Monuments to the Faith

For a long time in the U.S. there has been a battle between people who want to be able to display religious symbols, particularly the Ten Commandments, on government property (such as city parks, government buildings, etc.) and those who think the First Amendment prohibits such things.  Christians who want vehemently to display the Ten [...]

Saul, Paul, and Crist (no, it’s not a typo)

“[Fanatics of various hues] hate each other with the hatred of brothers. They are as far apart and close together as Saul and Paul.” – Eric Hoffer, The True Believer
The animosity between the two principal political parties in the U.S. is unusually high these days. Doubtless there are many reasons, but [...]

The True Mirror of Our Doctrine

The conduct of our lives is the true mirror of our doctrine. – Montaigne
The other day I saw a news article that said that Glenn Beck, a nationally-syndicated political talk show host who also has a TV show, a man who has millions of listeners/viewers, told them that if their churches mentioned “social justice” or [...]

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer; book review

I recently read for the third time a book I was introduced to in PoliSci 101 as an extra credit assignment.  In the past, to me The True Believer; Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer was an interesting theoretical book about sociology, based on observations of the past.  This time, its [...]

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 [...]

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