ArcaMax

"In short, we do not need good laws to restrain bad men. We need good men to restrain bad laws." -- G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

Why do people in power try to silence speech with which they disagree?

Last week produced news about the suppression of speech on university campuses. There, the suppression usually occurs through the power of ...Read more

After listening to Dr. Anthony Fauci suggest last weekend that we should expect to be wearing two masks on our faces everywhere we go until the end of 2022, I began thinking again about first principles.

Fauci is entitled to express his opinions. Yet, because he is the president's chief adviser on COVID-related medical matters, I cringed when I...Read more

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, thus, all government behavior must conform to it. It is, of course, notwithstanding its supremacy, an imperfect document. Its original iteration in 1789 -- and even after the addition of the Bill of Rights in 1791 -- implicitly recognized slavery, permitted the states to limit voters to adult ...Read more

Amid arguments in the Senate over whether the impeachment of former President Donald Trump is constitutional, and in the House over whether $1.9 trillion is enough money to borrow and distribute to select taxpayers and institutions, there have been rumblings among Democrats to make it more difficult for the Supreme Court to invalidate or permit ...Read more

"The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man's spiritual nature, of his feelings, and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans...Read more

Last week, Joseph R. Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. The federal government began arresting those it claims attempted to interfere violently with Congress' constitutional duties to authenticate Electoral College votes on Jan. 6. The Senate announced it would go forward with a second impeachment trial of Donald J...Read more

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he included in it a list of the colonists' grievances with the British government. Notably absent were any complaints that the British government infringed upon the freedom of speech.

In those days, public speech was as acerbic as it is today. If words were aimed at Parliament, all ...Read more

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie offered his understanding last weekend of President Donald Trump's alleged role in the Capitol riots when he said, "If inciting to insurrection isn't impeachable, I don't know what it is."

He must have been addressing the political, ethical, practical and emotional implications of Trump's exhortations ...Read more

The concept of personal liberty is that our rights come from our humanity. If you believe in a Supreme Being, as I do and as the Declaration of Independence presupposes, then you acknowledge these rights as a gift from the Creator. If you doubt or reject the existence of a Supreme Being, you can still accept the personal origin of these rights. ...Read more

1) One year from now, the president of the United States will be

a. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

b. Kamala Harris.

c. Nancy Pelosi.

d. Donald Trump.

2) In February 2021, Donald Trump will

a. Be indicted for tax and bank fraud in New York.

b. Have announced that he will remain in the White House until Jan. 20, 2025.

c. Be living in Saudi Arabia ...Read more

What if Christmas is a core belief in a personal God who lived among us and many times offered a freely given promise of eternal salvation that no believer should reject or apologize for? What if Christmas is the rebirth of Christ in the hearts of all believers? What if Christmas is the potential rebirth of Christ in every heart that will have ...Read more

God works in strange ways. Last weekend, two friends and I were deeply moved when we saw a theatrical production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." This is the famous and popular tale of the transformation and redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge from a rasping, grasping old miser into a lovable, generous old man who, late in life, becomes ...Read more

Most presidential pardons -- indeed all pardons that President Donald Trump has issued -- have been for specific crimes of which the subject of the pardon has already been charged and convicted. Yet, Trump, never one to be restrained by precedent, has let it be hinted that he might issue prophylactic pardons to relatives and colleagues who have ...Read more