C. S. Lewis, Natural Law, and Immigration Non‑Enforcement In Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis writes: “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.” Lewis assumes an objective moral law (the Tao) that orders personal life, social life, and life under […]
When I was a boy growing up in central Ohio, my father didn’t join the country club until my senior year of high school. That summer, I was playing Legion baseball when he asked if I wanted to take golf lessons instead. I told him no. Trying to persuade me, he said, “You can play […]
So tonight, I’m inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Those words from President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address […]
Abraham Lincoln, often regarded as America’s greatest president, and F. A. Hayek, the Nobel laureate economist, lived nearly a century apart but were united by their championing of liberty. Both recognized the progression of Western Civilization—from Ancient Greece and Rome, through Jerusalem, the Magna Carta, the Enlightenment, and the Declaration of Independence. Each deployed language […]
Bishop Robert Barron has warmly praised Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s address at last week’s Munich Security Conference. He highlights Rubio’s remarks as a much‑needed affirmation of the Christian roots of Western civilization and of the spiritual bond between Europe and the United States. What Barron actually said: On X, Barron wrote that he was […]
State Senator Brian Lenney’s recent essay, “Idaho Built an Ag Empire on Modern Day Slavery,” was an act of moral clarity that deserves not just notice, but public thanks. In an era when too many officeholders treat human beings as abstractions in a talking‑points war, Lenney had the courage to name what is happening in […]
Most readers of the Gem State Patriot aren’t avid sports fans, and few will lose sleep over the fact that multimillion-dollar athletes owe income taxes in every state and city where they play. But here’s the hidden story: professional sports teams spend staggering sums on accountants and compliance staff just to navigate the tangle of […]
My father often told me, “Tend to business and keep your eye on the ball.” I heard those words as a child and again as a young man, and I’ve come to understand how much wisdom they still carry. We live in a time when noise has replaced focus, and political theater has replaced governing. […]
When Governor Butch Otter asked me to serve on the Idaho Health Insurance Exchange board, I agreed on one non‑negotiable condition: that an independent outside auditor be hired and funded to document, in detail, how taxpayer dollars flowed through that new organization. That requirement was adopted, written into the exchange’s governance, and ultimately led to […]
Title: Sixteen Years After Obamacare: How Command‑and‑Control Medicine Failed—and How Free Markets Can Still Save American Health Care On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act—better known as Obamacare—became law. Its architects promised a new era of accessible, affordable, and high-quality health care for every American. Sixteen years later, the verdict is in: those promises were […]
As I sit in my “home away from home” on Whidbey Island, I’ve been following the legislative sessions in both Idaho and Washington State. The contrast between the two has been striking. I find myself impressed by how consistently conservative the few Republicans in the Washington Legislature remain, while so many Republicans in the Idaho […]
Minnesota has become a case study in how a virtuous society can lose its bearings without quite noticing when the slide began. The state’s recent convulsions—a sprawling fraud scandal and mounting street-level confrontation around immigration enforcement—prompted Catholic Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester to issue a stark warning: the situation is “untenable,” and unless all sides […]