R. R. Reno

Proponents of same-sex marriage frame their cause in terms of civil rights. There are no significant moral or cultural differences between homosexual couples and heterosexual couples, they presume, and therefore limiting marriage to heterosexual couples amounts to discrimination. Fairness and . . . . Continue Reading »

Two large, sunken pools, fed by what the official literature describes as the largest man-made waterfall in North America, drain into central shafts meant, it seems, to conjure the infinite abyss of death and loss. They are rimmed with bronze panels into which are inscribed the names of those who died a decade ago. The rest of the grounds of the 9/11 Memorial are filled with trees and stone benches. … Continue Reading »

How do you spell tendentious? Sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell on religion and politics. Without evidence they assert that the Tea Party is controversial not because of its strident fiscal conservatism, but rather because Tea Party activists are religious. In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, the duo held forth on the nature, influence, and significance of the Tea Party, which they say has become a toxic brand… . Continue Reading »

Sunday’s New York Times ran an op ed by Warren Buffet, ” Stop Coddling the Super-Rich ,” in which The Oracle of Omaha chided our legislators for failing to tax the rich at sufficiently high rates. He points out that he paid nearly than $7,000,000 in taxes last year. Sounds like a . . . . Continue Reading »

The brinksmanship in Washington over the federal debt ceiling caused me to think about our current difficulties. By and large liberals see in the present crisis images of dolorous unemployment lines and want more government spending; conservatives see a bankrupt banana republic and want cuts in spending. Whose vision is clearest? The liberals have history on their side… . Continue Reading »

Has American liberalism lost its capacity to govern? I’m afraid so. Liberals can still win elections and propose realistic policies. But as a culture, liberalism has become insular and narrow-minded. It lacks the capacity for the generous appreciation of other points of view needed in a . . . . Continue Reading »

We’re wrapping up our spring fund raising campaign. If you responded to my letter to subscribers appealing for support, please accept my heartfelt thanks. If you did not”or if, God forbid, you’re not a subscriber and did not receive my letter”please consider making an electronic donation today. It’s easy. There’s a nifty “click to donate” button just to the right. We need your support… . Continue Reading »

The year is the 400th anniversary of the Authorized Version of the English-language Bible that often goes by the name of the monarch who commissioned the translation. It was a tremendous theological, scholarly, and literary achievement, producing the most influential book in the English language. . . . . Continue Reading »

Here’s an arresting statistic that economist Richard Vedder thinks goes a long way to explaining the rapid rise in college tuitions: 80 percent of faculty at the University of Texas at the flagship campus in Austin teach fewer than half the students. In view of the fact that faculty salaries make up the largest expense at the university, one simple change would reduce tuition. Get the 80 percent back into the classrooms… . Continue Reading »

What makes life worth living? For the most part Western society has settled on an individualistic answer: whatever I decide or desire. It’s judgmental”an act of cultural imperialism, as we’re taught to say at fancy colleges”to suggest that there’s a right answer to this question. Rather, we are told, people should be able to organize their lives around what they feel or think best. We’re happiest, the present-day liberal presumes, when we can make up our own minds about what makes life worth living”or even if life is worth living… . Continue Reading »