Tim Dunkin column
Tim Dunkin
Tim Dunkin is a pharmaceutical chemist by day, and a freelance author by night, writing about a wide range of topics on religion and politics. He is the author of an online book about Islam entitled Ten Myths About Islam, and is the founder and editor of Conservative Underground, a bi-weekly email newsletter focusing on foundational conservative worldview and philosophy. He is a born-again Christian, and a member of a local, New Testament Baptist church in North Carolina. He can be contacted at tqcincinnatus@yahoo.com


Reclaiming Robin Hood
Tim Dunkin
February 3, 2012

Maybe it's just a personal idiosyncrasy, but one thing that annoys me greatly is when people draw misleading or overblown historical analogies to try to support . . .


Conservatives want to give Americans a fair shot, Obama and the leftists want to give Americans a dropshot
Tim Dunkin
January 29, 2012

Buried among the torrent of uninformed platitudes, class warfare rhetoric, and generally false assertions about his own record in his recent State of the Union . . .


Ron Paul? No thanks
Tim Dunkin
January 18, 2012

I want to like Ron Paul. I really do. There are a lot of things that he says he believes that I find attractive in a candidate. He obviously talks the talk with . . .


In defense of Hephzibah House
Tim Dunkin
January 4, 2012

As most people who use it a great deal know, the internet is an invaluable tool. However, it is also a potential source of great evil. When most people think . . .


The one that got away
Tim Dunkin
December 29, 2011

If nothing else, Carlos Rafael of New Bedford, Massachusetts will always have a whopper of a fish story to tell his grandkids, as he regales them with tales of . . .


Recovering the spirit of Reagan
Tim Dunkin
December 17, 2011

As many astute, and perhaps many not so astute, observers have witnessed over the past few years, the Right — as a broad coalition of compatible movements . . .


The futility of banking on "centrist" third parties
Tim Dunkin
November 29, 2011

A few days ago, Ron Fournier at the National Journal wrote a trite little article about the failure of the debt "super committee" to generate any substantive . . .


When purity gets in the way of conservative principle
Tim Dunkin
November 22, 2011

As some may recall, off-year elections were held a couple of weeks ago across the country. Electorally speaking, it was something of a mixed bag for . . .


Worldviews matter
Tim Dunkin
November 2, 2011

Perhaps the oddest news story from the past week was the one where PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is suing SeaWorld, alleging that the water . . .


The Occupy Wall Street mob is not the 99%
Tim Dunkin
October 13, 2011

For the past several weeks, Americans have been treated to the spectacle of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests (though these have since spread to city centers in . . .


Rick Perry's real crony capitalism problem -- illegal immigration
Tim Dunkin
October 8, 2011

Rick Perry lost me. Hithertofore undecided as far as a Republican primary candidate was concerned (and hoping against hope that Jim DeMint would change his . . .


The right to keep and bear cameras
Tim Dunkin
October 3, 2011

One of the fundamental premises upon which any truly free society must be based is the notion that the government is open, transparent, and accountable to the . . .


The politics of universal criminality
Tim Dunkin
September 12, 2011

Pretty much anybody who is paying the least bit of attention can see that the United States of America is slipping inexorably toward a police state. The courts . . .


All the news that's fit to invent
Tim Dunkin
September 3, 2011

By now, it ought to be obvious that if a person gets all or most of their information from the mainstream media (i.e. from ABCNNBCBS, and even Fox in a lot of . . .


One of these is not like the other
Tim Dunkin
August 12, 2011

Well, it finally happened. One of the major financial houses, Standards and Poor, reached the point where the fiscal irresponsibility of the United States . . .


Anders Behring Breivik and the tyranny of the left
Tim Dunkin
August 3, 2011

Rahm Emanuel, probably one of the most corrupt and disgusting politicians in America in recent years, once remarked that it was always good policy to "never let . . .


Liberty lovers are counter-revolutionaries
Tim Dunkin
July 29, 2011

One of the favorite memes of the insane Left is that those of us on the Right are "dangerous." We're "radical." We're crazy nuts who are just chomping at the . . .


Homosexual "marriage" is not a natural right
Tim Dunkin
July 21, 2011

One of the fundamental truths about the founding tenets of this nation is that our ordering principles — the basis of our laws, our conception of rights, . . .


Will Minnesota meet de Tocqueville?
Tim Dunkin
July 4, 2011

According to some observers, a terrible catastrophe has just struck the state of Minnesota. Due to an impasse on fiscal and taxation questions, the government . . .


Herman Cain is wrong on federalism
Tim Dunkin
June 22, 2011

In a recent interview, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza and current Republican presidential contender Herman Cain was asked about the issue of gun control.  . . .


The Unfree States of America
Tim Dunkin
June 8, 2011

Are Americans freer now than they have ever been? I would answer this question with an emphatic "No!" Indeed, I fail to see how any other answer could be . . .


Why conservatives don't like public transportation
Tim Dunkin
May 12, 2011

Ask most conservatives what they think about public transportation, and they'd probably tell you that they don't like it. And it's not just because of the smell . . .


Gas pains
Tim Dunkin
April 27, 2011

It hurts, badly. We're all feeling it, I'm sure. We wince every time we fill up. As the dial on the pump spins like that big wheel on The Price is Right, we . . .


Leftists hate fair elections
Tim Dunkin
April 13, 2011

Like garlic and holy water to Dracula, silver to a werewolf, and Kryptonite to Superman, one thing that leftists absolutely, positively cannot stand are fair . . .


The left owes us all an apology
Tim Dunkin
March 15, 2011

A week doesn't go by in America without some group or another of left-wing whiners getting "offended" about something and demanding an apology. Usually, what . . .


The Middle East, America, and the culture of liberty
Tim Dunkin
March 1, 2011

For months now, the Middle East has been wracked by one convulsing revolution after another against tyrants, dictators, and monarchs. The list of countries . . .


If the foundations be destroyed
Tim Dunkin
February 16, 2011

One night about two weeks ago, as I was driving home from the library, I tuned my radio to a local talk station. I had no idea what to expect, since this . . .


Tucson shows the failures of America's purported ruling class
Tim Dunkin
February 2, 2011

As the old saw goes, character is only revealed when it is put to the test. Slightly more than three weeks ago, the character and mettle of those in our society . . .


The military should not be gay "positive-liberty"
Tim Dunkin
December 30, 2010

Recently, my fellow columnist Jamie Freeze at Renew America took the decidedly un-conservative position of supporting the recent repeal of the military's "Don't . . .


Why they want to homosexualize the military
Tim Dunkin
December 17, 2010

We all know that people on the Left are the great destroyers. There is not a single institution in this great land that they do not want to tear down, demolish . . .


Recovering our Constitution -- the Fourth Amendment
Tim Dunkin
December 8, 2010

By this point in the evolution of our once great Republic, even the most insensitive of Americans has come to realize that the constitutional liberties that we . . .


The tragedy of celebrity
Tim Dunkin
November 10, 2010

As even the most disconnected observer of American life has probably noted, "celebrities" exercise an inordinate ability to influence the direction of public . . .


Remember what this election is really about
Tim Dunkin
November 2, 2010

Well, tomorrow's the big day. Pretty much every pundit in America — even the lefties — is grudgingly admitting that this year's election is going . . .


The suffering suffrage of Illinois
Tim Dunkin
October 26, 2010

Every once in a while, you read something in the news which leaves you seething. We live in a world full of both corruption and stupidity — two things . . .


Bringing pro-life home to the heart
Tim Dunkin
September 28, 2010

Among the many things between which I divide my time, one is a side business that I operate at home, basically to just earn a little extra income to supplement . . .


At the end of the day, the Senate will be redder
Tim Dunkin
September 21, 2010

One of the biggest questions surrounding the current election season is whether or not the Republicans will be able to retake the Senate. Taking back the House . . .


Suicide bomb Republicans
Tim Dunkin
September 17, 2010

Probably the one single thing that makes Islamic terrorism more disgusting and more cowardly than any other kind is their use of "suicide bombs." This tactic . . .


Everything you've heard about Islam is true
Tim Dunkin
September 15, 2010

Once again, Islam has been in the news recently. And, as is typically the case, the circumstances surrounding this state of affairs are not positive, and the . . .


Who do they think they're kidding?
Tim Dunkin
September 2, 2010

Conservatives have long known that the news media are biased. Starting with the journalism schools, every year class after class of reporters, editors, . . .


You keep the RINOs, I'll take the conservatives
Tim Dunkin
July 15, 2010

You know, some folks just don't get it. Here we are heading into a campaign season where the people of this country are righteously angry. They're angry about . . .


In defense of free association
Tim Dunkin
July 7, 2010

It was with interest that I read Jamie Freeze's article "In Defense of Helen Thomas," which was published here at Renew America and elsewhere. What grabbed my . . .


Some thoughts on McDonald v. Chicago and the Fourteenth Amendment
Tim Dunkin
July 1, 2010

Like many other conservatives, I cheered the Supreme Court's decision on Monday in which it overturned the bases upon which Chicago's ordinance banning the . . .


President Peter Principle
Tim Dunkin
June 21, 2010

Typically, I try not to write when I'm angry about something. This week, however, that is proving to be well nigh impossible. How can I not be just a bit . . .


Joran Van Der Sloot and the decline of moral society
Tim Dunkin
June 18, 2010

"If I had to describe myself as an animal, it would be a snake." So said 22-year old Dutchman Joran van der Sloot on his YouTube personal page. As the . . .


Elect more non-conforming CONSERVATIVE Republicans
Tim Dunkin
June 12, 2010

It is pretty apparent to most conservative commentators that the Republican Party still doesn't get it. The GOP has a golden opportunity this year to recapture . . .


Dirty politics and why South Carolina needs a good dose of TEApublicanism
Tim Dunkin
June 9, 2010

Politics is a dirty game, which is probably why more good people don't get into it. Politicians seem to come in two types. The large majority are those who . . .


The paganization of America
Tim Dunkin
May 26, 2010

America as we see it today is not the same nation as the America in which my parents grew up. It is certainly not the America that was founded over 230 years . . .


TEApublicanism is on the march
Tim Dunkin
May 12, 2010

In previous articles, I have discussed the trend we see within conservatism that I call "TEApublicanism," a neologism conceived on Free Republic. As I . . .


Conservatives must demand honesty on immigration issues
Tim Dunkin
May 8, 2010

It is a truism that the American news media, and the Left in general, routinely lie to the people. There are few places where this is truer than in the . . .


Self-reliance: so easy that even a baby can do it
Tim Dunkin
April 13, 2010

As a new parent — our first son was born just six months ago — I am finding that there are a lot of responsibilities that I never had before. One of these, . . .


The underwear drawer
Tim Dunkin
March 29, 2010

I remember once when I was a wee lad, my mother was telling me about the evils of Communism. This was at a point when the Soviet Union was still extant, Ronald . . .


Taking away the government's shovel
Tim Dunkin
March 23, 2010

Well, it appears that it is well-nigh official — America is the next shovel-ready project. Having barely succeeded in pushing ObamaCare through Congress . . .


Why I don't call them "liberals" (Part 2)
Tim Dunkin
March 17, 2010

In the previous installment of this essay, we saw five ways in which those who today are erroneously called "liberals" — in reality, they are "leftists" — do . . .


Why I don't call them "liberals" (Part 1)
Tim Dunkin
March 13, 2010

Words are funny little creatures. They mean things. When we employ a word to describe something, it is intended to impart useful information about what we are . . .


Sorry Mr. Giunta, but you still haven't made your case(s)
Tim Dunkin
March 12, 2010

Having engaged in a good deal of discussion to date concerning the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation with my colleague at Renew America, Eric Giunta, I . . .


Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli ends discrimination in Virginia universities, discriminators greatly incensed
Tim Dunkin
March 9, 2010

For the foreseeable future, Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli will probably remain one of the most unpopular figures among the administrators and many . . .


Conservatism's Cassandra
Tim Dunkin
March 1, 2010

Conservatism in America is experiencing a resurgence, one could almost say a renaissance. Despite the predictions, or perhaps we should say the hopes, of some . . .


Illinois and Texas demonstrate the need for TEApublicanism
Tim Dunkin
February 17, 2010

Previously, I have argued that conservatives both within and without the Republican Party need to band together, recapture the GOP, and use it as a vehicle for . . .


The joys of assimilation
Tim Dunkin
February 6, 2010

Diversity is a prescription for social chaos. In today's leftist-indoctrinated world, the words above are about as close as it is possible to come to . . .


Black History Month -- who they ought to be celebrating
Tim Dunkin
February 3, 2010

As you most likely know, February is Black History month. And as you also most likely know, the treatment which this will receive from both black Americans and . . .


What is TEApublicanism?
Tim Dunkin
January 28, 2010

Conservatives in America find themselves at a cusp in our history. Just one short year ago, it seemed that all was lost. A new President was installed into . . .


Brown's win is a victory for TEApublicanism
Tim Dunkin
January 22, 2010

Last Tuesday was an exciting day if you are an opponent of the socialistic agenda that Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and their various and sundry acolytes in Congress . . .


The case for transubstantiation still hasn't been made: empiricism vs. tradition
Tim Dunkin
January 15, 2010

In his latest article in our ongoing discussion about the early churches and the place, if any, that transubstantiation found in early Christian theology, Eric . . .


Unintended consequences: Obama and company provoke 10th Amendment backlash
Tim Dunkin
January 7, 2010

It is a trademark of incompetence that the only good it does is accidental. In this sense, then, we can be at least a little thankful that President Obama and . . .


Conservatives should oppose the hijacking of the Tea Party movement
Tim Dunkin
January 5, 2010

One of the most consistent refrains heard within the Tea Party movement is that it should remain independent, that it should not allow itself to be co-opted.  . . .


The expressway to serfdom
Tim Dunkin
December 17, 2009

In 1944, Friedrich von Hayek wrote what was to become a seminal work in the history of modern Western liberty philosophy, The Road to Serfdom. In it, he argued . . .


The early churches weren't transubstantiationist
Tim Dunkin
December 16, 2009

In a previous article published here at Renew America, I presented some arguments in favor of the view that Christians, far from abstaining from speaking of . . .


Watching the train wreck
Tim Dunkin
December 9, 2009

Each of us makes mistakes. Sometimes they're little mistakes, but sometimes they're very big. Sometimes they have serious consequences. Sometimes they are . . .


Loving life
Tim Dunkin
December 6, 2009

"You love life, we love death." So were the words of an Arabic-speaking voice on a videotape in Spain, found after the terrible Madrid train bombings in 2004 . . .


Giunta v. Popp: Some thoughts on the place of religious discourse in modern American society
Tim Dunkin
December 4, 2009

Last month, two of my fellow contributors to Renew America, Eric Giunta and Dan Popp, engaged each other in a series of articles that appeared as if they might . . .


Soft Christianity leads to hard lessons for Mike Huckabee
Tim Dunkin
December 2, 2009

Any presidential aspirations that Mike Huckabee may have been entertaining for 2012 are over. Or at least they should be. On Sunday, December 29, Maurice . . .


Some thoughts for Thanksgiving
Tim Dunkin
November 26, 2009

"Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to . . .


Conservatism IS compassionate -- when it doesn't try to be
Tim Dunkin
November 23, 2009

George W. Bush nearly ruined it for conservatives. I will explain how presently, but first, allow me to digress into some history of the conservative movement. . . .


Death by political correctness
Tim Dunkin
November 11, 2009

Faddish, trendy America is a nation that is perpetually ripe for the introduction into the mainstream of our culture of just about any and every bad idea.  . . .


What are some take home messages from yesterday's election results?
Tim Dunkin
November 4, 2009

Well, yesterday certainly was an interesting day, wasn't it? Things generally looked good for conservatives and Republicans — even in the small set of races . . .


What conservatives need to focus on as we move forward
Tim Dunkin
November 3, 2009

These are exciting times if you're a grassroots conservative activist. After years of being taken for granted by a Republican Party leadership that simply . . .


It's reality check time for the Republican "leadership"
Tim Dunkin
October 27, 2009

As anyone who has been paying attention to the mood among the grassroots conservative base of the Republican Party (and to those who used to be Republicans) . . .


How we got to where we are
Tim Dunkin
October 15, 2009

In the previous installments of this series, we saw that America's turn from the Common Sense philosophy of our forefathers to the anti-rational, emotional . . .


Let's all be revolutionaries!
Tim Dunkin
October 12, 2009

"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." — George Orwell If there was anyone who should know about deceit, it was . . .


How we got to where we are (Part 2)
Tim Dunkin
September 30, 2009

In the previous installment of this essay, we saw that the decline of morality in America has been a contributing factor in leading us to where we are today.  . . .


Unalienable rights
Tim Dunkin
September 24, 2009

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among . . .


The amnesty race card
Tim Dunkin
September 21, 2009

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the fact that the Democrats can't really be as crazy as they seem. There has to be a method to their madness, an ulterior motive . . .


How we got to where we are (Part 1)
Tim Dunkin
September 16, 2009

Here, in the first decade of the 21st century, we as Americans can look back on a history for which we are justly grateful. We live in a nation that saw freedom . . .


Why conservatives should care about the campaign finance reform issue
Tim Dunkin
September 10, 2009

On Tuesday, the headlines came out that the Supreme Court is planning on revisiting arguments for a case involving campaign finance reform that it first heard . . .


End hoplophobia now!
Tim Dunkin
August 31, 2009

Freedom-living Americans face many grave threats to their liberty. We confront the impending federal takeover and destruction of our health care system, the . . .


Evolutionism, environmentalism, and cosmic sympathy
Tim Dunkin
August 28, 2009

I have an idea that I've tossed around in my head for a while now. It's part eschatology and part theory of history. Basically, it goes like this — as we . . .


Health care IS a liberty issue
Tim Dunkin
August 19, 2009

To date, it seems like the recent debate over health care reform has focused primarily on fiscal and accessibility issues, in and of themselves. I certainly . . .


The cult of personality can take you far, but it can't keep you there
Tim Dunkin
August 17, 2009

If you were in Barack Obama's shoes, what would you do? In the space of six short months, he's gone from boom to bust, from being a hero to being a zero, from . . .


The lefties ought to be ashamed of themselves
Tim Dunkin
August 10, 2009

This health care debacle which Obama and the Democrats in Congress are currently trying to foist off onto us is turning into a, well, debacle for them. From a . . .


There's a method to the Democrats' madness
Tim Dunkin
August 3, 2009

Sometimes, you look at the actions of others, and wonder why somebody would do the things they do. People are often capable of the most self-defeating behavior . . .


Will the Republicans snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?
Tim Dunkin
July 27, 2009

I can't help but imagine that it's tough being a Republican on Capitol Hill these days. After losing two elections in a row, the GOP found itself below 200 . . .


Why moral conservatism is indispensable to liberty
Tim Dunkin
July 22, 2009

Those from previous generations to my own can remember America as it was before the tectonic shifts in the social and moral fiber of the nation that occurred in . . .


Evolutionary materialism faces its own Enlightenment
Tim Dunkin
July 18, 2009

Students of the religious history of Western civilization are well-acquainted with the effect that the so-called "Enlightenment" had upon the religious life in . . .


America's European president
Tim Dunkin
July 14, 2009

You can often tell a lot about a man by looking at those who approve of him. This was shown last week during Obama's whirlwind tour of Russia, Italy, and Ghana . . .


Obama, Zelaya, and the rule of law
Tim Dunkin
July 8, 2009

American conservatives may perhaps take some small comfort in the fact that there is at least one country in the Western hemisphere that actually takes its own . . .


The keystone of the Constitution
Tim Dunkin
July 6, 2009

If there is one thing upon which the stability and order of our society rests, it is the rule of law. Without law, you have no order and you have no boundaries. . . .


The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.