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Jan
08
2018

Crossing the Swamp

08, Jan

By Katie Kieffer


It’s not about “draining the swamp.” It’s about crossing the swamp—and overcoming the bog in a bold bout much like George Washington’s surprise attack in the Battle of Trenton after crossing the Delaware on Christmas Day, 1776.

Our first President was a good man. He led by example, enduring the cold alongside his men unlike generals of lesser mettle, who shouted commands from a warm tent out of range of fire. Washington took pride in keeping his commitments, personal and professional. Continue reading →

Posted in Health Care, National Security | 6 Comments
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Oct
02
2017

A Heartfelt Note from Katie

02, Oct

By Katie Kieffer


For the past few Mondays, you haven’t heard from me. I had surgery to repair an injury and wanted to update you – many of whom have followed my columns for years – and let you know I still have a passion for the pen. My sincere thanks to all who sent prayers, texts and other forms of encouragement! I’m on track for a full recovery, and hope to return to writing soon.

But bigger than me, I wish address last night’s tragic shooting that left at least 58 dead and over 515 wounded at a country music concert in Las Vegas. A madman-turned-sniper smuggled hundreds of rounds of ammunition, 19 rifles, and two tripods into his room in the Mandalay Bay hotel. Around 10:08 p.m., the sound of gunfire cut through the evening air. Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | 9 Comments
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Aug
28
2017

Hearts of Stone: Statue Stories

28, Aug

By Katie Kieffer


Baby Jesus? Too wholesome for schoolchildren. Colin Kaepernick? Perfect hero material: effeminate; unsportsmanlike and willing to play the victim card. Is this for real? Yep.

A Catholic school is relegating a statue of the Christ child to the basement cobwebs while the National Museum of African American History and Culture is building a display to honor NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

What is a statue and what does it represent? Why do we erect statues? These are fundamental questions which we must ask before we surrender to madness. Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 1 Comment
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Aug
21
2017

Wake Up-Mitch and Paul!

21, Aug

By Katie Kieffer

Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan

Waiter! Bring ice water! We need to wake up our lethargic congressional leaders, Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Paul Ryan. Because when they snooze, America loses.

How do these two knuckleheads keep getting elected? It might be better if we had elected two La-Z-Boy armchairs to office. Neutrality is better than betrayal. Continue reading →

Posted in Economy | 1 Comment
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Aug
14
2017

Google-Shocked

14, Aug

By Katie Kieffer


You’re in second grade, enjoying summer vacation, when a neighbor boy comes out of nowhere and thrusts his fist—hard—into your stomach. For seconds, you gasp for air. He’s no foe. In fact, you would have called him a friend until about three seconds ago. What just happened?

Not all of us have been shell-shocked. But we’ve all had the air knocked out of us at some point. For me, it once happened in the way described above. (The little boy thought he was being funny, although his mother laughed at his joke by grounding him.) Well, last week, Google singlehandedly knocked the air out of all of us.

We’ve been Google-shocked. Continue reading →

Posted in Free Speech | 2 Comments
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Aug
07
2017

Dunkirk: Healing Sick Minds

07, Aug

By Katie Kieffer


Roman historian Titus Livius (Livy) would love the new World War II movie, Dunkirk, because Livy believed: “the study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind.”

Livy was not the only prominent Roman thinker to value historical studies. Marcus Tullius Cicero—one of Rome’s finest orators—concurred: “To not know what happened before one was born is to live as a child.” And America’s founding father James Madison agreed with the Romans, warning: “A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.” Continue reading →

Posted in National Security | 1 Comment
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Aug
01
2017

A Transgender Military

01, Aug

By Katie Kieffer


American law and military tradition do not discriminate against transgenders—and transgenders hurt themselves by believing otherwise.

How is this possible, one could ask, when our President is preventing transgenders from openly serving in the military? Continue reading →

Posted in Law, National Security | Leave a comment
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Jul
26
2017

Death of a White Woman

26, Jul

By Katie Kieffer

Graveyard cross

“I can hear someone out back and I, I’m not sure if she’s having sex or being raped,” Justine Damond told a Minneapolis, MN police dispatcher at 11:27 p.m. on July 15. Eight minutes passed. No squad car. She re-dialed 911.

Minutes earlier, Damond had been awakened from sleep by a female’s chilling scream. The sound was particularly startling in a neighborhood known for low crime and peaceful streets. After calling the police, Damond called her fiancé and said the sound seemed to be coming from a neighbor’s garage. Continue reading →

Posted in Law | 2 Comments
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Jul
10
2017

Trump: “We Want God”

10, Jul

By Katie Kieffer

Saint Patrick's Cathedral

In 1984, Ronald Reagan won the Catholic vote. Bush, McCain and Romney failed to repeat Reagan’s feat, but 2016 exit polls show Donald Trump won the Catholic vote by 7%. If Trump and Reagan gained popularity among the faithful by being unafraid to mention God, so too the Catholic Church should be unafraid to speak the truth.

As in 1984, the Catholic Church has a historic opportunity to bring society closer to God in solidarity with the world’s most powerful political leader.

“We want God!” President Trump said last week in Warsaw, Poland. The crowd erupted into wild applause. Continue reading →

Posted in Free Speech | 3 Comments
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Jun
25
2017

Trump Follows Reagan’s Lead

25, Jun

By Katie Kieffer

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan removed Jimmy Carter’s solar panels from the White House roof as soon as he became president. Because Reagan understood the power of demonstrating that science is at the service of humans—not corporate interests and K Street lobbyists.

Like Reagan, one of President Trump’s first moves was undoing a far sillier executive action of his own puerile predecessor, Barack Obama. Specifically, Trump unraveled the Paris Climate Accord, which Obama unconstitutionally negotiated with the United Nations in Paris, France in December of 2015. Continue reading →

Posted in Energy | Leave a comment
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