When I Say “Thank You For Your Service”

November 11, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

Veterans Day, like Christmas, has a powerful holiday-kernel buried deep within, that is worthy of our attention and observance . Unfortunately, like Christmas, our culture has mangled and obscured that kernel, sometimes beyond recognition. The culture has turned Christmas into an orgy of shopping and greed. The culture has twisted Veterans Day into an orgy […]

Vote

November 4, 2014.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Please remember to vote today, if you have not already. Many people are frustrated with our political process, and feel their one vote does not matter. If you don’t vote, it may feel satisfying to say “a pox upon you both!’ But the next day, somebody’s still going to be elected. And it’s not just […]

Math on Alleged “Voter Fraud” in Texas

October 30, 2014.Reading time 6 minutes.

Voter fraud does not actually exist, and in Texas Greg Abbott is one of the people who helps to prove the case. So, let’s do the math for Texas, shall we? According to a story in the Dallas Morning news, since 2004 Attorney General Greg Abbott has prosecuted 66 cases of voter fraud in Texas. […]

When Citizens Become the Nail

August 14, 2014.Reading time 5 minutes.

Ferguson is a mess. If journalists can be arrested for no reason whatsoever, (hauled out of a McDonald’s, with their press credentials clearly visible) just imagine how average citizens of Ferguson are being treated. Mistrust is at the heart of all that is happening there. Police are unwilling to answer even the most basic questions […]

An Open Letter to Ann Coulter, from a Card Carrying “Christian Narcissist”

August 8, 2014.Reading time 10 minutes.

“Those crazy Christians, go and jump on some airplane And fly to Africa or Haiti, risk their lives in Jesus’ name…” –Brad Paisley Dear Ann Coulter, I hesitated before writing this open letter to you. I’m writing about your column about Dr. Kent Brantly titled, “EBOLA DOC’S CONDITION DOWNGRADED TO ‘IDIOTIC’” But you get so […]

Caring About “Credit” In a Different Way

August 6, 2014.Reading time 5 minutes.

There an old adage you’ve heard before that goes, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Lots of people attribute this to Harry Truman. Others attribute it to Ronald Reagan. Still others, Albert Einstein. Like many aphorisms, the real answer is likely “none of the above.” […]

Failure to Move

August 2, 2014.Reading time 2 minutes.

Several folks have been curious about the actual charge against those of us who were arrested at the White House on Thursday. I won’t quote the technical language of the statute, but it boils down to standing in front of the White House, holding a sign, and not moving when asked. In a nutshell, we […]

A War To End All Wars

July 29, 2014.Reading time 5 minutes.

On the SMU campus just behind Perkins Hall Administration, tucked beneath a grove of stately oaks, you’ll find this small memorial. I first stumbled across it more than twenty-years-ago now, during my frequent nighttime perambulations around campus. If you’ve driven down Hillcrest anytime during your life, you’ve zipped past it. Maybe hundreds of times. But […]

Eating Always Involves Death

July 15, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

For years, I’ve liked to say: “Eating always involves death.” There is no way around this. Native Americans realized this and used to pray prayers of thanks for the animals/plants that had given their lives so that they could eat. That’s not to say that, given the factory methods that many animals are processed as […]

Anna Jarvis Had It Right

May 11, 2014.Reading time 3 minutes.

Think Mother’s Day has become too commercial? Think the greeting card companies control too much? Think the florists and chocolatiers have become more important than the real meaning of the day? The founder of the modern Mother’s Day agreed with you. I’ve previously blogged about the first Mother’s Day, and how it was conceived as […]