Quality interweb mischief from Jared Bridges
A New York Times article draws attention to recent legislation introduced by house Republicans to make it easier for churches to support political candidates. This is, of course, a red-hot political issue. It already has raised the ire of Democrats and other groups: Although its chances of enactment are uncertain, Democrats and other critics of … Read more
…Oprah Winfrey, the queen of sappy, “you go girl” spirituality, has picked one of my favorite books for the ubiquitous Oprah’s Book Club. Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina has been chosen by the talk-show host as this summer’s selection for her club. The book promptly rose to number one on the bestsellers list. I guess this is … Read more
TV newsreaders Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw think that there’s too much coverage of President Reagan’s death and memorial in the news: “Once the herd starts moving in one direction, it’s very hard to turn it, even slightly,” Rather said. “Nationally, the herd has grown tremendously.” I’m not really sure which herd Rather is talking … Read more
Discussing the practice of sortilege among early American settlers, Jackson Lears writes about a certain Christian reaction: Christians condemned it, then went into competition by resorting to the Sortes Sanctorum–the use of the Bible as a means of divination, either by opening it to a random passage or rolling dice to choose chapter and verse. … Read more
When President Reagan gave his famous “Evil Empire” speech, some who took notice were captors of that empire. Natan Sharansky writes of his experience of hearing Reagan’s label, which seemed a faux pas to some: In 1983, I was confined to an eight-by-ten-foot prison cell on the border of Siberia. My Soviet jailers gave me … Read more
The battle is now over for Ronald Reagan. His passing is bittersweet for me. On one hand, he is finally at peace. On the other hand, I will miss him. Many people wrote him off as dead ten years ago. Those people didn’t give him credit that he had one last battle to fight. Though … Read more
In a bizzare move like something from your childhood classroom, the government of Singapore has decided to allow…gum. That’s right, you can now chew gum in Singapore [WSJ, subs. req.] if you follow a few restrictions: it can only be purchased at a pharmacy, and the pharmacist must write down your name. What you didn’t … Read more
It seems that the preponderance of Britney Spears-like clothing among teenage girls has reached a breaking point. The Associated Press is reporting that many girls are demanding that stores carry more modest clothing: “We like to call this new girl Miss Modesty,” said Gigi Solif Schanen, fashion editor at Seventeen magazine. “It’s such a different … Read more
A good summary of the recent alliances of evangelicals and Catholics appeard in the New York Times [preserved here]. Once vehemement opponents on almost every issue, evangelicals and Catholics have indeed found common ground in recent years on various moral issues: Now conservatives in both groups share the sense that they are fighting a losing … Read more
I’m neither a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but many TV weatherpersons seem to think that they hold such a status. There’s been no dearth of storms and tornado warnings in the Louisville area the last couple of days, and the weathermen have been having a field day. Most seem to delight in … Read more