This should probably be more embarrassing than it is for me to admit, but I never really learned how to balance a checkbook. I met my husband when I was twenty, and got married soon after. For the first seven years of marriage, David and I didn’t keep track of our checks or ATM withdrawals. Whatever financial penalty we suffered due to unnoticed bank errors, we just counted as the cost of freedom. After one too many bounced checks, however,... Read more
In November 2004, the We Are Family Foundation released a kids’ music video featuring over 100 characters from children’s television programs, such as SpongeBob and Barney. The DVDs were sent to over 61,000 elementary schools, along with teacher’s guides for after-viewing discussions to promote “diversity and tolerance in classrooms.” At the time, James Dobson, then president of Focus on Family, criticized the foundation’s “tolerance pledge” that encouraged kids to be “understanding” toward those of different cultures, races, or sexual identities.... Read more
Just a quick 9/11 thought after reading commentary on Patheos and elsewhere. I’m finding the moral equivalence and hand-wringing from many Christians on this day to be obscene. There is a profound moral difference between America and its jihadist enemies. If you cannot see that difference then you are most likely overcome with ignorance, foolish ideology, or malice. Fortunately for you, however, you are protected from the natural consequences of your ignorance and malice by fellow citizens who see the... Read more
I deserve good things in life. I will have just one more cookie. If only I could make a few, small changes, I will be happy. I will cancel HBO after the free six month trial. If only my spouse could make a few, small changes, I will be happy. When I express my opinions, people find me interesting. My job can and should fulfill me. We will use that treadmill. God wants me to be happy. I don’t watch... Read more
Thanks again to the indispensable Walter Russell Mead, I ran across this piece from the Washington Post telling the chilling truth that 1 in 3 Americans who began their lives middle class has slipped “down the income ladder.” It’s certainly true that this number includes hard-working Americans who’ve fallen on hard times, folks who’ve made all the best decisions but face involuntary job loss, medical bills, or other misfortunes. But who is hardest hit? Downward mobility is most common among middle-class... Read more
One afternoon in Ithaca, N.Y., my kids were playing on the swing sets in the park when a little tike wearing a football jersey ran into my daughter’s path. I lunged for the swing — I jerked the chain so abruptly that I feared whiplash — and shared a “wow, that was close” exchange with the kid’s mom. “How old is he?” I asked. The lady looked at me with no trace of... Read more
You might like my post in NRO. It begins: After reading Bill Keller and Ryan Lizza, I was determined to investigate the looming threat of “Dominionism.” Who are these nefarious people? How great a threat are they? They must be powerful, because they apparently influence two of the three leading Republican candidates for president. They had to be quite secretive because I’d never heard of them. And that puzzled me, honestly. After all, I’m a card-carrying member of the Religious Right, with... Read more
I met a man when I was twenty years old and fell in love immediately. By the second date, I knew I’d marry him if he asked me. And, within a few short weeks, he did just that… so spontaneously he didn’t even wait until he had a ring. Three months later, we were in France, buying flowers off the street from a vendor and getting married in the upstairs room of a restaurant. We barely knew each other, and... Read more
I frequently get e-mails from writers asking advice about getting their book published. Because the process seems shrouded in mystery, I thought I’d write down how it happened for me. (Warning: Though I’ve published four books, I am thirty-six years old and do not know everything about the publishing industry. Take all of this cum grano salis.) Though the publishing world is changing rapidly, I’ve only gone the traditional route with large publishers. For a good article about how the... Read more
Tim Dalrymple alerted me to a Cornell study that indicates that when parents play favorites, no one wins. (Not even the favored child!) Read more
The French Revolution
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In