What we haven't learned from 9/11

The recent controversy over the proposed Islamic center, two blocks from "ground zero" in New York City, shows that, almost a decade after Sept. 11, a portion of our citizenry hasn't made much progress on post-traumatic healing. Tuesday, September 07, 2010

The stream of life, which wills to live

I try to observe Labor Day as laborlessly as possible, so to help you pass the weekend, here are some nuggets I've collected in my back-pocket notebook this summer as the stream of life passed my portal. Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Making the case for responsible conservatives

Some say I've been pretty hard on conservatives lately. They've even accused me of engaging in the "petty partisanship." Not true. Just because I criticize Republicans doesn't make me a shill for the Democrats. I only vote Democratic because they're not quite as irresponsible, and at the moment, they're the only real alternative. Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Confessing my sinful ways

Bless me, Holy Father, for I have sinned. Every time I go to Mass, or talk to a priest, I think about the priest shortage and how overworked these guys are, and then inevitably I think about how much better off the Catholic Church would be if they would only ordain women. Tuesday, August 17, 2010

In praise of summer's Sunday night

Singing summer's praises was once a given. Who didn't love the year's peak season? But these days, I hear more complaints - too hot, too humid, too much construction, too many storms. The cicadas are too loud, the movie blockbusters too few and far between, the Cubs too disappointing for words. And it all goes by way too fast. Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Birthday presents for the president

Wednesday is President Obama's 49th birthday (he probably feels a lot older after a year and a half in the White House). Good timing because Congress just left for its August recess (Democrats, that is - Republicans are always on recess), so maybe the president can relax a little. Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Philosophy of governing: By the numbers

Without checking Wikipedia or adding them up in your head, guess which party held the White House longer during the 40-year stretch from 1968 to 2008? My hunch is Republicans would guess Democrats and Democrats would guess Republicans. Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Why don't we celebrate Hemingway?

Today is Ernest Hemingway's 111th birthday. If my Tolkien memory serves, that was a significant birthday for hobbits. Bilbo Baggins, I believe, "disappeared" from the Shire for good on his "eleventyfirst" birthday. Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Let's get the gun discussion started

In the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Oak Park's handgun ban, there have been calls, from both sides, for a community-wide dialogue between gun defenders and gun regulators. Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Who wants to join the Oak Park Militia?

In the future, when the history of the gun control battle is written, and the forces of sanity have finally wrestled the plague of firearms under control, the National Rifle Association will be remembered and justly reviled as the bad guys - ardent defenders of the American Culture of Death, small-minded people who put their sporting interests (or their rabid paranoia) ahead of general public safety. Tuesday, July 06, 2010

It's time to start supporting your president

Time for my annual, eagerly awaited Fourth of July state-of-the-country report. Tuesday, June 29, 2010

What's your vote for the greatest decade?

A popular media discussion in recent years has centered on whose was the "greatest generation." Consensus quickly focused on my parents' generation, the one that fought and won World War II. They also grew up during the Depression, a crucible that formed their character. And they begat and raised the greatest generation in sheer numbers, the Baby Boomers - though some would say that counts against them. Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Ascension is still waiting for the Jebbies

The Jesuits didn't show up a week ago Monday at a forum hosted by Ascension Parish in their social hall. Something about not giving them enough time, not going through proper channels, yadda, yadda, yadda. Tuesday, June 15, 2010