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John Livingston

Priorities

On a recent panel on Fox Business News, Charles Payne and guests discussed how cultural decisions resulting in declining birth rates worldwide will shape future generations’ political and economic choices. For two generations, China enforced a one-child policy per couple, which led to population growth but recent stabilization at 1.4 billion people. Now that the […]

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John Livingston

On Christian Nationalism

On September 28th, The Idaho Statesman ran an opinion piece by Chenele Dixon entitled “Christian Nationalism Is Not Christian.” Dixon, a former state legislator, raises concerns about the intersection of Christianity and politics. Another Idaho politician defended her article to me, prompting this response. I recommend reading her article before considering my reply. Two points […]

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John Livingston

Op-Ed: The Corruption of Process

I’m privileged to share coffee on Thursday mornings with a group of men and women who teach me something every time we meet. Between us, there are well over several hundred years of public service represented—district judges, former legislators, educators, law enforcement officers, city planners, former mayors, and county commissioners. Our discussion this week centered […]

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John Livingston

Heores In The Trenches, Beuracrats At The Trough

We are blessed in Idaho to have truly remarkable doctors, nurses, and technicians—the people who touch the hearts and souls of those entrusted to their care every day. They continue the long slog forward despite, all too often, being disrespected by those who sign their paychecks and by legislators who permit the continuing arbitrage in […]

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John Livingston

Capitalism, Liberty, and the Greatest Gifts

F. A. Hayek once observed that while you can have capitalism without liberty, you cannot have liberty without capitalism. The moral foundations for both are remarkably similar: rule of law, enforceable contracts, the sanctity of private property, and the core virtues of justice, charity, prudence, and courage. For centuries, some have said that liberty and […]

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John Livingston

Mass Formation Bias and the Right of Property

I am not a psychiatrist, but I did spend last night in a Holiday Inn Express. More seriously, I spent three months in clinical psychiatry during medical school and attended a handful of lectures in “social psychology.” Whenever the word “social” is prefixed to another field—such as social economics, social justice, social planning, socialism, or […]

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John Livingston

The Best of Us

This will be one of my shortest articles. Above is a picture of the Naval Academy Women’s Soccer team. First of all, these young women earn your respect—every day. Someday, they will be F-18 pilots, nuclear engineers, ship drivers, or Marine Recon officers. Today, though, they lead regimented and disciplined lives, learning to be good […]

Categories
John Livingston

Priorities

On a recent panel on Fox Business News, Charles Payne and guests discussed how cultural decisions resulting in declining birth rates worldwide will shape future generations’ political and economic choices. For two generations, China enforced a one-child policy per couple, which led to population growth but recent stabilization at 1.4 billion people. Now that the […]

Categories
John Livingston

Don’t Go Squishy

I self-diagnosed many years ago with Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (AADD). I often watch two or three sporting events simultaneously. Currently, I am reading three books: F. A. Hayek’s The Fatal Conceit, C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, and Western Heritage: A Reader from Hillsdale College. I also try to spend fifteen minutes a day in scripture or at least […]

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John Livingston

Who is Serving Whom?

George Lynn Cross served as President of The University of Oklahoma from 1943 to 1968. During his 25-year tenure, he oversaw tremendous growth in both the university’s athletic and academic programs. He was instrumental in implementing difficult reforms that raised enrollment and academic standards, while also expanding access for Native Americans and other minorities. Cross […]

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John Livingston

Thou Good and Faithful Servant

“Be careful of your thoughts because thoughts turn into words, words turn into actions, actions turn into habits, and finally habits accumulate to define a life.” These words were spoken to me by my Quaker grandmother. Many on the political left have chosen to define their lives by words of hate. You do not call […]

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John Livingston

The Great Debate Continues

G. K. Chesterton was a world-renowned writer, journalist, and Catholic apologist. His outspoken, sometimes curmudgeonly style offended many critics in government and the church, but throughout his life until his passing four years before WWII in 1936, he remained a devoted evangelist for Jesus. Chesterton befriended and debated prominent contemporaries such as C. S. Lewis, […]

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