1. Did the Obama Stimulus Bill Work?

Historians still debate whether the New Deal stimulus efforts worked, at least until President Franklin D. Roosevelt listened to conservative critics and cut the budget in 1937. His moderation led to a terrible recession that lasted until the...

Monday, 01 March 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

2. Innovative Curriculum Highlights Italians and the Holocaust

What element in the national character of a nation compels so many to risk their lives and those of their families to rescue others?� Is it a sense of moral or religious obligation, fierce individualism, skepticism, or rebellion against...

Monday, 01 March 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

3. Roadmap for America’s Future 2.0

Paul Ryan “Roadmap for America’s Future 2.0”� is a Republican alternative that even President Obama has cited as worthy of review.   INTRODUCTION A Choice of Two Futures Rarely before have the alternatives facing America been so...

Monday, 22 February 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

4. Beyond Even Hypocrisy

Dr. Samuel Johnson has said that hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue.� What a nice phrase, except when you see it up front in critical cases.� Let me give you three diverse examples.� The American Red Cross, which...

Monday, 22 February 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

5. Massive Snowstorm Doesn't Cool Temperatures in D.C.

A massive snowstorm dumped approximately two feet of snow in the Washington, D.C. area this past week, but it did nothing to cool the political heat that continues to intensify as members of both political parties count down to Election Day 2012.

Friday, 12 February 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

6. After Tea Time, Both Parties Miss the Point

Democrats have been poking fun at Sarah Palin for writing notes on her hand before speaking at the National Tea Party Convention last weekend. � The critics may enjoy a chuckle or two at the former Alaska Governor’s...

Thursday, 11 February 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

7. Lincoln at 201

On February 12, 2010, Abraham Lincoln turned 201 — a year older and even more revered than before.

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

8. The Reset of Bush's Foreign Policy?

One of the major thrusts of Barack Obama’s foreign policy was to undo the actions and the cowboy attitudes set in stone during the Bush-Cheney terms.  The sort of swaggering belligerent foreign policy has been replaced by high moralism and false starts.

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

9. Living Through the First Year

Historian David Greenberg of Rutgers University has written in the Atlantic magazine a comparative study of the approval ratings of modern presidents after one year in office.� They are so obviously dependent on the major events each president...

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail

10. The Church In Decline

Several generations ago, my grandparents gave their hard-earned money to build a new Norman Gothic style church in New Jersey, followed by a parochial school where it seemed we all went at one time or another. Like many immigrants, they gave to keep the faith of their fathers alive. Now in the state of New Jersey, the Catholic Church is in serious decline as an institution. A local Catholic high school where I grew up has long been closed and is being turned into some sort of retreat house.

Thursday, 04 February 2010 | Print | PDF |  E-mail