What actually happened when Trump recently visited Arlington National Cemetery? Ben Kesling explains at Politico: The debate around Donald Trump’s recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery has been confusing to many Americans. What’s the big deal with taking photos in […]
Way of Improvement
…And then along comes a piece from Anne Lamott and I start to wonder if I am doing it all wrong.
In my line of work it is easy to spend beautiful days like this (at least on the East coast, I can’t speak for other regions) at the computer churning out words, words, and more words. I sometimes get anxious. […]
The Author’s Corner with Frances Kolb Turnbell
Frances Kolb Turnbell is Instructor of History at the University of North Alabama and editor of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly. This interview is based on her new book, Spanish Louisiana: Contest for Borderlands, 1763–1803 (LSU Press, 2024). JF: What led you […]
Happy Labor Day!
I hope you don’t have to work on the highway today
The Author’s Corner with Steven Watts
Steven Watts is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Missouri. This interview is based on his new book, Citizen Cowboy: Will Rogers and the American People (Cambridge University Press, 2024). JF: What led you to write Citizen Cowboy? […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Pay teachers $100,000 a year. Did Trump defile an American “sacred space” last week? More here. City Journal hosts a forum on higher education that includes pieces by Wilfred McClay […]
Trump spins again on abortion. The Christian Right feels much better now.
Trump is all over the place on abortion. Kamala Harris sat down for an interview with CNN. It’s Labor Day weekend, the unofficial start of the final push for November. Let’s check-in on what American evangelicals are saying. I think […]
Jack Hibbs says conservative pundits with big platforms, fame, and microphones should stop speaking on topics in which they have no expertise. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.
Here is Jack Hibbs on people “qualified” to speak on this or that topic in the news: Hibbs says: Jack Hibbs is the Christian Right pastor with a large following. He has a microphone. He is famous. And he has […]
A bunch of white, patriarchal nationalist Christians who “seek power to transform American culture through conservative-leaning politics and free market economics” held a baptism ceremony at Ohio State
In a recent essay at the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, one of the most important journals in the study of religion, historian Matthew Avery Sutton writes: “…post-World War II evangelicalism is best defined as a white, patriarchal, nationalist religious movement made up of Christians who […]
“Students would stop, perhaps look over at a bookshelf, or just say, point-blank, that they didn’t read.”Â
Over at The Chronicle of Higher Education, Beth McMurtrie writes: Students seem increasingly cynical about the value of college, transactional in their approach to learning, and frustrated by their coursework. On college tours and in admissions literature, they are promised […]
On “pushing MAGA back to the periphery of American life”
David French writes: “There is a difference between beating a candidate and sidelining a movement…I believe that fear may be sufficient to beat Trump, but only joy can push MAGA back to the periphery of American life.” I hope he […]
Obamacare enrollments nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021
According to The Washington Post, the Affordable Care Act is not only working, it is “working brilliantly.” Here is a taste of the Post‘s editorial page: The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is a big reason why. It […]
New information on the Emmett Till murder
Over at The Washington Post, Gillian Brockell reports on William Bradford Huie‘s research notes. Huie’s 1956 article in Look magazine was considered by many at the time to be the “true account” of Emmett Till’s killing. Here is Brockell: William […]
Pro-life conservative evangelicals learn that Donald Trump’s “art of the deal” also applies to abortion
Donald Trump does not support Florida’s six-week ban on abortion. Here is Politico: Donald Trump says he doesn’t support the six-week abortion ban put in place by former ally Gov. Ron DeSantis in the former president’s adopted home state. But […]
We have now entered the “go to hell” phase of the 2024 presidential race
I guess this is a logical outcome when politics becomes spiritual warfare. 🙂 I’ll let Meryl Kornfield of The Washington Post take it from here: Former president Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, doubled down Wednesday on […]
The pro-life movement continues to turn on Trump
We’ve covered this story here and here and here. Now a leader of the pro-life movement says, “It is not the job of the pro-life movement to vote for President Trump.” Her name is Lila Rose and she leads the […]
Should a women’s college bar transgender students?
Does a women’s college stop being a women’s college if it admits transgender students? Sweet Briar College was recently faced with this question and it answered “yes.” Sweet Briar has decided to maintain its mission as a woman’s college by […]
National Endowment for the Humanities announces August 2024 grant winners
Here are a few of the grants that caught my eye: William Okie (Outright: $35,000)[Public Scholars]Kennesaw State University AND A CURRENT AUTHOR!Project Title: The Hidden Histories of Wayside PlantsProject Description: Writing a book about the natural and cultural history of […]
Wehner: “The pro-life justification for supporting the former president has now collapsed”
Over the course of the past week we have called your attention to Donald Trump’s appeal to pro-choice voters. See our posts here and here. Today at The Atlantic, Peter Wehner makes a similar case: The most common argument made […]
Too many books?
In a beautiful piece at The New York Times, Margaret Renkl wonders what to do with all the books that her husband, an English teacher, brought home after he retired. Here is a taste: My husband, Haywood, reached retirement age […]