Politics

By now we've all probably heard of Jim Porter, the new president of the N.R.A. and his interpretation of the War of Northern Aggression. Porter also reveals that—so far as he is concerned—the NRA’s purpose should be to train us all in the use of military weapons for wars both home and abroad. Read more

This piece in today's New York Times reminded me forcibly of Alaa Al-Aswany's novel, The Yacoubian Building: A Novel , which I reviewed here a year or so ago. Read more

That is the message of Matthew 5:44. " love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Read more

1. The English word god is the Lord Thy God. He is a he. Thou shalt not call Him by any other name.

2. Thou shalt not make any graven images of Me that look funny.

3. Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, by which is meant actual prayer.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it wholly devoted to sports.

5. Honor thy father and mother. Send them (to the) home.

6. Thou shalt not kill except with an AR15 assault rifle

7. Thou shalt not commit adult behavior.

8. Thou shalt not steal unless thou art a multi-national corporation. Read more

I promised some folks in a Facebook group that I would provide my take on Obama and the drones - indeed, Obama and things military and national security in general. And here it is. Short and sweet.

He's a Democrat and he's black.

I don't think I need to spell out what being a Democrat might have to do with thinking one must be tougher than the average bear on national security. Just remember who went to China. Read more

I have to admit, I've been a bit behind the curve on this gay marriage issue. Not that I am or have been against it, in principle. I've been divorced twice and never want to marry again, so when I first heard of the issue, my gut reaction was "I'm so over this marriage thing, why isn't everybody?". Read more

I subscribe to Parabola, a remarkable little quarterly, each issue of which "has its own focus: one of the timeless themes of human existence." It seldom addresses politics, specifically, but the Spring 2013 issue, "Spirit in the World," contains a series of commentaries by Vaclev Havel, collected by Roger Lipsey. Read more

Just a little bit of follow-up to the election, this past week, of the first Pope Francis.

I liked him. When he came out onto the balcony, and smiled. He has a nice smile. He chose a good name. All in all, I'm about as pleased with his selection as a secular non-Catholic can possibly be. But then, I seem to have somewhat different criteria for a Pope than some of my left of the aisle colleagues. For one thing, I was not surprised to discover that he is, in fact, Catholic. Read more

This morning, a column in the New York Times by Ta-Nehisi Coates, sparked a conversation in a Facebook group of which I am a part. Coates writes: Read more

1. Nothing substantial will get through the Republican House on gun safety issues.

2. Spending is not out of control. The Republican Tea Party Congress is out of control.

3. The issue is not "big government" or "small government." Neither of those positions have any substantive meaning behind them. Neither addresses the function of government vis a vis the needs of its citizens. Read more