The Quixotic Deacon

As the world stares in horror at Gaza, it sees death, devastation and anguish everywhere: shrouded corpses in the streets awaiting removal; buildings, including hospitals, leveled; medical care nearly non-existent; famine looming.    But Israel’s six-month war against Hamas has not been an equal opportunity disaster. Some have benefitted, including Israel’s prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu. ...

Like many of my political persuasion who call the United States home, I have occasionally threatened to leave the country. In the build-up to the Iraq War in the early years of the Bush 2 administration, I regularly threatened to move north to Canada if we invaded Iraq. Lucy and I and our youngest son, ...

I want to talk about a dangerous phenomenon that’s creeping into this year’s presidential election season. It’s insidious, ludicrous and intellectually dishonest; the refuge of cowards and scoundrels and a convenient cop-out for Americans blind to the perils of another Trump presidency. You’ll probably encounter it over the next nine months leading up to Nov. ...

 I happened to be watching CNN on the day after the Nashville school shooting. Reporters were gathered outside the office of Senator Lindsey Graham, hoping for a comment. He emerged. The first question asked him was if he thought that, in the aftermath of the latest tragedy, there was any chance of passing an assault ...

As my long-suffering wife will attest, I am somewhat psychotic when it comes to the season of Lent. To me it’s the very heart of the church year. It gives Christians a chance to evaluate what is important in their lives and what isn’t. It is an ancient season dating from the earliest years of ...

“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!”   I remember very well, when in the summer of 1964, Barry Goldwater made the statement above in accepting the Republican nomination for President.    ...

In early December my sister Gracie and I spent a day at the Whitney Plantation as guests of the ACLU of Louisiana. I’d visited before but Gracie had not. If you aren’t familiar with the plantation – about an hour’s drive up the Mississippi from New Orleans – it tells the story of slavery vividly ...

    Kim Potter, the former police officer from Brooklyn Center, MN, was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison for her accidental killing of Daunte Wright after he was stopped last year for having an expired license tag and an illegal air freshener. Potter will be eligible for parole in 16 months. The ...

       My editor, Fitz McAden, takes exception to my occasional potshots at the leader of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden. Fitz is a Democrat though not as liberal as I. He is a close observer of politics and sees himself as a pragmatist. He is correct when he says it’s the worst time for ...