If you look at the calendar for the coming week you'll see this word written in on Thursday: "Epiphany." That seems strange. Epiphanies don't seem like the sort of thing one can schedule ahead of time and plan for like that. "Good meeting, Jim, let's meet again tomorrow to finish up." "Fine, just let me check my … Oh, no, sorry. Thursday's no good. I've got an epiphany Thursday." "Hmm, well how about Friday?" "Depends, Bob. Have to see what... Read more
So the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has decided to begin the 112th Congress by reading aloud the entire U.S. Constitution. I'm a big fan of the Constitution and I'm all for reading it — publicly or privately, silently or aloud. If almost anyone else were proposing this stunt, I'd say it couldn't hurt. But I pay attention, and after years of seeing this lot disrespecting national symbols and institutions by reducing them to tribalist slogans and... Read more
"Hey, boss, I think I should be allowed to go home at 4 p.m. instead of 5. It's a matter of principle." "I pay you to work until 5, you want to stop getting paid at 4?" "No, I still want to get paid for working until 5 p.m. every day. But I want to stop working at 4." I don't imagine that conversation with a hypothetical boss ending well, yet Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kans., believes that she should be... Read more
The residents of the Appomattox Mobile Home Park in Hopewell, Va., have until Saturday to clear out their belongings: For most residents at the Appomattox Mobile Home Park, the news came as a surprise: On Oct. 29, each tenant received a notice ordering them to leave the park within 30 days. No reason was given, and many residents had no place to go. After realizing the state's Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act entitles tenants to at least 60 days' notice,... Read more
And because I post this every year, here's Anne Lamott's Advent Adventure: So I called my Jesuit friend, Tom, who is a hopeless alcoholic of the worst sort, sober now for 22 years, someone who sometimes gets fat and wants to hang himself, so I trust him. I said, "Tell me a story about Advent. Tell meabout people getting well." He thought for a while. Then he said, "OK." … Read the whole thing. Read more
Tribulation Force, pp. 307-310 I'm in a holiday spirit, so in keeping with the generosity of the season, peace on earth good will to all and all that, I'm going to try to accentuate the positive when looking at these pages from Tribulation Force. I think I've even managed to find some positive aspects of this section to highlight. The first leaps out at us from the opening sentences of Chapter 14: Buck Williams was cashing in all his journalistic... Read more
Every year at this time, PNC Bank tallies up the cost of all the gifts listed in "The 12 Days of Christmas." It's a charming annual exercise, even if most of us wouldn't ever consider ever giving or asking for a partridge in a pear tree as a Christmas present. I'm unclear on what all their final total price includes, exactly, since I've never really been clear on what the song was suggesting. "On the second day of Christmas my... Read more
The United States Senate today voted to allow the president and the military to lift the bigoted "don't ask, don't tell" policy that for the past 17 years has required gay members of the military to lie about who they are. Republicans in the U.S. Senate today also blocked a vote on the DREAM act, a measure that would have allowed young people who grew up in America and not anywhere else to become legally recognized as Americans provided they... Read more
Casino Jack, George Hickenlooper's film about Republican lobbyist, con-man and extortionist Jack Abramoff opens this weekend. Kevin Spacey is a terrific actor, and I'm sure he's great in the title role, but I was disappointed with the casting of one of his supporting players. The movie has the wrong Canadian playing Ralph Reed. Nothing against Christian Campbell, but this part really should have gone to Nicholas Lea, who is not only a dead ringer for Reed, but who proved as... Read more
This is brilliant, well done, and way too close for comfort: "How to Worship" (via). If you find that video irreverent, that's because it is. But — and here's the important thing — it's irreverent toward ourselves, which is no sin. Probably the opposite, actually. Watching that reminds me of the time I was invited to attend a "Generation X Worship Service" at a new Vineyard church not far from my old apartment. This was back when people my age... Read more
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