I just finished reading a New York Times article titled “School is for Everyone.” It promoted the argument that public education is essential to American life. The article’s author, Anya Kamenetz, began with a historical statement relating to Horace Mann—often (and justly) called the father of American public education. The Purpose of … Read more
A colleague of mine went to have some blood tests at a typical lab nearby. Being a good observer, he noted that the building was a modern structure with little architectural adornment. His eyes looked instead upon the office decoration, which allows people to reveal something of their individuality. In a workaday … Read more
If the recent school board elections in Miami-Dade County, Florida, indicate a national trend, “woke” educators are in deep trouble. Their decades-long control of America’s public school bureaucracy is threatened. They are not yet defeated. It will take years to untangle the mess leftists have made of American education—public, private and Catholic. … Read more
With the increase of Drag Queen Story Hours in the nation’s schools and public libraries, the left-wing media are using the legitimate protests—staged by concerned parents, families, religious leaders and activists—to portray the drag queens as akin to martyrs, as if persecuted by dangerous parts of society. In a recent lengthy article, … Read more
For decades, the American Constitution has been both an obstacle and an aid to those who promote the liberal agenda. True to its relativist ethos, today’s left has not particular attachment to the Constitution. When the document can be interpreted to the left’s advantage, its activists are enthusiastic defenders of constitutional rights. … Read more
The Oxford Movement began shortly after Catholic Lay Leader Daniel O’Connell compelled the English government to suppress some Anglican dioceses in Ireland. The Movement’s “flash point” was a sermon on “National Apostasy” delivered by Anglican Pastor John Keble on July 14, 1833. Pastor Keble’s sermon’s resounded broadly in Protestant circles. Recovering the … Read more
The September 4 Constitutional referendum in Chile was a clear lesson that handed an overwhelming defeat to the proposals of the radical left. The option was simple: Approve or Reject a 388-article projected constitution drafted at a constitutional convention completely dominated by extreme leftists utterly ignorant of constitutional law. Antecedents The text … Read more
During a conversation, someone reportedly told Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: “You are little known.” With that quickness of mind that he never lacked, the Catholic leader replied: “In fact, I have the reputation of being unknown.” Indeed, Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira’s public life was a rollercoaster alternating between long periods of … Read more
The philosopher George Santayana (1863—1952) once observed that we Americans don’t solve problems; we leave them behind. If there’s an idea we don’t like, we don’t bother refuting it but simply talk about something else, and the original idea dies from neglect. We leave the problems that bother us in the past … Read more
In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill wrongly called the Respect for Marriage Act by a 267-157 vote. The bill counted on the support of 47 Republican House members who broke with their party’s platform and approved the codification of same-sex “marriage” and other aberrations into federal law. Even … Read more