We all expect voters to have the final say in election questions. A solemn acceptance of the votes cast, win or lose, has been the bedrock of American politics since the inception of the nation—to ignore it would be to deny the very essence of democratic governance and embrace a type of tyranny that elevates...
“History may not repeat itself, but it sure as hell rhymes.” I often think about this statement, which was my high school history teacher’s personal paraphrase of Mark Twain’s famous quote, when reading the news. Today’s news story that brought that quote to mind is, of course, the information of Biden’s recent announcement of limited...
Two and two make five. This non-truth is one of the small phrases at the heart of George Orwell’s “1984.” It is used to demonstrate the ruling party’s focus on the absolute domination of its citizens, often subverting or rejecting truth in order to maintain its power. Orwell’s phrase is often invoked in political discourse...
“The Gestapo are outside again,” one said. “What are they doing this time?” came the reply “Counting the windows, again.” This sort of discussion was also not uncommon in my grandmother’s house as she and her family lived under Nazi occupation in Telch, Czechoslovakia. While the Gestapo were constantly on the prowl for Jews, which...
We’ve seen it everywhere, in the news, in our own lives: the Left’s policies and liberal cities failing, time and time again, to deliver on their promises. Housing will fix homelessness. Welfare will fix poverty. The right combination of the right laws is society’s panacea—if only the government was given the power to solve the...
Texas is flooded with extra cash—and Gov. Greg Abbott supports using at least some of it to reduce property taxes for Texans. Thanks to the Texas Legislature’s fiscal stewardship and the Texas economy’s resilience, Texas governments have amassed major surpluses. Consider that tax collections are up 30.62% over this time last year, generating a budget...
This week, the nation woke to the news that the U.S. Supreme Court was considering overturning the controversial 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade. Despite the leaked opinion only being a draft and not final, the left is apoplectic, arguing that this is an assault on women’s rights and the end of democracy. Of all...
Ghost gun—the very name invokes the image of something illegal, something hidden, something meant for unlawful ends. This name for unregistered firearms was chosen just for that purpose—to make it feel like such firearms are tainted by ill intent. The Biden administration has targeted them since ascending to office, and many liberal states have already...
Today, I, like many other Americans, woke up to news that Russia had launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For some, this was a shock—not everyone expected that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be brash enough to invade. At time of writing, Ukraine has weathered a storm of missile fire and has lost land but...
“Eva, dear, did your father teach you anything last night?” My grandmother, Eva Hahn, received this question almost daily at school in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. While the question seems innocent enough at first glance, the teachers were actually fishing for proof that my great-grandfather, Jaroslav, was teaching his daughters “non-communist” ideas, such as the...
Eleven-year-old Eva Riha shifted under the false floor of the delivery truck as, inches away, Soviet soldiers bayonetted the vegetable crates above her. She and her family were escaping across the southern border of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Eva and her family left everything behind to escape the menace of communism, eventually ending up in the United States to pursue their...