Carroll O’Connor, American actor best known for his role as bigoted working man Archie Bunker in Norman Lear’s ’70s pop hit “All In The Family,” was born on August 2, 1924. Archie’s deadpan comedy mocked racism, religion and the political unrest of the time. Juxtaposed against his liberal son-in-law Mike (Rob Reiner), Archie’s diatribes explored complex social issues. In tribute to Archie (and to O’Connor), here’s Archie’s classic discussion of “Christian vs. Catholic.” Read more
SHE SAYS: The skimpy bathing suits and gymnastics costumes are exploitative of beautiful young athletes. The Olympic Committee wants to titillate viewers, and says to the athletes, “Here’s your uniform. If you want to be on our team, this is what you will wear.” It’s akin to Hooters giving girls those provocative orange short shorts and skimpy shirts. HE SAYS: But they’re athletes! Their uniforms are designed to offer full range of motion, and to maximize their performance. I can’t... Read more
Sex is good. Sex is fun. Sex is sacred. That’s the message from the eager young voices over at 1flesh.org. The website is the creation of a group of young adults, mostly college students, who have launched a grassroots movement in opposition to the use of artificial contraception and dedicated, to use their words, to “bringing great sex to the entire universe.” Pope John Paul II spoke about the beauty and the holiness of the marital embrace in a series... Read more
On July 31, the Society of Jesus marks the 456th anniversary of the death of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Born into a wealthy Basque family, Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – July 31, 1556) was a Spanish knight; but he was seriously wounded in the Battle of Pamplona in 1521. During his long recovery, he experienced a spiritual awakening and was led to abandon his military career and devote himself to labor for God, following the example... Read more
You probably know at least a little about Danish baroness and plantation owner Karen von Blixen-Finecke. She was the heroine (Meryl Streep) who had a passionate but ultimately doomed love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter (Robert Redford) in the 1985 romantic drama Out of Africa. She was an author who wrote under the pen name “Isak Denisen.” But you may not remember that she was an agnostic. My husband and I recently pulled out our copy of the film... Read more
You know how it is in the blogosphere: Writers there are fearless, standing alone against a government which resists the will of the people; speaking out when it seems everyone else is looking the other way. They reach the masses with breaking news and analysis, compelling features, and sharp observations. Titus Brandsma was like that, too. When he lived and worked in The Netherlands during the 1930s and ‘40s, social media had not yet developed; what Pope John Paul II... Read more
Sometimes you just want to roll your eyes and say “Duh!” A team of researchers at Arizona State University, led by evolutionary psychologist Douglas Kenrick, has noticed that most people really like being parents. Despite the challenges of child-rearing, Kenrick reported that the warmth, the love, the creativity, the sense of purpose and belonging—all of these factors and more make parenting the most enjoyable of all activities. Kenrick’s team reported this breaking news, which is just a ho-hum factoid to loving... Read more
We lost a mighty tree in our front yard last year. It was an ash, and yes, it was already dead—defeated by Michigan’s pernicious emerald ash borer. When it toppled during a windstorm, it brought down the electrical wires, snapping a wooden pole, pulling the meter off our house and taking out the cable and internet in one fell swoop. The weight of the massive trunk wrestled the roots from the damp earth, and 80 feet of bark and bole... Read more
Ho-hum. The news reporters have been a-flurry because this week, Seattle resident Angela Vogel married a “Corporate Person.” The groom, “Corporate Person,” is not actually a real guy. Mr. Corporate Person is a one-and-a-half-month-old corporation established by Seattle-based writer Jeff Reifman, who is listed as the corporation’s registered agent. And the bride—Well, she’s not really in love. She’s really protesting a law that grants personhood status to corporations. Jeff Reifman explains: “The Supreme Court has said that corporations are persons with... Read more
When I was a child, I had a picture book about insects. Each creepy critter was briefly described by the author, including an onomatopoeic description of the insect’s chirp or whistle or buzz. The katydid, I learned in that book, had a distinctive call that sounded like “Katie did, Katie did, Katie did-did-did.” * * * * * We drove up our driveway last night at around 11 p.m., and there they were! Just one night before, the skies had been... Read more
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