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As I write, 41 people are being held hostage at gunpoint in a community center in Binghamton, NY. This just a week or so after a gunman broke into a nursing home and wantonly killed a number of residents and staff. And that shortly after a church was invaded by…
Two excellent articles in the current issue of The New Republic illustrate the differences between pop and high culture. Jason Zengerle's study of New York City basketball ("Empty Garden") features phenom Lance Stephenson and tells the story of the declining fortunes of Mr. Naismith's game in the Big Apple. Keith…
President Obama is asking for the authority to take over failing banks, resolve their difficulties, and get them back on a proper footing. Well, he wouldn't do it himself; Mr. Geithner would oblige, since he's the banking expert in the Administration. You gotta admire the President's ambition. If you think…
Is there no limit to what the federal government considers itself capable of achieving? David exulted to be able to admit that he did not undertake things too great and marvelous for him (Ps. 131.1). A little of that humility would be welcome on the part of our government. Our…
The astonishment and outrage over AIG's executive bonuses provides a focusing moment for our generation. Listening to the President, members of Congress, and the media talk about this situation you get a clear sense of how completely baffled they are at such blatantly self-serving actions. No one can understand such…
Apparently we have schooled ourselves to fail. At least that's the buzz where the economy is concerned. Writing in The New Republic, Bradford Plumer reports on the backlash against business schools who, for years, have charged exorbitant fees to train thousands and thousands of MBAs, nearly half of whom took…
I remember walking home after junior high basketball practice one dark October night, when my two friends and I decided to take the shortcut through the cemetery. Half way through, in pitch darkness, we suddenly heard the sound of feet, racing toward us. We fled in all directions, screaming. It…
President Obama today signed into law the budget supplement to cover the costs of governing for the next several months - $410 billion, including 9,000 earmarks and, at a time when everybody else is cutting budgets, an 8% increase across the board. The President said the bill was essential because…
First the bad news: America continues its decline into secularism. Americans are becoming less religious. Since the 1990s the percentage of Americans who claim to be Christians has dropped 10%, to around 76% of the population, this according to a new survey by Trinity College. Fully 27% of Americans "do…
Rejecting the idea that there is a conflict between science and morality, President Obama yesterday reversed the Bush ban on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. The scientific community was predictably euphoric, echoing the President's words which clearly imply that, at least for the foreseeable future, moral and ethical issues…
Why do people enjoy beauty? What does that even mean? Watch people in an art museum as they stand for long moments in front of a painting, keenly interested, variously smiling, furrowing their brows, nodding their heads, leaning over to whisper to one another. Something's going on there which is…
I have always greeted new editions of dictionaries with mixed emotions. On the one hand, it's interesting to discover new words that have been incorporated into the English language, and some old ones that are allowed to drop. On the other hand, I can't help but fret a bit about…
Gravitas is an important trait for government officials to cultivate, particularly in the realm of international politics. You want your leaders to appear thoughtful, sober, alert, and deep when they are engaged in relations with foreign governments, and especially with friendly foreign governments. It is precisely the lack of gravitas…
Happy St. Bilfrith's Day. Today large sectors of the American public, including a good many of the followers of Jesus Christ, are keeping close tabs on the progress toward the naming of the newest "American Idol." Thousands of young people have auditioned, and every week the panel of experts -…
Is this gonna work? Do these guys know what they're doing? Funny how a serious economic downturn focuses the mind on what we might call craftsmanship in governing. Wall Street apparently has a good many doubts about the Obama administration, as do growing numbers of Americans. The President's popularity holds…