Watch your tongue
As any English-speaker who has learned a Romance language knows, there are a lot of cognates, both true and false, between English and Romance languages. A cognate is a word that resembles its counterpart in another language. For example, even if you don’t speak Spanish, you can probably guess the meaning of the [...]
A time for smaller government?
Small government advocates are a little too happy at the belt-tightening going on (at state and local levels, anyway) to deal with the effects of the recession. Utah’s legislature is overshooting estimates in its zeal to make government smaller. Is smaller government desirable? Sure!
However, in order for conservatives to prove, in [...]
“Resurrection” by Leo Tolstoy – Book Review
Tolstoy’s very readable tale of Prince Dmitry Ivanich Nekhlyudov, a man humbled by the results of his past sins and attempting to right wrongs and redeem himself, is a timeless criticism of human attempts at civilization and self-rule. In the process of the story, Tolstoy skewers high society, the church, the government, the military, [...]
Soldier v. Warrior
No, it’s not a new video game or action movie. It’s a transition in the basic philosophy of the U.S. military.
Things you don’t talk about in polite company
In Santa Clara, California on May Day, 2002, George W. Bush said, “The public education system . . . is where children from all over America learn to be responsible citizens, and learn to have the skills necessary to take advantage of our fantastic opportunistic society.” At first blush this is just a gaffe, [...]
The Doctor Himself is Sick
Last night I was listening to a commentary by Daniel Schorr, an OLD hand in Washington journalism, and an unabashed liberal. I really enjoy Mr. Schorr’s commentaries, because they usually tell truth to power, hold people’s feet to the fire, and he does it so well. Last night citing the Blagojavich and Madoff [...]
This Land is Whose Land?
How many times have we read Christ’s parable of the vineyard and assumed its application is long in the past? It’s easy to interpret as the history of the Jews, who were given the Abrahamic Covenant but then failed in their stewardship by rejecting the prophets and ultimately killing the Master’s Son.
But [...]
America’s Religion of Wealth
In the New Testament, there are two occurrences of the word wealth: a silversmith of Ephesus said to his fellow idol-makers “. . . ye know that by this craft we have our wealth” (Acts 19:25); and from Paul to the Corinthians, “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth” (1 Cor [...]
“The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution” book review
Last week I finished a new book called The Summer of 1787: the Men Who Invented the Constitution by David O. Stewart. The author does a good job of weaving together vignettes of the Framers, notes on the contemporary situation, and the actual goings-on in the Convention. I came away with more knowledge, [...]
George Orwell’s “Notes on Nationalism”
I recently read the essay “Notes On Nationalism” by George Orwell. Below are some of the more relevant passages, illuminating because of their applicability 60+ years later.
Orwell gives the name “nationalism” to an attitude or approach that he describes. It is beyond pride in one’s country or patriotism. It is a [...]