I recently visited Europe for the first time in four years, and the first time not as a student. Europe does not change; it is the Old World for a reason. A priest friend of mine I met in Rome put it nicely: “It’s not like they move the buildings.”
Read MoreThis month I had a great opportunity to read Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived, a new collection of mostly unpublished speeches by the late, great Antonin Scalia (in the above photo he is wearing a hat that well-known jurist and Catholic saint Thomas More was known to wear)
Read MoreFor those who have been subscribed to this newsletter from the start you may remember this article from all the way back in April(!). After a number of delays and a few rejections, this article finally found a place at The Federalist.
Read MoreBetween Second City and the nation's third largest media market it makes no sense to me why Chicago doesn't have a late night talk show. In this article I speculate about it -- the media and comedians don't intersect here like they do in New York or Los Angeles. But beyond that, America largely functions on a bi-coastal mentality. For a number of reasons, New York and L.A. run things. But Chicago is a respectably large city, and it would only be fitting if it reclaimed it's place in American culture.
Read MoreThe case of sick baby Charlie Gard has reignited the debate on the role of state in making health care decisions for those who are incapable of doing it themselves. In this case, should Charlie's parents be allowed to bring him to the United States for experimental treatment, or is it really in his "best interest" to be taken off life support, as the state claims?
Read MoreThe office of the President of the United States is unique for a number of reasons, not least of which is the way the president is elected. But in this piece, I wanted to write about the tension behind the office that has come into focus over the course of time.
Read MoreI find myself in a very odd situation. During the Republican primaries I was a #NeverTrump conservative. I never voted for him, I never advocated for him, and I was frustrated when the party decided time and time again to keep him on the ticket. To a large extent I'm in that same position today -- except now I find myself having to defend the president from the hyperventilating coastal media and politicians calling for his impeachment and removal from office.
Read MoreThis month I want to preview an article that I am currently writing. The Great Altars of the Catholic Church (like the one above from St. John Cantius in Chicago) are artistic treasures. But more than that, they fulfill an aesthetic need that centers and grounds the rituals of the Mass by reminding us of the celebration's solemnity. Unfortunately, post-Vatican II churches have largely done away with their altars and replaced them with bland ones, usually made of simple cuts of marble.
Read MoreIn this month's article for The Federalist I argue that the Democratic Party is facing extinction. Hillary Clinton's upset loss in November finally put the nail in the coffin of the "demographic destiny" theory. Her defeat also threw into contrast the deficiencies of the Democratic coalition assembled for President Obama's two electoral victories and demonstrated that the fissures in the party run deeper than we assumed pre-election day.
Read MoreI've written about all kinds of different topics, from politics to religion to higher education -- and beer. For this piece I had the pleasure of interviewing Sean Mahoney from BuckleDown brewing in suburban Chicago.
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