Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Catholic Integralism Is a Brutal Dead End. Will Gen Z Repeat It?

Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul Mueller

‘A growing subculture is determined to subordinate America to the authority of Catholic theology. But this project has been tried before: it ends in predictable horrors.” (10/06/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/catholic-integralism-is-a-brutal-dead-end-will-gen-z-repeat-it/

Thomas L. Knapp

Jim Bakker, 1940-2026

Source: Washington Post

“Jim Bakker, a televangelist who once led a multimillion-dollar religious empire with his wife, Tammy Faye, before a sex sandal tarnished his reputation and a conviction for fraud and conspiracy sent him to federal prison, died Oct. 5. He was 86. His second wife, Lori, announced the death but not cite a cause or say where he died. He had a stroke in 2020. … Tammy Faye died in 2007. Their son Jamie changed his first name to Jay and became a tattooed, body-pierced preacher in Minneapolis who espoused somewhat liberal social views. In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Bakker’s survivors include a daughter from his first marriage, Tammy Sue Bakker Chapman.” (10/06/26)

https://archive.is/rLyTI

Thomas L. Knapp

Equality Before the Law Does Not Mean Equality of Subjective Feelings

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya

“Equality before the law is a highly-contested principle, largely because there is no consensus on what it means for everyone to be treated equally. Does equality before the law mean that nobody believes himself to be superior or inferior to others? Does the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee that we must all enjoy the same social status? Can the Constitution ensure that no one feels slighted, ignored, or overlooked? Do citizens have a constitutional right to feel welcome and included in everything?” (10/06/26)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/equality-law-does-not-mean-equality-subjective-feelings

Thomas L. Knapp

Germany: Former spy chief arrested on suspicion of treason and espionage

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“Germany’s former foreign spy chief has been arrested on suspicion of espionage and treason, prosecutors have said. August Hanning, 80, is under investigation for attempted treason and acting as an agent for a foreign intelligence service, the Office of the Federal Public Prosecutor General confirmed on Tuesday. Hanning was president of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service between 1998 and 2005. He was arrested in Bad Toelz-Wolfratshausen in southern Germany. His former chief of staff, partially identified as Manfred D, was arrested in Steinfurt in western Germany on suspicion of ‘aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage’. … The statement did not reveal who the two men were suspected of spying for or which country the foreign agent worked for, adding that ‘it has yet to be determined if the material reached the intended recipient’.” (10/06/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/6/former-german-spy-chief-arrested-on-suspicion-of-treason-and-espionage

Thomas L. Knapp

Class Dismissed: Why Britain Should Stop Keeping Score

Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie

“Arthur Scargill once boasted that he had never betrayed his class. It was meant as a badge of honour. It should have been read as a warning. We understand loyalty to family. We understand loyalty to village, county and country. These are places and people we belong to and most would not wish to leave. Class is different. It is a condition, not a community. And for most of British history the working-class condition meant hard labour, low pay and narrow horizons. To pledge loyalty to that is to pledge loyalty to the very thing a sensible person would want to escape. It turns the miner’s son who becomes a surgeon into a deserter. It makes ambition look like apostasy. That is the first problem with class. It is a cage that congratulates you for staying inside.” (10/06/26)

https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/class-dismissed-why-britain-should-stop-keeping-score

Thomas L. Knapp