The invasion of Iraq is now generally recognized as such an unmitigated failure that it is more fitting to commemorate than celebrate its 10th anniversary today. Of course, listening to former VP Dick Cheney this week, one could be forgiven the impression that he is still looking for Iraqis to greet Americans as liberators. Except… Read more.
Archives for 2013
‘The Bible’- Proselytizing and Perpetuating Racial Stereotypes
My evangelical parents made me not just read The Holy Bible but memorize much of it the way other kids memorized nursery rhymes. This is why I have been so utterly stupefied over the years by the number of self-professed Christians who have never even opened this “good book,” let alone read it. But now… Read more.
Is Nothing Sacred? ‘Being Mandela’ – the Reality-TV Show?
In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes. (Andy Warhol, 1968) There is no denying that the Kardashians have made a mockery of Warhol’s well-known aphorism by extending their 15 minutes of vacuous fame for many years, and counting. But from the time Anna Nicole Smith did so over a decade ago, I have… Read more.
Habemus Papam: Hail, Francis!
I must confess that when the Vatican introduced Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new pope this afternoon, I was not inspired. To be fair, this probably had more to do with how little of the Holy Spirit resides in me (the son of a preacher man) than with any failure on Bergoglio’s part to… Read more.
International Women’s Day
Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women’s craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades… Read more.
Mother Teresa Is No Saint. She Was a Fraud!
[I]t is my pleasure to introduce you to my favorite columnist, Christopher Hitchens, a regular contributor to such acclaimed publications as The Atlantic, The Nation, Vanity Fair, Slate, and World Affairs. (“Who Outed Valerie Plame?” The iPINIONS Journal, August 31, 2006) I always get a kick out of people regaling me about a topic on… Read more.
Remembering Chávez…
Nobody should have been shocked yesterday afternoon when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez finally died after a well-publicized, two-year battle against cancer. Nor, shamefully enough, should anybody have been shocked when so many in the United States joined a virtual conga line to dance on his grave … even before his body went cold. Which stood… Read more.
Kim Jong-un to Rodman for Obama: No, Not Maybe, Call Me!
Given the way real news anchors delivered their “Weekend Update” on former NBA star Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea, one could be forgiven for thinking they were substituting for comedian Seth Meyers on Saturday Night Live. Rodman visited along with a film crew last week to shoot an exhibition basketball game as part of… Read more.
Hagel Confirmation: Republicans Putting Party Above Country
I usually reserve updates for the annual book version of my commentaries. But I feel constrained to put my two cents in on the spectacle that attended the confirmation of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary. Especially because it so epitomizes the dysfunction that has the U.S. government now running on “sequester” mode,… Read more.