Where Have All the Polar Bears Gone?

Where Have All the Polar Bears Gone?

Polar bears used to dominate climate debates, with their images appearing everywhere. Fake scenes of polar bears in a zoo, not the Arctic, appeared in Al Gore’s dramatic 2006 film, An Inconvenient Truth. We were told the bears were on the road to extinction. Today, we can no longer find them on posters, T-shirts, advertisements, … Read more

Venezuela-Style Socialism Has Come to California’s Oil Industry

Venezuela-Style Socialism Has Come to California’s Oil Industry

California’s leftist legislature will now have the power to regulate the gasoline sales profits of the state’s oil refiners. Governor Gavin Newsom has just signed a law allowing the California Energy Commission (CEC) to establish a state gross gasoline refining profit margin and impose penalties for surpassing it. Chevron, the state’s biggest oil refiner, criticized … Read more

Were the Founders Isolationists? History Says No

Were the Founders Isolationists? History Says No

As nationalism and populist political philosophies gain traction, many Americans are adopting isolationist and noninterventionist positions. An America-first approach calls for focusing on national problems. The isolationist argument is that the burden of international commitments has weighed heavily upon the nation for too long. Let others deal with these problems and intervene. A Return to … Read more

Why Are the Crown Jewel Carmelite Convents Failing?

Why Are the Crown Jewel Carmelite Convents Failing?

Among the religious orders dedicated to the contemplative life, the Carmelites have a special role. Carmelite convents are found all over the world. They have given the Church countless saints and models. Many Carmelite convents are now in crisis because they have no vocations. The nuns are dying off. Convent after convent is closing. Each … Read more

Why America Must Reject Isolationism and Its Dangers

Why America Must Reject Isolationism and Its Dangers

As the present liberal order crumbles, many are proposing alternatives that call for major changes to the flawed, globalized structures that now shape the world. Some sectors of the public are turning to nationalist and populistic movements that turn inward and call for walking away from world commitments and focusing solely on local problems. In … Read more

Church Architecture Takes a Turn Toward the Sacred

Church Architecture Takes a Turn Toward the Sacred

Over the past decades, modern church architecture, not unlike church music, has been notoriously uninspiring. Airplane hanger-like constructions, fan-shaped congregational seating and bizarre stained glass have dominated worship space in the last sixty years. One author could not help but title his critique “Ugly as Sin.” However, Church architecture is changing. American Catholics are demanding … Read more

The Flying Friar

The Flying Friar

Joseph of Cupertino St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1668) was an Italian mystic whose life is a wonderful combination of a complete lack of natural capacity and an extraordinary supernatural efficiency. He lacked every natural gift. He was incapable of passing a test, maintaining a conversation, taking care of a house, or even touching a dish … Read more