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Slate.com and the Widow’s Mite

Slate has published its list of the 60 Biggest Charitable Donors of this past year. You know who’s missing? You don’t know their names. Neither do I. But I bet if you picked the average congregant from the average African-American storefront church, that person probably gives as much if . . . . Continue Reading »

11 Feb 2008

Listening to Williams Again

A reader/interlocutor has chided me for being too hasty in condemning Archbishop Rowan’s shariah remarks, noting that one, and only one, system of civil law gets you exactly what is happening in Colorado—an attempt to curtail the Catholic Church’s freedom to hire whom it will. And . . . . Continue Reading »

8 Feb 2008

A Little Shariah Goes a Long Way

Mollie Hemingway follows on up on the fallout from Rowan Williams’ declaration that “some form” of Shariah law is “inevitable” in Britain. Favorite headline: ” Has the Archbishop Gone Bonkers?” Gledhill comments on how “uncharacteristically . . . . Continue Reading »

8 Feb 2008

LOTR Nominated for Best Musical

. . . as well as four other Olivier Award thingees . Who knew it would make for anything but a ludicrous musical ? They must put on one heck of a pyrotechnical miracle over at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Go figure . . . Although, almost as staggering, Hairspray has broken an Olivier Award . . . . Continue Reading »

7 Feb 2008

10 Worst Places for Christians to Live

1. North Korea 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Iran 4. Maldives 5. Bhutan 6. Yemen 7. Afghanistan 8. Laos 9. Uzbekistan 10. China At least according to something called the Open Doors’ 2008 World Watch List . How much business do we do with China? And isn’t Saudi Arabia a kinda/sorta ally? Needless . . . . Continue Reading »

7 Feb 2008

Sharia Law Coming to Britain

So says the Archbishop of Canterbury . . . And he’s not all that upset about it: “There’s a place for finding what would be a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law, as we already do with some other aspects of religious law.” Well, if you’ve failed . . . . Continue Reading »

7 Feb 2008

When Good Government Mattered

Oh for the days when legislators took their calling seriously ! Yes, in 1897 pi came this close (my thumb and forefinger are a millimeter apart) to being formally declared 3.2 in the Indiana legislature. That is until some pointy head blurred the line between ivory tower and state. Who will ascend . . . . Continue Reading »

5 Feb 2008

Sly—Not Rambo—to Take on Myanmar This Time

So Stallone is following up Rambo 4 , which has cast some light on the brutal regime in Myanmar (the former Burma), with a personal commitment to agitate in the cause of anti-junta forces there, if necessary. “With the release of ‘Rambo,’ anti-junta activists are using the . . . . Continue Reading »

5 Feb 2008

Before Zeus

. . . there was Phil . Or whoever the deity was who required animal sacrifices to keep from getting his panties in a bunch. As Zeus was god of thunder, “Phil” was god of excess humidity, making him one of the least popular divinities, explaining his sudden disappearance. . . . . Continue Reading »

5 Feb 2008

I Went to a School with a Lamborghini Gallardo

I’m adding this to my Amazon Wish List, right after the OXO Good Grips Cheese Grater and 180-Piece Rubber Grommet Assortment . . . . . Continue Reading »

4 Feb 2008