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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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, […]
Since the founding of the United States, over 1.3 million Americans have died in wars, and more than 1.1 million people have died from drug overdoses since 1970. The total number of U.S. military deaths from all wars—including both battle deaths and non-combat related causes—exceeds 1.3 million. Of these, approximately 666,000 died in battle, and […]
I have written many times about spending the first five years of my life with my Quaker grandparents in Pennsylvania. The Swarthmore Meeting, located on the campus of Swarthmore University, remains today one of the most liberal enclaves in all of American academia. I learned about “tolerance and acceptance” by attending many Quaker meetings as […]
Today, Lynn and I sit on our patio, 126 feet above Skagit Bay on Blowers Bluff, Whidbey Island. A thirty-mile-long fog bank rolls across the water from south to north. On dry land, we feel safe and secure. We know exactly where we are, though the fog obscures whatever is directly in front of us […]