Category Archives: Current Events

Time-sensitive posts dealing with news items.

The News Media Is Out of Ideas, Example #2,954

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Dr. J

Or, alternatively, “Everything in 2017 Is about Donald Trump, Example #8,317”: Someone at the Boston Globe decided to run a story about how the path of the upcoming solar eclipse runs mostly through counties that voted for Trump in November 2016. … Continue reading →

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Donald Trump, Leftists, and Western Civilization

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Dr. J

Regular readers of this blog know that I like Western civilization. I like its great traditions of literature, art, music, political thought, scientific reasoning, and many other things, all of which have their roots in the classical world and Judeo-Christian … Continue reading →

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A Few Thoughts on the 2016 Election

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Dr. J

Unlike many of my friends and colleagues, I made no predictions concerning the 2016 U.S. presidential election. I neither followed the campaign coverage very closely, watched the televised debates, nor tracked the polls. Thus I didn’t feel as though I had … Continue reading →

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I Discuss Donald Trump at the Christian Century

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Dr. J

One of my old college friends, who now helps edit the historians’ “Then and Now” blog at the Christian Century site, has talked me into writing a piece on Donald Trump and Super Tuesday. It went up this morning. The original draft … Continue reading →

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One More Post about the Hobby Lobby Case (and Spinal Tap)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Dr. J

I tried. I really did. I resolved not to make a post about the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case. But in the end I couldn’t resist. Don’t judge. You’ve read umpteen posts about the decision, yet you … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Current Events | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Totalitarianism and the Rule of Law

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Dr. J

Even though working at a small university like mine means I spend most of my time handling my course load, every now and then I get to Think Big Thoughts and discuss them with colleagues. One such occasion was on … Continue reading →

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What Is Marriage?

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Dr. J

Here’s how I see the arguments over marriage in our society taking shape. There are two questions up for debate: What is marriage? What role, if any, ought the State to play in recognizing, sponsoring, and/or supporting marriage? To keep … Continue reading →

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Understanding the Supreme Court and DOMA

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Dr. J

Given this blog’s theme, I feel compelled to post something on the Supreme Court’s striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this week. From what I’ve read, this decision does less than what a lot of people are … Continue reading →

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How One Modern Economist Is Like St. Thomas Aquinas

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Dr. J

No, it’s not by making dry and boring arguments, before anyone makes a smart-aleck comment. One of the most admirable things about St. Thomas Aquinas’s method of argumentation in the Summa Theologica is his insistence on giving his opponents their best … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Current Events, Economics, Liberal Arts | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Knowledge of Latin Enables Reporter to Scoop the Whole World

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Dr. J

Those of us who advocate the study of Latin have an uphill battle. Too many people have no appreciation for what study of a “dead language” can do for them. This week one reporter’s knowledge of Latin enabled her to … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Liberal Arts | Tagged , | 1 Comment