Roger Ailes polluted the conservative movement with his misogyny for decades. Who knows how his behavior warped the process? How many good reporters were lost? How many stories were spiked as the news network spent resources and time covering up for his vices. God have mercy on us. An open racist can no longer run for national office in the United States of America. In fact, even a plausible accusation of racism can derail a court appointment or cabinet level... Read more

A teacher sees politics play out on the playground. Strong kids grab the play equipment and do whatever they wish to do while the weaker kids get less. It’s hard to know when to intervene since you do not wish to teach the smaller kids that they cannot stand up for themselves, yet sometimes they cannot. Sometimes the free time of most kids is turned into unfree time as a small cadre of powerful kids dominate the choices. To maximize... Read more

We are not an age that likes absolutes. We temper, we hedge, we do not want to say a good man is doing a bad thing because we do not like conflict. I am thankful that a good man, Professor Grudem, has made his views known: he asserts a good man can vote for Donald Trump and, in fact, probably should. Sadly, his arguments are bad, his advice worse, and the outcome will be disaster. Make no mistake: if we... Read more

If my social media feed is any indication, a great many Americans are looking for the Persian King Cyrus. God says of this pagan king: Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings . . . Here we learn an important lesson: at least one pagan leader served God’s purpose. We cannot be sure who God will use or not use. Americans... Read more

When I was a boy, I thought my mom and dad could do anything. Like ZuZu in It’s a Wonderful Life, if my flower broke, I could just say: “paste it, Daddy” and he would. Part of growing up is learning (sad lesson!) that a flower cannot in fact be pasted and that Mommy and Daddy cannot fix anything. A step in true maturity comes when we recognize that we cannot do everything. We are “mortal man doomed to die.” We... Read more

Don’t pity Haman. Give him the Bronx cheer for his role in the drama of Esther deserves. As a Biblical character he is one the worst: a genocidal, conniving, vain man with imperial delusions. Thank God he was undone and his plans defeated. Esther did it: brilliant and beautiful. It was her beauty that blinded Haman as bigotry always does. He looked at Esther and saw a beautiful woman and discounted her because of her beauty and femininity. He would die regretting... Read more

A dying business multiplies binders and policies endlessly. There is no problem that cannot be attacked head on by passing a policy to end the problem. If the workers are crabby, one can pass a policy mandating cheer. Even more effective, the dying corporation can place the policy in the Human Resource Department Handbook. A problem that is banned is no longer a problem. Instead, regrettably, one might (maybe!) get a new problem: people are not complying with the Handbook... Read more

Don’t fix the problem that we do not have. Let’s fix the problem we have . . . I have been to summer camps where the emphasis was on me: be faster, stronger, smarter. I have been to summer camps where the focus was on “culture:” save it, fix it, study it. Both approaches may have a place, but miss what seems most necessary just now. We need “us.” So many of the people I meet are lonely,  bored, or... Read more

So called intellectuals can be a snobby bunch refusing to consider their own opinions and developing an insider mentality. For more than a century, contributions of African-American poets, writers, or scientists were ignored or downplayed, because the establishment did not want to see what had been done outside their guild. I once was chatting with a biologist at the University of Ohio about evolution and he said it controlled all his work (bovine biology if I recall). Sadly, his understanding... Read more

They say the camera adds ten pounds, a situation I cannot afford just now. Worse, unlike radio, you cannot scratch your nose while on television. Everyone is looking at you ten-pounds heavier finger reaching up to scratch your ten-pounds-heavier nose. As one cameraman warned me: “Everyone is looking. Don’t blow it.” This was not as calming as he might have wished. Too late to hide if you agree to be on television. Of course, sometimes we cannot help being  seen.... Read more