American Habits

04/06/2026

Let's be clear: slow vote counting is not proof of election fraud.

But it can create another serious problem: a loss of public trust.

03/06/2026

America's 250th birthday is approaching, but the national mood feels surprisingly uncertain.

Ray Nothstine reflects on growing up during the Cold War and why America's story is about freedom, responsibility, sacrifice, and the people who choose to preserve those ideals.

28/05/2026

Spencer Pratt’s campaign in Los Angeles is raising a larger question many Americans are already asking:

Where is the money actually going?

28/05/2026

$2.1 trillion. That’s the estimated annual cost of federal regulation.

But the bigger issue isn’t just cost. It’s control. Who actually makes the rules that shape your life?

This report breaks it down:

Clyde Wayne Crews Jr.’s new Ten Thousand Commandments is a reminder that Washington’s growth is not just about how much money the federal government spends. It is also about how much power it exercises through regulation. Americans hear constant warnings about "threats to democracy," but too oft...

26/05/2026

It’s easy to celebrate the Declaration. It’s harder to defend what it actually claims.

Thomas argues that civic renewal depends on having that courage again.

Here’s the full argument:

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas argued that America’s civic renewal depends on recovering the first principles of the Declaration of Independence, especially the truth that our rights come from God, not government. Thomas remarks were delivered on April 15 at the University of Texas, Austin, to ...

25/05/2026

Memorial Day is about remembering sacrifice. But it should also lead us to ask a deeper question.

What are we doing with the freedoms others died to protect?

22/05/2026

A law passed in 1972 is now interpreted in ways many Americans never expected. Through guidance, agencies can stretch statutes far beyond their original scope, then change direction with each administration.

That instability has consequences.

Learn more:

Federal agencies often describe guidance documents as informal and nonbinding. But as Jennifer Butler, a senior policy advisor at the Center for Practical Federalism explains in a new policy brief, that is rarely the end of the story. Guidance too often has become a shadow form of regulatory compuls...

20/05/2026

Violent crime doesn’t just affect statistics. It tears apart families and erodes trust in the system meant to protect them.

Victims deserve better than a revolving door for repeat offenders.

Watch here:

In the latest video monologue for American Habits, I make the simple point that a core function of state and local government is keeping people safe. I find the spate of headlines of serial offenders committing violent crimes disturbing. As a North Carolina resident, many recent stories out of Charl...

19/05/2026

Graduation season is worth celebrating. But it is also the right time to ask hard questions about higher education.

18/05/2026

If rights come from government, they can be taken away by government.

That’s the core divide Justice Thomas highlights in a major speech on the future of American self-government.

Read more:

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas argued that America’s civic renewal depends on recovering the first principles of the Declaration of Independence, especially the truth that our rights come from God, not government. Thomas remarks were delivered on April 15 at the University of Texas, Austin, to ...