During a speech in honor of Black History Month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said last week that America is a “nation of cowards” because we “simply do not talk enough with each other about race.” That Holder believes Americans don’t talk enough about race is absurd, as it often borders on being a national obsession. But Holder is right that … [Read More]

When one reads the new atheists, one gets the impression that the influence of Christianity has been entirely baleful, that Christianity’s contribution to morality has been entirely negative, and that the United States, far from being a Christian country historically, is really the finest flower of the anti-religious Enlightenment, and that we therefore ought to stamp out all public manifestations of … [Read More]

The Damn Boomers Are Ruining All the Fun! In the midst of all the bad news—political, economic, and military—clustering around the memory of 2008 and the first few weeks of 2009, this writer received several shocks which—trivial as they may seem—have as great significance as anything else to hit the headlines. In this past year, the nearby French restaurant, La Parisienne, … [Read More]

When Michael Phelps was awarded a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, it was a moment of great pride for the young swimming champion and his country. Phelps likely wouldn’t experience a more prestigious moment the rest of his life and it was undoubtedly cause for celebration. It also would have been the perfect occasion to smoke weed. … [Read More]

I’m still a youngster—right on the borderline between Baby Boomer and Generation Xer. I’m considered to be cool, I still say “hip,” but I’m old-fashioned. I dress less-than-conventional, and in fact I am labeled by my friends as retro. I like short skirts, open necklines, and form-fitting, flared jeans, but I don’t like the skanky or sleazy look. And I dislike … [Read More]

When my wife suggested that we go see Doubt, John Patrick Shanley’s film adaptation of his Tony-award winning play, I was skeptical. I never saw the play, but I knew that it was about a priest suspected by a nun of molesting a teenage boy at the parochial school she ran, and I didn’t want to waste two hours on the … [Read More]

Salvation was in the air. Repeal, also, was in the air. Two weeks before, the lame-duck Congress had turned a somersault and voted the amendment to the Constitution ending Prohibition. The wets were making merry with applejack, bathtub gin and prohibition hooch. “Beer by Easter,” they cried. Forty-one legislatures were in session for the chance to approve the wet amendment and … [Read More]

When president-elect Barack Obama chose evangelical leader Rick Warren to lead a prayer at his inauguration the cultural Left threw the predictable fits. Said Democratic political consultant Chad Griffith “Rick Warren needs to realize that he is further dividing us at a time when the country needs to come together.” In light of the Rick Warren controversy, such “coming together” rhetoric, … [Read More]

Having just watched John Gibson on FOX-news discuss The War On Christmas, his commentary on trouble-making atheists, which is a theme that Bill O’Reilly has also worked for profit, it seems Gibson has a skewed view about our cultural wars. In his view, our country is fine, save for those particularly obsessive atheists who hang around the ACLU. This group is … [Read More]

When I was young, there was much talk of “the Christmas spirit,” and I’ve always been fortunate enough to begin experiencing the joy appropriate for this time of year sometime before the big day.  This year, that happened this past Sunday.  Going to church in the morning helped put me in the mood, as I knew that the next hymn I … [Read More]