Columnists

Joining the club

Michael Boylan's picture

My best friend and his wife are having a baby this spring. I am excited for them because being a parent has been an amazing and eye-opening experience for me. I am also excited because he now gets to join the club. The club of parents is an unofficial club. There are no dues - aside from the ones you pay during those seemingly endless nights during the first year of the child’s life and the thousands of diapers you change until you can finally convince your child to use the potty. Read More»

Slavery, abortion, and the Supreme Court

David Epps's picture

This past week marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Row v. Wade. This year also marks the 156th anniversary of what is known by observers of the Supreme Court as the Dred Scott Decision. One decision has to do with abortion rights. The other clarified and expanded slave holder rights. The rationale of the Supreme Court of both 1857 and 1973 is eerily similar. Read More»

Guns and governing philosophy, Part 1

Cal Beverly's picture

Mention the word, and the walls go up, the blood-red line gets drawn in the sand: Guns.

Since these pages have seen lots of rhetorical ammunition expended in recent months about the issue of gun control, I decided to waste a little more ink and space to try some logical thinking instead of emitting emotions.

Here we must honestly agree on some basic premises, or the communications have ended, like a yes-no decision tree.

Our Declaration of Independence contains this famous sentence: Read More»

Remembering the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bonnie Willis's picture

On occasion, I have heard well-intentioned people say they believe the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have wanted the world to be color-blind.

While I can appreciate the sentiment, I tend to disagree with it. Rather than being blind to our differences we can learn to appreciate our God-given diversity.

The trick is not to judge and evaluate individuals because of their race. In the words of Dr. King, we want to be judged, “not by the color of our skin, but the content of our character.” Read More»

A national inheritance squandered

Terry Garlock's picture

American exceptionalism.

That phrase means to me the extraordinary, delicately balanced system our founders labored to establish and pass on to us to govern ourselves, a radical concept at the time. Our inheritance was a priceless gift, one that called for every generation’s full devotion to nurture and defend.

I used the past tense because we have squandered that inheritance. Read More»

Do gun control laws control guns?

Thomas Sowell's picture

The gun control controversy is only the latest of many issues to be debated almost solely in terms of fixed preconceptions, with little or no examination of hard facts.

Media discussions of gun control are dominated by two factors: the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment. But the over-riding factual question is whether gun control laws actually reduce gun crimes in general or murder rates in particular. Read More»

The imperial president

Cal Thomas's picture

One definition of “imperial” on dictionary.com is, “of the nature or rank of an emperor or supreme ruler.”

At his news conference Monday, a petulant, threatening and confrontational President Obama spoke like an emperor or supreme ruler. All that was missing was a scepter, a crown and a robe trimmed in ermine.

This president exceeds even Bill Clinton in his ability to evade, prevaricate and dissemble. I didn’t think that possible.

Not only did he supply long answers to relatively easy questions, but much of what he said bore no relation to reality. Read More»

Women want to be rescued?

Ronda Rich's picture

Nicole and I were working out together one day and for some reason, she brought up a self-help, faith-related book we had both read. The thesis, basically, is how men are born with wild hearts, which should be admired not restrained by women.

“What did you learn from that book?” she asked as I attempted arm curls with weights too heavy.

“That every woman wants to be rescued,” I took the opportunity to rest. I can’t talk and work out, too.

“That is not what that book said,” she retorted. Read More»

Waste not, etc.

Sallie Satterthwaite's picture

A recent report I probably heard on NPR alleged that Americans waste, on average, 40 percent of the food they buy. We set a dreadful example for our children in this gluttonous country,” I thought. “I’m certainly glad we don’t waste food at our house.”

Having congratulated myself for being so thrifty, I put the report aside – until I started fixing dinner. Then I paid a little more attention to this disturbing report. Read More»

Reflections on another birthday

David Epps's picture

Last Monday night at church, I asked one of our little girls how old she was. She grinned and held up six fingers.

I said to her, “Well, tomorrow I will be this many,” and I kept flashing fingers until they added up to 62.

With very wide eyes, she asked, “Did you see dinosaurs when you were little?”

In 1968, the movie, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” hit the screens. I was 17 years old. A friend and I began to calculate how old we would be in 2001 and concluded that we would be nearly dead. We would be 50. My perspective has changed a bit since then. Read More»