James Bascom 
As the debate rages over stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic, most conservative opposition has focused on the damage to the economy, excessive government surveillance, or the massive increase in government debt. These are very valid and important concerns. But the coronavirus’s most enduring damage will not be a lower GDP, higher … Read more
In the year 636 A.D., a small boat without sails, oars, or sailors floated into the harbor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, a charming port city on the English Channel in northern France. When the townspeople gathered around it, they discovered that the boat contained a wooden statue of Our Lady holding the Child Jesus … Read more
With the Chinese coronavirus and the American Democratic candidate primary dominating the news, few noticed the February 11 announcement that President Rodrigo Duterte, of the Philippines, notified the United States of his intention to end his country’s Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States. If carried out, this decision is nothing less … Read more
On January 1, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed into law the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It requires the federal government to assess the environmental impact for infrastructure projects that are funded or regulated by the federal government. NEPA, which began ostensibly as an attempt to mitigate harm to the environment, has … Read more
Last December, for only the third time in American history, Congress impeached a U.S. President. In a party-line vote, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives approved two Articles of Impeachment, accusing President Trump of “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.” Reasonable people have reasonable concerns about President Trump’s style and his often … Read more
The world was stunned on January 3 when the United States military launched a missile strike that killed notorious Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Even bigger than the explosion in Baghdad, however, was the debate over the use of force against Iran, and whether the attack would provoke World War III. In … Read more
Below is the text of a talk given by American TFP speaker James Bascom at the October 5 Synod Conference held in Rome. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, At first glance, it would seem that Marxism, socialism, and communism have little in common with ecology. After all, communist and formerly communist countries … Read more
For politicians, celebrities, journalists, the United Nations, and Pope Francis, the belief that humanity is causing a steep rise in temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere is more than just a theory, it’s an article of faith. According to this belief, man’s production of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, is the primary cause … Read more
An article of faith of the modern environmental movement is the scientific “consensus” behind man-made global warming. Global warming activists and even some serious scientific organizations claim that 97% of the world’s scientists unreservedly accept this theory. It is often the first and most common argument used by climate activists, from Al … Read more
Radical environmentalism is waging a war on natural gas. The Green New Deal, launched to great fanfare in February by socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey, calls for the total ban on all hydrocarbon energy in ten years. Instead, we must meet “100 percent of the power demand in the … Read more