When I was in first grade, I was mistakenly given an eighth-grade portion of food that I could not possibly finish. As I was presenting my uneaten portion to the woman at the garbage disposal, a redoubtable nun towering over me said, “Joseph, the pagan babies in Africa are starving and you’re wasting that good food.”       I responded, “Sister, if I eat the food, the pagan babies still won’t get it.”        Wap! The nun backhanded me across my face and the tray went flying.       Many people who attended Catholic schools in the 1960s can recount similar stories. But on the balance, these schools did an excellent job. At my grade school, even the slowest child in the class could read, write and do basic math by the eighth grade. We learned right from wrong and learned to love our country. To this day, I can still recite most of the Gettysburg address.       Connecticut is trying to redress historical racial inequalities and there would be no faster way than to allow minorities to … [Read more...]

        With increased racial tensions spreading across the country, statues of those associated with slavery - Robert E. Lee and other Confederate generals - have been either removed or vandalized. Here in the Northeast, statues of Columbus are suffering the same fate. In Boston, a statue of Columbus was beheaded while in Middletown and New London, Connecticut, his statue was removed. The city of Columbus, Ohio is considering changing its name. Yet the slave merchant who financed Yale University, Elihu Yale, remains unscathed. Why? Because he is the namesake of one of America’s most prestigious and liberal universities.                   Elihu Yale in the center with slave in a dog collar       Columbus has been under assault for years. He was once termed the “discoverer” of America, until Native Americans accurately noted that their descendants were here first. But he was an intrepid explorer who had the courage to sail into oblivion in the hope of reaching India by another route. Instead he … [Read more...]