Edwin Benson 
Americans can resist those who try to impose gender confusion on society. That is the conclusion flowing from two crucial decisions by judges in Iowa and Florida. In the Iowa case, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the First Amendment protects students who refuse to use “preferred pronouns” at school. … Read more
The Diocese of Davenport (Iowa) issued a set of “Guidelines for Pastoral Accompaniment of Sexual and Gender Minorities,” designed to take effect on October 4, 2023. The four-page document was the product of almost three years’ work by the diocese’s “gender committee.” While its doubtful authority goes no further than that diocese’s … Read more
Collegeville, Pennsylvania is a distant suburb of Philadelphia, about thirty miles from the city limits. Like many such suburbs, it tends to be politically liberal and vote Democrat. The town is also the headquarters of the Perkiomen Valley School System, which also leans woke. Many were surprised to hear that the School … Read more
Librarians call it “weeding,” a long-standing—and legitimate—practice. Most school libraries have very limited space and must clear out shelves to make room for more titles. Usually, the process is a quiet one. Taxpayers don’t like to see expensive materials being thrown into landfills or incinerated. The Need to Weed The idea is … Read more
A recent article in The Guardian describes an “exhibition” by the Danish “artist” Jens Haaning. The show at the Kunsten Museum in Aalborg, Denmark, consists of two blank canvases titled “Take the Money and Run.” To prepare the exhibition, the museum loaned Mr. Haaning 532,000 krone (about $75,000). The museum also paid … Read more
One of the most effective idioms in the English language is the simple phrase “the blind leading the blind.” Surely, no act could be more foolish. The phrase has its basis in scripture. In Matthew 15:14, Our Lord tells us, “Let them alone: they are blind, and leaders of the blind. And … Read more
Most educated Americans would be happy to hear that their local schools offer students a chance to learn Mandarin Chinese. Given China’s growing importance, many opportunities in business, academia and diplomacy are open to those with such skills. Expensive Classes However, offering foreign languages (or “world languages,” to use the preferred academic … Read more
When the Soviet Union dissolved the day after Christmas 1991, it inaugurated a season of celebration in Miami’s many Cuban neighborhoods. Long-time exiles pulled yellowing deeds and other legal documents out of bank safety deposit boxes, preparing to return to Cuba and reclaim land, homes and businesses confiscated by Castro’s socialist experiment. … Read more
Some depraved souls at the California Department of Education insist that its schools reduce every area, including mathematics, to the study of race. How race plays a determinative role in the study of mathematics is baffling. Nonetheless, the thirteen-year effort to insert race into the California Mathematics Framework continues. A Tale of … Read more
“The world is coming to an end, and the climate is the reason.” Code Red for Humanity Ask almost anyone, and they will tell you the above statement is accurate. It must be true. There is, after all, an “overwhelming scientific consensus.” Children learn about it in school as they have for … Read more