Generally I don’t write from the perspective of my personal experiences, at least to this degree, but based on events last Friday in suburban Chicago, I wanted to share a couple of spiritual insights. In doing so, I hope you can get a glimpse into this life-altering experience that three days . . . . Continue Reading »
My misspent youth had a laugh track provided by the Monty Python crew. There was a time when saying “Neet” in a crowded room was a great way to find a fellow nerd and future friend. Like all good comics, and any prophet, the Pythons mocked the powerful and punctured pretensions.Anybody . . . . Continue Reading »
I owe a great debt to the American Spectator for pointing to me to this story. By itself, it is not worth comment, but it does incarnate a disease of our age: the “brave and compelling book” that is neither brave, important, or much of a book.Evidently James Frey dares “ignite a . . . . Continue Reading »
It’s the heyday of the hidden camera.Though it is by no means a new phenomenon (Richard Nixon gave us the audio, and Marion Barry was busted in black and white), this week’s hidden camera/hidden microphone stings of National Public Radio executives seem to be symptomatic of the new norm . . . . Continue Reading »
I love the Green Bay Packers and when they won the Super Bowl it made me happy.This is a hard admission for a college professor to make, because football is not “cool” in the humanities. Baseball is marginally acceptable and the Olympics more so, but the National Football League?There . . . . Continue Reading »
“The behavior of our employee, as portrayed on the video, if accurate, violates PPCNJ policies, as well as our core values of protecting the welfare of minors and complying with the law, and appropriate action is being taken,” Phyllis Kinsler, CEO of Planned Parenthood of . . . . Continue Reading »
It isn’t something that suddenly happened in 2010, people have been compromising truth since the early days in the Garden. But never has it seemed so clear that people actually lack knowledge of right and wrong. Of course, most people know that murder is wrong, but few could provide a . . . . Continue Reading »
The holiday classic Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas as sung by Judy Garland may be the closest thing to refuting words with musical performance ever heard. You don’t have to know anything about Garland’s sad life to hear the pain in her voice.She may promise we will muddle through . . . . Continue Reading »
At one time the website Front Porch Republic stood as a shining light, celebrating an open and public discussion of the limits of government, the intrinsic necessity of conceiving of ‘place’ in the human drama, and the acknowledgement of ‘liberty’ as a requirement . . . . Continue Reading »
Whenever I’m sent by my wife to the store on “milk & bread” runs, there’s one rule I follow that keeps me from endlessly wandering the fluorescent freezer-aisled jungle: if we need more than three items, I must make a list. I’m unsure of the average human . . . . Continue Reading »