It is May. The season of commencement addresses and graduation parties is upon us! Truth be told, I’ve always hated this stuff. Most of the time I find it self-indulgent, spurious, and pointless. Then again, the majesty and awe of ceremonies and rites-of-passage have never resonated with me. But amid a sea of putrid “congratulations, […]

Read more "The Good Old Days and Citizenship for the Future"

I do not understand the social/culturally conservative preoccupation with LGBTQ issues. The trans-bathroom fight is absurd. In a world with so many real moral and ethical threats, THIS is what you chose to use valuable social and political capital on? Not our violent crime epidemic? Or our corrupt and oppressive criminal justice system? Nor the […]

Read more "“There is no clear definition of gender identity…”"

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, a leader of the #NeverTrump movement, posted a letter on Facebook outlining how he thinks the GOP got to where it is and the way forward. You should read it. Senator Sasse is a bright guy– he is well-educated and talented. He is an earnest and energetic man of deep conservative principle. He […]

Read more "A Response to Ben Sasse’s Open Letter"

The moment of truth has arrived for conservatives around this nation. Barring any absurd shenanigans at the convention, Donald Trump will be the GOP nominee for President of the United States of America. Let that sink in for a moment. The party of small government, fiscal conservatism, and evangelical Christianity has overwhelmingly chosen a man who […]

Read more "Does #NeverTrump Become #ImWithHer?"

Curt Schilling is a loud-mouth. This is not news. He has a long history of saying boorish and often stupid things. He is the kind of guy who compares Muslims to Nazis. Or complains about critical coverage with long, bizarre emails to the author questioning their integrity. Schilling wandered into the transgendered bathroom debate by sharing […]

Read more "Curt Schilling, Allan Bloom, and the Meaning of Political Correctness"

But God might want to be after seeing what sort of garbage is being peddled in his/her name. God’s Not Dead 2, the most recent offering from Pure Flix Entertainment (which sounds a lot like a seedy adult entertainment production company to me), has been clogging up my newsfeed for the last week. Christian friends and […]

Read more "God’s Not Dead…"

As the GOP establishment continues to be flabbergasted by the success and staying power of Donald Trump, the punditry has already begun dissecting his presumptive failure in the general election (no sure thing). Like the post-mortem they performed following Mitt Romney’s defeat in 2012, the talking heads and opinion page scribes are calling for some […]

Read more "Rebuilding the Republican Party"

I’ve lived most of my life in the Rust Belt. Growing up I regularly heard adults lament the decline of our once thriving community. Many openly pined for the way things were. Others simply cursed the Mexicans and Chinese for “stealing” our jobs. Blame varied– unions, politicians, free trade, immigrants, government regulations, and the machines […]

Read more "Manufacturing: The Career of Tomorrow!!"

Why do so many, especially conservatives, think America is ruined? I’ve been asking myself this question a lot lately. It is all over the news. Every other word spoken or spilled over the contested GOP primary references the idea. Talking heads are diagnosing where the party went wrong (I’ve done it myself many times over). […]

Read more "Is America in Ruins?"

Regardless of your opinion of President Obama, you should read Jeffrey Goldberg’s 20,000-word feature The Obama Doctrine in this month’s The Atlantic. It is a rare and revealing look into his foreign policy worldview and how he thinks. This is the sort of nuanced, honest journalism that makes you a wiser political thinker and voter. […]

Read more "Obama: Hobbesian Optimist"