While the political scrum is messy, as it always is, a narrative is starting to emerge. If we change the metaphor from rugby to movies about Transylvania, that narrative appears to be that a large number of peasants with pitchforts and torches will be assembling at the Castle of the Ruling Elite this coming November. …
It Just Keeps Getting Better . . .
The Republicans of Connecticut have picked Linda McMahon to run for the U.S. Senate. She made her millions in the very odd world of professional wrestling, and I have already seen more than one airing of a video clip in which she is holding a microphone and kicking someone in the crotch, professional wrestling style. …
Miscreants, Scamps, Poltroons and Punks
A number of years ago I had the privilege of serving as a foreman on a jury, and I bring this up as an illustration of a principle that the American people may be in the process of rediscovering. We shall see. The principle is called nullification, and there are different places it can show …
Three Things Sarah Palin Needs to Get Ahead Of
Readers of this blog may recall that in the last presidential election, I brought myself to vote for the Repuglican ticket for the first time in many years, and I did so because of Sarah Palin’s presence on that ticket. She is genuinely and sincerely and believably pro-life, and that, in my mind, is the …
Pod Porn
One of the older fears about pornography that has not been borne out has been the fear that widespread pornography would create a sexually enflamed male populace. But what has happened is that porn has actually dampened sexual interest in real women, serving many men as a cheap substitute. When it comes to real people, …
The Groove of Ashtaroth
A few days ago I noted that when Jesus compares false teaching to leaven, He is requiring His ministers to exhibit high levels of discernment (Matt. 16:6). Earlier in Matthew, He had told us to guard against wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15) — an image that certainly requires vigilance and courage, but not quite …
The Overton Thingy
Yesterday I finished The Overton Window by Glenn Beck, the only Beck book I have read. This is what I posted at my Goodreads account about it. “I picked this one up in an airport on a whim. I had been hearing people froth about it, and wanted to see if it was as bad …
Schlock and Awe
Perhaps you have seen the thesis advanced by the t-shirt that maintains that “Obama is in over his head”? It is a point of view that becomes more compelling by the day. One of the reasons why conspiracy theories are so prevalent on the hard right is that it is assumed that those doing whatever …
Advisor to the Tamarack and White Pine
Jim Wallis recently offered the opening salvo of an invitation to discuss exactly how “Christian” the Tea Party movement is. I would like to briefly engage with his five points here, but not in the hope that we will wind up with an actual discussion. He, after all, is an advisor to the president, while …
The Kettle Drummer in the Back
The flotilla fiasco, as it is now being called, provides us with a textbook case of how nations get themselves into wars. The run-up to wars is frequently not a matter of clearly defined and contrary objectives from two hostile powers, but rather a muddled, tangled mess. Nations usually don’t march quick-step to war, but …