Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
At the time of this writing, Pope Francis is in critical condition at Gemelli University Hospital in Rome with a complex case of pneumonia in both lungs and early-stage kidney failure. Before all else, we pray for his well-being and peace. But death is in the air. The Swiss Guard have held funeral rehearsals. The … Read more
One of the irritating things about DOGE—something that ought to bother conservative DOGE apologists more than it should—is the comprehensive lack of honesty in the thing. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency is not a department, it is really only quasi-government at most, and its aim is not efficiency. It is the right-wing mirror image … Read more
If you need another reason to hope for success from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—you probably don’t, but there are plenty to go around—it turns out that efforts by the waste-hunting, government-shrinking (we hope) body may not just save money; it may help make people more honest. That’s because, after decades of increasing flows … Read more
When marijuana legalization began in the U.S. over a decade ago, advocates promised sweeping benefits: an end to punitive treatment of users, especially minorities—thus striking a blow for social justice—and the creation of profitable, regulated markets driving economic growth. Legalization, they argued, would provide safer products and generate significant tax revenue, with minimal downsides, since … Read more
Your Kindle books have never belonged to you. Regardless of whether the button literally said “Buy Now” when you downloaded The Da Vinci Code, you never became the actual owner of it. In terms of ownership, the astute readers of fine print realised long ago that Amazon’s Kindle Store was only ever a Netflix or … Read more
It is a truth universally acknowledged that people may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. If that wasn’t true for most of human history, it is certainly true now. And so it was that at the ARC conference this week, packed with giants from the political, economic … Read more
Aspiring officeholders increasingly disguise their obvious lust for power with a transparent sheen of public-spiritedness. If it seems like I’ve been criticizing Pete Buttigieg a lot lately, it’s because his political conduct annoys me. A McKinsey alumnus and the former mayor of Indiana’s fourth-largest city, Buttigieg has improbably vaulted himself to national prominence through the … Read more
If you expected a second Trump term to usher in some sort of new era of free speech, you might by now be feeling some rueful secondthoughts. In the latest development, Trump’s pick for federal prosecutor in Washington, DC, Edward R. Martin Jr., has sent a threat/investigation letter to Rep. Robert Garcia (D‑CA) over comments … Read more
New Mexico State Police Sgt. Toby LaFave, “the face of DWI enforcement,” has been implicated in a corruption scandal that goes back decades and involves “many officers.” “Thank you for helping ENDWI,” says a poster that the New Mexico Department of Transportation produced as part of its long-running campaign against drunk driving. The poster features … Read more
Democrats claim castrating children is in the Constitution. A racist, former Survivor contestant and tobacco progressive sued the president claiming that unless we castrate the kids, they’ll die. And a judge ruled in front of a courtroom full of transgender activists cheering for child mutilation that banning castration wasn’t constitutional. Where is child castration mentioned … Read more
For generations, Shakespeare remained the Bard of a blessed land, ruled by a beloved Queen worshipped by her subjects. Such was the Tudor legend passed on through the centuries. Unfortunately, the reality uncovered by historians is less attractive. Shakespeare’s England was in fact an age of terror and persecution, surveillance and brutal executions for those … Read more
For Donald Trump, the work stops at breaking eggs. The thing about Donald Trump is, he’s Donald Trump. Briefly set aside any old-fashioned moral considerations about Donald Trump’s low personal character—as a purely analytical matter, that low character is the most direct and comprehensive way to understand what it is the administration is actually doing. … Read more
Why did Jesus tell people to make offerings in the Temple? Why did Paul call himself a Pharisee? The Bible’s answer might surprise you. Many assume that Jesus came to abolish Jewish religious practices, but the Gospels tell a different story. The New Testament is filled with references to Jesus and his family and disciples … Read more
Just as the Romans used language manipulation to dissociate Judea from the Jews, totalitarian ideologues created the myth of Palestinian martyrdom and resistance. George Orwell famously wrote in 1984: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Tyrants have always understood that language control is mind control. Among the most egregious examples of language … Read more
For an eighty-eight-year-old man who has spent only five days in the United States and doesn’t speak English, Pope Francis is a surprisingly partisan observer of American politics. For most of his life he was, like a typical Argentinean, viscerally but vaguely anti-American. By the time he became pope in 2013, he and the Democratic … Read more
A well-known and very much-admired Catholic farmer in Northern Virginia is Jesse Straight. Owner of Whiffletree Farm in Warrenton, Virginia, Straight has embraced both his farming and his Catholic life, and with his wife and children, has created something of a rural paradise on their 80 acres. There he raises herds of pigs and cattle … Read more
The West is experiencing a mysterious phenomenon in which Muslims living there alternate between stabbing people and running them over with cars. Germany had a bout of Muslims stabbing people, including a recent stabbing by an Afghan migrant, so another Afghan refugee decided to run over some people in Munich. 30 people have been reported … Read more
O man, when the world hates you and is faithless toward you, think of your God, how He was struck and spat upon. You should not accuse your neighbor of guilt, but pray to God that He be merciful to you both. St. Nicholas of Flue Related PostsSt. Joseph, intercede for me Corrie Ten Boom … Read more
Maybe the secret ingredient to a freer, more prosperous society is simple: respect for choice, in business and beyond. Flower Mound, Texas, is about thirty miles northwest of Dallas. It straddles two counties: Denton, in which Trump won 56 percent of the vote, and Tarrant, which was evenly split between Trump and Harris in 2024. … Read more
Pope Francis on Tuesday slammed President Donald J. Trump’s policy of arresting and deporting illegal aliens en masse, starting with criminals and terrorists who threaten domestic and national security. In just their first 18 days back in office, Trump, border czar Tom Homan, and other federal authorities have swept some 11,000 illegals from America’s communities … Read more
It’s taken for granted in commentary about the president’s first three weeks in office that, at some point, he’ll “overreach.” I’m sure I’ve made that claim myself elsewhere. It’s the nature of modern politics: New presidents sweep into office, misread their mandate (assuming any such thing exists), and alienate their soft supporters. The backlash will … Read more
There’s a shortage of eggs in America right now, and the ones you can get are very expensive. Even Waffle House is adding a surcharge if you order eggs. That’s mostly not about markets, or about government; there’s a shortage of eggs mainly because of a disease killing birds. That being said, we have ample … Read more
On Saturday, there was no way for the masked terrorists — green headbands wrapped around their anonymous faces — even to attempt hiding the hideous abuses they had inflicted on their captives. No showy stage parade could distract the world from what was plainly visible: three Israeli civilians, violently abducted from their homes, now bearing … Read more
I review a very good new book on occupational licensing, The Licensing Racket by Rebecca Haw Allensworth, in the WSJ. Most people will concede that licensing for hair braiders and interior decorators is excessive while licensing for doctors, nurses and lawyers is essential. Hair braiders pose little to no threat to public safety, but subpar … Read more
Tycoons might be lining up to appease Donald Trump, but stocks are traded on economic reality. Thank God for the stock market. The market is one of the only things Donald Trump can be expected to listen to—likely more than polls and certainly more than his advisers—even when he doesn’t want to hear what it’s … Read more