March 2, 2024

I’m a regular speaker for the Thomistic Institute, an academic institute of the  Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies (DHS) in Washington, D.C.   According to its website, “The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square. The thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Doctor of the Church, is our touchstone.” There are nearly 90 TI... Read more

January 30, 2024

I’m happy to report that I was recently a guest on the Word on Fire’s Evangelization and Culture podcast, hosted by Dr. Tod Worner. About a week ago the interview was released on Youtube. The topic of our discussion was my recent article, “Re-Version,” published in Word on Fire’s journal, Evangelization and Culture. (You can read more about my article here). Read more

January 18, 2024

In 1999 I published an article entitled, “The `No One Deserves His or Her Talents’ Argument for Affirmative Action: A Critical Analysis.”  Appearing in the academic journal, Social Theory and Practice (Vol. 25, No. 1 [Spring 1999], pp. 53-60), it raised the provocative question: On what basis should we award jobs in departments that are tasked to enforce an institution’s affirmative action policies?  (Here I am thinking of what I call “Strong Affirmative Action” (SSA), as opposed to “Weak Affirmative... Read more

December 24, 2023

I am delighted to announce that I have a new article in the latest issue of Evangelization and Culture (vol. 18), published by Word on Fire.  Entitled “Re-Version,” it is one of several pieces on coversion and Catholicism that appears in the issue.  My article is a brief reflection on my return to the Catholic Church and  the factors that drew back to the Barque of Peter.  Here’s how it begins: Reverts to the Catholic Church are an unusual breed.... Read more

November 22, 2023

Today, November 22, 2023, marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).  Three years ago, Bob Dylan (1941-    ), in the midst of the pandemic, released a haunting 17 minute song about JFK’s murder. Entitled “Murder Most Foul,” Dylan not only vividly describes the assassination and the cast of characters that surrounded it, he takes us on a whirlwind historical tour of American popular culture that followed the president’s death.  (You can find the... Read more

November 22, 2023

As we in the United States approach Thanksgiving, we should cultivate in our souls the virtue of gratitude.  To this end, I recommend these words from St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), excerpted from the Summa Theologiae (II.Q106): Thanksgiving [gratiarum actio] in the recipient corresponds to the favor [gratia] of the giver: so that when there is greater favor on the part of the giver, greater thanks are due on the part of the recipient. Now a favor is something bestowed “gratis”:... Read more

September 9, 2023

Of the thirteen songs that appeared on his self-titled and first album, Bob Dylan, the Minnesota native only wrote two of them: “Talkin’ New York” and “Song to Woody.”  The latter, which Dylan wrote to honor the great Woody Guthrie, begins with these memorable lines: I’m out here a thousand miles from my homeWalkin’ a road other men have gone down Later in the song, Dylan sings: Hey, Woody Guthrie, but I know that you know All the things that... Read more

September 1, 2023

Earlier this year I published an article in the Civil Rights Law Journal, a perodical of the Scalia Law School at George Mason University.  In the article–entitled “What’s So Special About Religious Liberty?: Law, Philosophy, and Serving God“–I make a case for what I call “The Two Sovereigns” view of religious liberty by focusing on several famous establishment clause cases involving speech.  Here’s an abstract of the article: This paper addresses the question of the specialness of religious liberty. Rather... Read more

August 8, 2023

I just published an essay over at Public Discourse. Entitled “Is Bias Actually Bad?,” it is a review of the book, Bias: A Philosophical Study, authored by Princeton University philosopher, Thomas Kelly.  Here is how it begins: There is a lot of talk these days about bias. We are told that the media have a left-wing (MSNBC, Washington Post, New York Times) or a right-wing (Fox News, Wall Street Journal editorial page) bias; that employers should watch out for unconscious or... Read more


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