One thing that characterizes the Class of 2024 is that it has suffered from continual interruptions. Big interruptions, small interruptions, cultural interruptions, and i-interruptions seemed to conspire to deprive this class of the constancy that others enjoyed. Several such interruptions come to mind. Order Today: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic … Read more
This coming school year, we may see a unique institution opening in Oklahoma. Saint Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School is slated to admit its first students. Barring court interference, the school will be a charter school, meaning its funding will come from the state. Virtual Charter Schools Two terms need to be clarified. First, … Read more
The controversy over Harrison Butker’s fiery commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, has set the liberal world ablaze. The left is furious. His statements against abortion, contraception, feminism, and homosexual pride month, and his support for the Traditional Latin Mass and so much more leave no doubt about where he stands. In reply, … Read more
Leftist and progressive forces always present themselves as the wave of the future. Indeed, Marxism’s Hegelian roots postulate history as a process of clashing classes inevitably evolving forward. The Catholic left likewise frames its liberation theology and similar programs in these terms. Marxist theory is very clear about the forward pace of history. However, it … Read more
On October 29-30, 1840, a remarkable debate took place in New York City. On one side were the representatives of the Public School Society—the predecessor of the current New York City Public School Board. On the other side was Bishop John Hughes, a great lion of American Catholicism. The most striking element of Bishop Hughes’s … Read more
Since China has problems producing cutting-edge technology, it must find other means. One resource is contracting American universities to do research and development, which then allows it to compete with the U.S. in the marketplace. This aggressive tactic has not endeared the Chinese to American politicians or businessmen. Such work with universities facilitates unfair trade … 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 quotation from the … Read more
A recent article from the Associated Press quotes United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell, declaring that humans have just two years left to “save the world.” In his speech, he called for cutting fossil fuels and a “quantum leap” in climate funding. The article highlights the scaremongering of ecological extremism that makes climate activists look … Read more
“Gambling has an almost uniquely corrupting influence on governments…” That arresting line introduced a recent article from The Dispatch. It pointed out that many governments “count on gambling to produce a fairly reliable stream of revenue.” An Atmosphere of Attractive Risks Evidence of state-sponsored and tolerated gambling is everywhere. Among the fifty states, only Mississippi, … Read more
On May 6, the Vatican was host to the annual spectacle of the swearing-in ceremony for the Swiss Guards, with 34 new recipients making their solemn promise to serve and protect the Pope and cardinals, even to the point of laying down their lives. “I swear to serve faithfully, loyally and honorably the reigning Pontiff … Read more
