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On Monday, Donald Trump informed the world that he’d been “saved by God” in order to “Make America Great Again”. Now, I’m no theologian, so I can’t say for certain whether this was indeed God’s plan. · Frankly, though, I think it makes a lot more sense than the risible twaddle that was subsequently spouted at Trump by an actual bishop. · On Tuesday, the president attended a service at the Washington National Cathedral. And astonishingly, one of…

Americans historically have not just believed in the “right” to bear arms, but they have, more importantly, claimed an actual republican duty of all Americans to bear arms. · Every two years at Hillsdale College, I have the immense privilege of teaching three of our upper-level U.S. survey courses: American Founding (1753-1806); Democratic America (1807-1848); and Sectionalism and American Civil War (1849-1877). Though I have taught these…

Meta’s decision to end its third-party fact-checking program has triggered strong reactions across mainstream media, both in New Zealand and internationally—especially from those with a stake in the fact-check narrative. · Many outlets are smearing the move, framing it as a dangerous invite to misinformation and a move exposing the vulnerable to hate online. This defends the status quo. · This one-sided narrative explores only the risks of…

In a quest to fulfill a centuries-old dream to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the builders of the Panama Canal quickly learned that the construction of a waterway across a narrow ribbon of land looked easier on a map than in reality. The Panamanian isthmus proved to be one of the most difficult—and deadly—spots in the world in which to construct a channel. The builders of the passage attempted to re-engineer the natural landscape, but…

Matthew Hooton’s recent article for The NZ Herald, “Treaty Principles Bill submissions received, but there are issues leaving race debate in dust,” delivers accurate polling data but we disagree with his conclusion. · He suggests that the Treaty debate is only a distant concern for voters, but his interpretation may be ignoring the broader relevance of these issues to the political and social landscape. · More than just the Treaty Principles…

An elite team of climate scientists, ultimately reporting to Science Minister Judith Collins and whose research underpins Prime Minister Luxon’s climate policies, have begun 2025 getting their climate data wrong…again. · NIWA has just published its Annual Climate Summary for 2024, and dropped yet another embarrassing clanger, this time over what it claims was a record high atmospheric pressure measured in New Zealand last year in the South…

Over coffee a little while ago, during one of her visits to London from her home in Israel, the British public commentator Melanie Phillips fixed me with her characteristic warm and penetrating gaze and remarked: “As you know, Jake, in my career there hasn’t been a hill I haven’t died on.” · Her penetrating mind is familiar to everybody who knows her work; but her warmth is most tangible in person. Nonetheless, both qualities come across…

The magnitude 8.2 earthquake on 23rd January 1855 had a profound impact on the development of Wellington city. Land raised from the harbour – along with additional reclamations – formed much of modern Wellington’s central business district. The earthquake also drained notoriously swampy areas in the Hutt Valley and Wellington, including the future site of the Basin Reserve cricket ground. · Movement on a fault in Palliser Bay caused the…

In 2022, Elon Musk famously declared his pronouns were “Prosecute/Fauci,” blaming Anthony Fauci for overseeing numerous policy failures during the pandemic. · But Musk won’t get his wish. In the final hours of Joe Biden’s presidency, Fauci was granted clemency, shielding him from prosecution for any potential crimes dating back to 2014. · Biden was clear that this was not an admission of guilt, but for someone who spent years as the…

This is a cosy chicken risoni (orzo) that’s a complete one pot meal: risoni in a creamy tomato parmesan sauce with swirls of spinach and pops of nutty chickpeas with juicy pan seared chicken breast, sprinkled liberally with crispy salami bits. Describing the dish is lengthy. The making part is not! · Ingredients · - 1/2 tbsp olive oil - 100g/ 3 oz salami stick , cut into 3mm / 1/8″ thick rounds then chopped into small batons - 2 x 250g / 8…