Here is a letter of correction I wrote to the NPR politics Podcast, after listening to their Thursday July 6th edition reporting on Hobby Lobby’s settlement over the civil forfeiture complaint. This story has been widely reported, and often falsely reported. (But this shouldn’t surprise anyone.) So, I thought I’d share it with everyone, just…
We Have A Broken Society, and That Is Hard to Fix
The Delicate Edifice of Peace A man drove from a St. Louis suburb in Illinois to Alexandria, Virginia. He stayed a while until going to a baseball field where Congressmen rose early to practice for their upcoming Congressional Baseball Game. It is a fundraiser for various charities including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America….
Friendship, Love, Marriage, and Vows
It is wedding season. I know, because I went back home to see my cousin get married in my parent’s back yard. It was gorgeous. The weather was perfect, or at least as perfect as June in Louisiana can be. The ceremony was just family, keeping the American Wedding Industrial Complex at bay. But then…
How the Media “Lies”
Lie? Isn’t that a strong word? Yes, and by catholic catechism definitions, maybe the media does not lie. But when institutions do not give the truth when they claim that they do, the effect is the same. This piece seeks to explain how that happens. No self-respecting news organization will print fake or distorted news….
Changing Sexual Norms, Slippery Slopes, and “Unnatural” Things, Part I
***Note 1*** Before you dissent from the historical assertions in this piece with some obscure example from the Middle East, please realize that the culture of which I speak is the general Western Culture from which the United States came. All generalizations are exactly that: generalizations, and they say nothing about specifics, any particular period…
“Non-Discrimination” Run Amok in DC
On a work break, I wandered over to the kitchen by the bulletin board where all the legal notices were required to be. Being the attorney I am, I started to read a lot of familiar things about your right to a minimum wage and to be free from sexual harassment according to Title VII…
Life As One Jesus Left Behind
***A slightly more personal rumination of a long running internal train of thought. Don’t worry, I’m fine. I just hope it helps somebody else.*** When Your Help and Hope Don’t Come Everyone knows Lazarus. Everyone knows the blind beggar. Everyone knows the man on the mat, lowered from the roof, whom Jesus told to pick…
On Feminism, Things, Virtue, and Power
“Is ______ a Feminist?” It seems to be a persistent question whether some prominent female celebrity can truly be considered a feminist: Ivanka Trump, Emma Watson, Beyonce, some Kardashian. I usually do not care about the answer to this question (for the most part), but I am very interested in why people ask it and how people…
Please Don’t Remove Confederate Monuments
Who Lives? Who Dies? Who Tells Your Story? Let me first divert to a non-controversial topic before I get to my main point. I love the musical Hamilton. As a history-loving, patriotic government-studying American, I love the subject matter. I love the unabashed nerdiness of cabinet rap battles. I love how it has given more…
Berkley’s Current Free Speech Problem
So, it seems that we now have a Free Speech case going before a federal court because Berkeley has refused to let Ann Coulter speak on the date she was scheduled due to security concerns. In my opinion, the student groups who brought it are going to win, and win big. And if they don’t,…
How Do You Know What You Know About Climate Change?
Yesterday, April 22nd, there was a “March for Science” in the District of Columbia and in 400 satellite locations across the world. Speakers included some usual suspects like Bill Nye and Dr. Michel E. Mann, but also some surprisingly not-very-usual suspects like… Questlove Gomez? Yep. Questlove Gomez. According to organizers, the Mission of the March for Science is…
On Late Night Comics and Smugness
I read a great story on The Atlantic. It is here. This is a common occurrence. The Atlantic is great. I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a poem that I wrote (yes, I know, I’m weird) on this same subject. Originally, I titled it “Against Satire,” but maybe I’ll change that to “Weakness if…
