For me, the most jaw-dropping moment of the vice presidential debate came when Vice President Joe Biden asserted that Obamacare’s contraception mandate simply did not exist. Said the VP: “With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution — Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, […]
If it weren’t so obvious, it might be ironic. On Monday, a USA Today/Gallup poll among likely voters in the top 12 battleground states revealed a startling demographic shift: Women are moving toward Republican Mitt Romney, thanks in large measure to the candidates’ respective performances in the first presidential debate earlier this month in Denver. […]
Joe Biden’s antics against Paul Ryan have taken a few days to sink in, and should take longer still. For starters, try to imagine being Paul Ryan last Thursday [Oct. 11th]: a young politician in the hot seat, the eyes of the world pressing upon him, as he tries to make succinct statements in a […]
The last few weeks have produced many intriguing political moments, but none as shocking as the revelation that President Obama has been absent from the vast majority of his daily intelligence briefings. According to a study by the Government Accountability Institute, Obama failed to attend a single Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) in the week leading up […]
In a recent article in The National Catholic Reporter Michael Sean Winters criticized vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan for failing to present a plan to help the poor, and purported to criticize Vice President Joe Biden for not presenting a way to protect the unborn. I found the usual obfuscation of Catholic moral teaching that […]
History offers insightful comparisons and contrasts between past and present. A generation or so before the birth of Christ, Rome lost her republic to political and cultural decadence. Although reformers emerged in the political and literary spheres, their efforts failed and ancient democracy faded into oblivion. Whereas in America, the game is not quite up. […]
Team Obama insists that next month’s presidential election is “a choice, not a referendum.” It sure seems to be with respect to the two candidates very different views on the Constitution. Mitt Romney makes plain at every turn his commitment to that document, while Barack Obama’s conduct in office has marked him as the post-constitutional […]
The mission statement of Philadelphia’s Charles Carroll High School, displayed prominently on its website, offers a hopeful vision of an educational institution: “Providing all students with the academic, technological & social skills needed to be productive & contributing citizens in our society.” This week, the specific mention of “social skills” and citizenship likely sounds like […]
Sunday, October 7, 2012 was “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” It is based on a simple question: May the government filter, edit, or veto the contents of a sermon? No court has ever heard a case regarding whether the Internal Revenue Service can do so. Yet every day – and especially in these weeks prior to an […]
Mitt Romney gave a generally fine speech [yesterday] on the Middle East. Sensibly, he criticized the Obama administration for its Benghazi shenanigans, for the “daylight” with Israel, fecklessness vis-à-vis Tehran, and the cuts in military spending. Very justifiably, he called it “time to change course in the Middle East.” But I worry about three specifics. First, […]
The emperor wears no clothes. The bloom is off the rose. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Pardon the barrage of stale metaphors, but it’s difficult to put into words the utter pasting Mitt Romney put on Barack Obama Wednesday night. Pat Buchanan called Romney’s “the finest debate performance” in 52 years “with […]
What can a homeschooling mother of seven children possibly do to touch our entire nation? Pray? Sure. Raise responsible, future citizens? Of course. Found a national organization and make a video with well over 2 million views that can impact the outcome of the 2012 Presidential Election? It’s what Adriana Gonzalez of Florida did. Yet, […]
In order to grasp the spiritual significance of the birth of our nation, it must be understood that the Unites States Declaration of Independence and Constitution were the first documents of their kind in the history of mankind. Up until this time, men had always been governed by royal, papal, or tyrannical edict. The laws […]
When I converted, I was overjoyed to be part of the One Body, but soon after discovering Catholic media, I was shocked by the criticisms — even condemnations — of some of the bishops. To a newcomer, that looks about as smart as poking your finger in your eye. Usually the justifications are that we […]
As we prepare for the critical November elections, I find myself increasingly frustrated whenever I enter my social networking venues online. A trip to Facebook or Twitter these days often feels like a running of the gauntlet as I dodge nasty comments, unkind graphics, and attack oriented posts on both ends of the political spectrum. […]
It’s been an eventful week at the intersection of parenting and politics, that busy corner where decision-making often is affected by the onslaught of traffic from social engineers, liberal educators, public health experts, and civil rights activists who know better than parents what’s best for their kids. Several news stories seem to indicate that America’s […]
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 In late Spring, AD 312, Constantine’s victories at Susa and at Turin in northwestern Italy liberated Roman domains as far east as Milan, much to the joy of Christians and also of many pagans alienated from the co-Emperor, Maxentius. Misrule by Maxentius in the Roman diocese of Italia had […]
“The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of women is being acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved. That is why, at this moment when the human race is undergoing so deep a transformation, women […]
Few politicians are interested in making obscure UN treaties a political talking point. Nevertheless, the Republican and Democratic parties stand at polar opposites on the question of whether or not the United States should ratify new UN treaties, particularly human rights treaties. The platform adopted at the Republican National Convention last month specifically names four […]
Since the Obama administration is so fond of fictional narratives, I thought I would write one too about Bill and Jill. Bill and Jill Green are entrepreneurs. The Greens met in college studying environmental engineering. Bill and Jill immediately knew they were destined to not only marry, but change the world together. After graduating, the […]
A panel of experts warned U.S. lawmakers this week that the UN Disabilities treaty could threaten the rights of parents and advance abortion rights. “This treaty… would allow unelected bureaucrats in Switzerland to determine the meaning of the words ‘disability’ and ‘sexual reproductive health,’ said Congressman Jeff Duncan following a briefing to the House Sovereignty […]
I have a very dear friend I have known since high school. We were both baptized Catholic as babies, raised in Catholic homes, and received all of our sacraments. I was in her Catholic wedding and she was in mine. We are Godparents of each other’s children. Where we stray is in our political convictions. […]
Kellen Clemens has been playing football as far back as he can remember. After learning the game from his father on their cattle ranch, he went on to set high-school records for the state of Oregon in passing yards and touchdowns. At the University of Oregon, he set single-season passing records and ended his collegiate […]
John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign speech about his Catholicism made news again this year when former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said reading the speech made him want to “throw up.” Santorum took umbrage with Kennedy’s remarks because they, in his estimation, claimed a complete separation of personal faith from governance. While the “throw up” […]
