DAILY DEVOTIONS, LIFELONG FAITH

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09 Mar, 2001

Poetry Can Unclog Your Drain

I’m not the handiest guy around the house but I have logged hundreds of hours watching episodes of This Old House and programs on HGTV (the Home & Garden network). My viewing habits make me expert at watching other people fix common household problems. I may not be able to install a garbage disposer or

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09 Mar, 2001

Are Clinton’s Pardons Valid?

Granted, it's not surprising that the news media hasn't asked the “right questions” regarding these pardons; more often than not those of us in this business succumb either to the obvious or the easy, but rarely to the important. Such laziness has led to much of the public's political apathy and distrust of both the

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02 Mar, 2001

Hey, Virginia

Consider this paradox: A few weeks ago the Virginia legislature scored a long-sought pro-life victory, mustering enough votes to pass a law mandating a waiting period before a woman may undergo an abortion. Now, a measure that treats abortion-causing pills almost like cough drops has garnered huge support in both houses (Senate 25-12; House 58-40).

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27 Feb, 2001

Wishful Thinking: A Reflection on RU-486

They go so far as to claim that the consequent privatization of the procedure will mean that the pro-life movement will not be able to oppose it. My response to them is “Dream on…” First of all, chemical abortion can never fully or even mostly replace surgical abortion. Chemical abortion kills babies only in the

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25 Feb, 2001

The Worst Best Picture Reviewing Chocolat

Predictable Hollywood There is probably no hope that Hollywood will ever lose its affection for this idea, but will it ever realize how boring it is? That any film delivering this line — as just about every best-picture nominee last year did — is as far away from “daring” as possible? The plot of Chocolat

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23 Feb, 2001

Criminals On the Field

Meanwhile, former Green Bay Packer tight end Mark Chmura stood trial for sexual assault and child enticement. A 17 year-old accused him of raping her. While the jury sided with the defense, the foreman said, “(Chmura) put himself in a bad situation by being drunk with kids and in a hot tub in his underwear.

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20 Feb, 2001

Slouching Away from Woodstock

(This article originally appeared in CRISIS, America's fastest growing Catholic magazine.) (For a review of a newly released Oscar nominated film click here.) Legends of the Woodstock generation’s deeds have risen like yeast in the souls of a new wave of adults who carry no memories of sit-ins, acid trips, and Vietnam; to some who

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19 Feb, 2001

A Presidents Day Look at Our Redeemer President

It is difficult to understand the importance of Allen C. Guelzo's Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President without emphasizing its departure from much Lincoln historiography of the past two generations. While more scholarship has been dedicated to Lincoln than any person but Jesus of Nazareth and Napoleon Bonaparte, pervasive banalities persist within the academic literature — more

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17 Feb, 2001

The Pearl of Great Price

He wondered why they had come. He had seen a map one of them had drawn — a man named Matteo Ricci — and it showed the world unlike it had ever appeared on a Chinese map. Curious, he went into the hall, and saw there a crucifix. Xu Guangqi bowed low in reverence before

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17 Feb, 2001

To Clone or Not to Clone

“(You)2” is the clever headline of Brian Alexander's fascinating trip through the human-cloning underground, where only slightly mad scientists with no qualms about cloning humans are already being besieged by people who desperately want them to whip them up a new son, a new daughter or a new self. Alexander's piece makes a convincing case

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16 Feb, 2001

Just Words

Even my loved ones stumble and mumble when attempting to tactfully end one of my phone monologues. My reputation is such that only the most naive political canvassers knock at my door for an opinion. Few will suffer me even as a volunteer. Yet, neither personal rejection nor self-awareness has affected my attitude on speech.