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Bret Stephens is a highly paid conservative columnist for The New York Times. His opinions I generally find tolerable and, at times, useful in sharpening my own thinking. But his column of March 25, 2026, is baffling. He argues that the war with Iran—measured against similar conflicts—is going just dandy: tactically precise, efficient, and mercifully… Read more

We had a long and thoughtful discussion recently about DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion. What follows are my reflections, based more on experience than on any in-depth academic study. For all the enormous progress the United States has made over the past 150 years in addressing systemic racism, it still exists—perhaps in more subtle forms than… Read more

A guest essay in the March 13 edition of The Washington Post by Carl R. Trueman asserted that the future of Christianity is tied to a conservative evangelical interpretation of Scripture used to authenticate its position on issues of human sexuality. His principal concern was the position on transgender rights expressed by Texas Democratic Senate… Read more

Two previous columns have explored scapegoating as an ancient and well-documented process by which blame is assigned to a vulnerable victim held responsible for troubles threatening the equilibrium of a community—or the power and position of those in authority. As pervasive as this practice has been, and still is, it can never achieve its purpose.… Read more

Donald Trump is a master of the art of scapegoating. His entire life has been marked by avoiding accountability, casting blame on others whenever failure interrupts his path to success. Over the years he has developed a small but well-used vocabulary of humiliating insults to describe the supposed stupidity, incompetence, or disloyalty of those he… Read more

My columns normally address one issue at a time, but this one offers reflections on two matters that confront me on a daily basis—and probably confront you as well. On Trump’s War with Iran Donald Trump is currently engaged in war with Iran using the military power available to him as commander in chief. He… Read more