’s really there. By a slim 5-4 decision, the Court declared that the right to keep and bear arms applies to states and cities, too, thereby… Read more »