In his book, The Road to Unfreedom, Timothy Snyder intends to warn us about the threats to ‘freedom’ in America, Europe, and Russia. He reminds us that the war really started on February 24, 2014, not on February 24, 2022! […]
Howard Ahmanson
Ronald J. Sider (1939-2022): On a Most Conscientious Believer
Despite his weaknesses and economic errors, Ron Sider was a true believer, one who did not care about being ‘trendy’ or ‘cool’ or appealing to any establishment, whether the ‘woke’ establishment of our society or the bourgeois establishment of the […]
What Can We Do About Polarization?
There are many ways of dealing with the current political polarization. But, Fukuyama says, the best is to hope for yet another realignment, where a section of the electorate changes parties and gives one party a clear majority. A friend […]
Give Us Barabbas
In exchanging Jesus for Barabbas, the people chose a practical terrorist over The One who did not seem likely to fulfill their political dreams any time soon. The big news in Jerusalem the night of that first long-ago Good Friday, […]
Croquet, Golf, and Conspicuous Consumption
Croquet and golf both involve hitting a ball from place to place with a club or a mallet. The difference between them is that golf uses a lot more reserved space and takes a lot more time. Last weekend, for […]
Building on Greenfields
Some say that one of the solutions to our housing problem [indeed, their favorite solution] is building on land that has not been built on before. There are a lot of issues surrounding this, however. There are two ways of […]
If We Want to Celebrate National Emancipation, There’s a Better Alternative Than Juneteenth
The new holiday of June 19, though its celebration has spread nationally, has a particular application to Texas. But there is another date that would be more suitable as a national holiday of emancipation: December 18. June 19, known as […]
Book Notice: David Brooks, The Road to Character
David Brooks, in his recent book, The Road to Character, makes a distinction between two kinds of virtues and tells us we need to be more concerned about ‘legacy virtues’ and not just the ‘résumé virtues’ that give us success in […]
Pornographic Ideas?
In every society, even those that profess freedom of speech, there are ideas and images that are perceived as too corrupting to be expressed or uttered. We used to think this way about pornography. Now we think this about certain […]
The New Southern Democrats
Large parts of the African American and Latino elements within the Democratic Party are the most moderate elements within the party, playing the same role as the mostly white Religious Right played within the Republicans. A surprising new force has […]