Although 74-year-old media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai faces life in prison under Beijing’s harsh National Security Law (NSL), he now has a new ally in his corner: veteran human rights lawyer Timothy Owen. Continue Reading...
Latest Posts
November 10, 2022
Who Decides What Books Your Child Should Read?
At its best, a democratic polity ought to deal well with complexity, this complexity composed of clashing ideas and principles as well as the interests of multiple actors and stakeholders. Such a polity will seek proximate solutions that require constant fine-tuning. Continue Reading...
November 09, 2022
Is There an Argument for Anarchy?
Almost two-thirds of Americans believe that distrust of government is a major barrier to solving issues in public life. As we witness a marked decline of faith in both the government and the stability of our democracy, some are arguing that it’s the perfect time to take a serious look at the historic libertarian premise: Maybe government itself is the problem. Continue Reading...
November 08, 2022
House of the Dragon Is Nihilism for Teens
I recently wrote about what has come of Disney, whose new Pinocchio seems to be all about getting rid of morality as we have understood it. Instead of learning that actions have consequences and how to behave with a view to growing up, children are supposed to be flattered until they get into trouble, and then further flattered by being told that the rest of the world is causing their problems. Continue Reading...
November 03, 2022
China’s Future Is Not Fixed
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held its 20th national congress to chart its future direction and anoint Xi Jinping as leader-for-life. At least that’s what Xi plans. Xi lauded his record, which, he insisted, has “ensured that the party will never change in quality, change its color, or change its flavor.” Continue Reading...
November 02, 2022
The Christian’s Hard Affluence and Easy Hardship
From sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton’s worries over “moral therapeutic deism” in their 2005 book, to the Pew Research Center’s documentation of the growing trend of religious “nones” (people who claim no religious affiliation), to common claims that we now live in a “post-Christian” culture, the idea that religion and modern affluence cannot coexist has deep roots. Continue Reading...
October 31, 2022
The U.S. stands behind Hong Kong freedom fighter Jimmy Lai
One day after pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was found guilty of fraud charges, the U.S. Department of State responded to the verdict, condemning its “spurious fraud charges” and noting increasing concerns about “deterioration in protection for human rights” under the Chinese Communist Party’s National Security Law (NSL). Continue Reading...
October 31, 2022
Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow Is a Tale of the Founding
Halloween has somehow become a celebration of America becoming American, a New World unlike the Old World, a place where horror is a literary or cinematic genre rather than a memory—the dimly recollected past stretching back millennia through seemingly endless suffering, man’s inhumanity to man, older than civilization. Continue Reading...
October 29, 2022
Freedom fighter Jimmy Lai found guilty of fraud
In a blow to free speech, pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of fraud by a court in Hong Kong as China works to stamp out dissent. District Court judge Stanley Chan said Lai committed fraud by not revealing that he operated a consulting firm from the offices of his media company—a violation of his lease with a government-owned entity. Continue Reading...
October 27, 2022
Heaven and Hell in America: Dante’s Indiana
In a cultural landscape that is often hostile—or at best indifferent—to religion, a popular and widely lauded novel whose plot focuses not only on matters of faith but also a main character whose worldview and identity is shaped entirely by his Catholicism is a rare occurrence. Continue Reading...
