As the transition to a new American government approaches, both parties will use, and some say, abuse, the presidential pardon. The President has the right to grant clemency to those guilty of federal crimes. The original purpose of the pardon is to mitigate the harsh demands of justice. It is a uniquely … Read more
The closing days of the 2024 election focused on the titanic battle for the presidency. However, a set of developments, primarily on the West Coast, may be nearly as important. I am referring to elections for District Attorney in Los Angeles and Alameda Counties in California and Multnomah County, Oregon. In each, … Read more
California’s “Racial Justice Act” threatens to turn the very idea of justice on its head. The Act is a product of the overheated summer of 2020, an indirect result of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis the previous May. Self-Congratulation When he signed the Act, Governor Gavin Newsome’s celebratory press release contained a … Read more
In his book about natural law, Prof. J. Budziszewski explains how this fundamental law is written on the hearts of everyone without exception. Indeed, natural law is so evident that he claims it is “what you can’t not know.” Hence, the title of his book. Everyone-at all times and places-knows that lying, stealing … Read more
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died at the age of 87. Immediate tributes poured in from all over the world, praising this activist judge who contributed to so many important decisions that will affect America negatively for decades to come. Most encomiums praised her tenacity, talents and abilities. They celebrated her … Read more
Economics can be a brutal science. Its focus is limited to a particular part of human activity that deals with the process of wealth creation, acquisition, production, and consumption. It measures what has, and not what should have, been done. Economics is also a science of measurements. By calculating profits and losses, … Read more
Among our decaying institutions, law has now entered into a new phase that creates dilemmas for peaceful citizens. Conservatives have long revered the rule of law as a source of order. They have opposed the radical left that desires to overthrow this order, and therefore has no qualms about breaking the law … Read more
Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino, Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2019) More than any other country, the United States is rooted in ideals. Americans share no common ethnicity or religion, and increasingly no common language. The nation is divided into … Read more
August 25 is the feast of Saint Louis, King of France, a model of Catholic statesmen, who participated in two crusades. Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805-1875), the famous Abbot of Solesmes, makes some excellent commentaries about Saint Louis. From the pen of this great Catholic writer, one of the most important churchmen of … Read more
The new book Lighting the Way: Stories that Show How Our Culture Went Wrong and How We Can Restore Order is a collection of stories arranged to illustrate an idea. The idea is that of the organic Christian society. That is an unfamiliar idea to many, although we live in and around … Read more