In February 1972, President Richard Nixon visited China. Millions sat enthralled as television broadcast news of the trip into every American home. Since then, American foreign policy has alternatingly reveled in and been blinded by the glow of those seven days. It is time to remove the blinders. China has never lived up to the … Read more
I just finished reading a New York Times article titled “School is for Everyone.” It promoted the argument that public education is essential to American life. The article’s author, Anya Kamenetz, began with a historical statement relating to Horace Mann—often (and justly) called the father of American public education. The Purpose of Public Education Mrs. … Read more
Starting this spring, Villanova University near Philadelphia adopted “inclusive language” that promotes “transgenderism.” It calls itself a Catholic university. Founded and run by the Augustinian order, Fr. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD. is the current president. Its Mission Statement reads: “Villanova University is a Catholic Augustinian community of higher education, committed to excellence and distinction … Read more
The people at Merriam-Webster define technocracy as “management of society by technical experts.” Technocracy is a word describing a mechanical rule over people. It applies the techniques of technology to the running of society which is of a different nature. Thus, such experts are, by definition, more comfortable with ideas, machines or processes than with … Read more
A colleague of mine went to have some blood tests at a typical lab nearby. Being a good observer, he noted that the building was a modern structure with little architectural adornment. His eyes looked instead upon the office decoration, which allows people to reveal something of their individuality. In a workaday world, such observations … Read more
As the title of Henri Sire’s book The Dictator Pope has it, we can say that Pope Francis behaves like a true despot. At the end of August (2022), he finally organized a consistory of cardinals but, in practice, muzzled them by dividing them into language groups. He only allowed a rapporteur from each group … Read more
If the recent school board elections in Miami-Dade County, Florida, indicate a national trend, “woke” educators are in deep trouble. Their decades-long control of America’s public school bureaucracy is threatened. They are not yet defeated. It will take years to untangle the mess leftists have made of American education—public, private and Catholic. However, two conservatives, … Read more
With the increase of Drag Queen Story Hours in the nation’s schools and public libraries, the left-wing media are using the legitimate protests—staged by concerned parents, families, religious leaders and activists—to portray the drag queens as akin to martyrs, as if persecuted by dangerous parts of society. In a recent lengthy article, The Washington Post … Read more
As a young Canadian from a rural town in Northern Ontario, half a world away from Queen Elizabeth II, I can say she profoundly influenced my life. The Queen represented a whole world of tradition and ceremony that was so crucial for me, growing up in a world that increasingly despises such things. She was … Read more
Pope Francis and Elizabeth belong more or less to the same generation. The pope is eighty-five years old. The queen has just passed away at the venerable age of ninety-six. Both were marked by twentieth-century tragedies: the Second World War for Princess Elizabeth and the dictatorship for José-Mario Bergoglio. Both inherited their office; one by … Read more
