The noted Civil War historian Allen Guelzo offers a nice working definition of the “Lost Cause” in a piece at The Gospel Coalition. He writes: “In its fullest flower, from 1865 to 1915, the Lost Cause emerged—from a legion of […]
What did anti-1619 Project U.S. senators learn about race from their school textbooks?
The Root just published excerpts of U.S. history textbooks used in schools attended by the thirty-eight Republican senators, including majority leader Mitch McConnell, who recently signed a letter criticizing the New York Times 1619 Project and critical race theory. Here […]
Amitai Etzioni on why Donald Trump continues to have political power
Here is the communitarian intellectual Etzioni at National Interest: Millions of Americans who still support Trump see themselves as a persecuted White minority. They hear from right-wing news outlets that demographic trends dictate that the United States is on its […]
Evangelical roundup for May 13, 2021
What is going on in Evangelicalland? This Rick Warren controversy is not going away: Just the Bible! For Criswell, that same Bible taught segregation of the races. I wonder if these guys would die for their belief that women do […]
Kevin McCarthy: “I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election”
The GOP House minority leader can’t be serious. Here is Paul Kane at The Washington Post: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday took a head-spinning tour through Washington. First, he oversaw the roughly 20-minute meeting of House Republicans […]
Liz Cheney is out. What are her GOP “colleagues” saying?
Earlier today, the House GOP caucus stripped Liz Cheney of her leadership position because she refused to believe the Big Lie. Let’s see what GOP Republicans are saying about this: GOP unity around a lie: And from the GOP frat […]
“A normal tourist visit”
Andrew Clyde represents Georgia’s 9th congressional district. He holds the seat previously held by Doug Collins. Watch Clyde at today’s congressional hearing on the January 6, 2021 insurrection: Is THIS a normal tourist visit?: Remember this:
Back on the road this summer!
I am finally getting back on the road next month! On June 10, 2021 I will be in Nashville for the Christian Scholars Conference at David Lipscomb University. I will join Randall Balmer and Molly Worthen on a plenary panel […]
Josh Hawley’s path to the insurrection
Josh Hawley, the Missouri senator who once had the support of liberal Republican John Danforth, is now the poster-boy for the far-right Republican Party. In this longform piece at The Washington Post, Michael Kranish chronicles how Hawley ascended to such […]
“If you stand for nothing Burr, what’ll you fall for?”
Today’s GOP may want to listen to this Hamilton classic:
Secession is not a new idea
Here is historian Alan Taylor at The Washington Post: In our polarized times, talk of secession blooms on the losing side of bitterly contested national elections. After the 2016 election, some liberal Californians proposed a referendum to seek independence. Last December in […]
Judson College closes
Judson College, an Alabama Baptist women’s college and a member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, has closed. Here is Inside Higher Ed: After teetering on the edge of closure for months, Judson College’s Board of Trustees voted […]
Evangelical conspiracy theorists Mike Lindell and Eric Metaxas at the Mitchell, South Dakota Corn Palace
They were at the South Dakota landmark to launch, for about the tenth time, Mike “MyPillow Guy” Lindell’s new social media platform “Frank.” Here is local coverage from the Mitchell (SD) Republic: A crowd of 1,650 was at the Corn […]
Who was Margaret Chase Smith?
Several commentators are comparing Liz Cheney’s speech tonight to Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith‘s 1950 speech, “A Declaration of Conscience.” Both were anti-McCarthy (Andrew for Cheney and Joseph for Smith) speeches. No historical analogy is perfect, but this one is […]
The coming split in the Republican Party
Here is Zach Montague at The New York Times: More than 100 Republicans, including some former elected officials, are preparing to release a letter this week threatening to form a third party if the Republican Party does not make certain […]
Liz Cheney: “Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar”
Her party empowers liars and removes truth-tellers from leadership positions. Here is Liz Cheney’s parting shot: The sound you hear are progressives cheering for one of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives:
Rick Warren’s church ordains three women. Albert Mohler and the rest of the Southern Baptists are not happy.
Southern Baptist’s do not ordain women. Rick Warren‘s Saddleback Church is one of the largest Southern Baptist Church’s in the country. Last weekend Saddleback ordained three women pastors. Here is Bob Smietana at Religion News Service: Saddleback Church, one of […]
Will Hurd has his work cut out for him
Former Texas representative Will Hurd wants to make the GOP more moderate. Good luck. Here is a taste of his interview with Emma Green at The Atlantic: Green: Are you frustrated that the oxygen gets sucked up by people like Lauren […]
Episode 4: The Waning of Christian America
Conservative evangelicals respond to a perfect storm capable of wiping out the Christian ideals that built their great nation. Episode 4: “The Waning of Christian America” (our fifth episode) dropped last night. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above […]
Back to the Zoo! A fond farewell to Annie Thorn!
If you are a regular reader of The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog, you know Annie Thorn. She not only facilitated our popular “Author’s Corner” feature, but she wrote a weekly column titled “Out of the Zoo.” For the […]