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Independence Day 2020: Are flags in churches idolatry?
If you're on Twitter you might have concluded that July 4th was Hipster-Pastors-Complaining-About-Flags-in-Churches Day.
Billy Graham at MIT
In April 1982, during my second semester at MIT, Billy Graham came to speak at the invitation of the evangelical Christian groups on campus, including Campus Crusade for Christ, United Christian Fellowship (the MIT affiliate of Intervarsity), the Chinese Bible Study, and the MIT Seekers, affiliated with Park Street Church....
Lukács, the Frankfurt School, cultural terrorism
As we look ahead to launching another child into higher education, I am thinking that the Ivy League schools have ceased to offer an education worthy of the price tag, much less their long and honorable heritage. Case in point: This center-left Yale student's complaint that his Shakespeare course had...
David Rollo, RIP; memorial service Saturday, June 24, 2017
David Marshall Rollo, a leader in Tulsa choral music for over a half-century, a friend and mentor to many, passed away on April 25, 2017, at the age of 74, of complications from pneumonia. I was blessed to know David for 40 years as his student at Holland Hall, as...
Oklahoma Bar Association subsidizes repressive Communist regime
The Oklahoma Bar Association, the leftist monopoly guild that has an effective veto over judicial appointments in our state, will be funneling money to the totalitarian Communist Castro regime with the organization's "President's Cruise" to Cuba this summer. Linda Thomas, mentioned in the flyer, is the current OBA president. At...
Resist the social media mob
In recent years, social media has facilitated the rapid spread of outrage. A few representative cases: Deborah Brown Elementary School being bullied into modifying its dress code rules for hair. Demands to remove the Confederate flag, Confederate memorials, or monuments to historical figures. The hounding of Brendan Eich from his...
Readings on jihad and crusades
ADDED at the top because of its valuable info: Thomas F. Madden reviews The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam by Jonathan Riley-Smith On September 11, 2001, there were only a few professional historians of the Crusades in America. I was the one who was not retired. As a result, my phone...
Margaret Thatcher, RIP
A world-changer has left this world for a better one. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died today at age 87. I don't remember when I started paying attention to British politics; sometime in the mid-'70s, I imagine. I had a shortwave radio, and I loved tuning in to...
Dinner table discussion: Electoral college, faithless electors, third-party effects, and runoffs
Somehow tonight around the dinner table we got to talking about the Electoral College -- the 538 people who really get to vote for President of the United States. I talked about the two groups of seven Oklahomans that will be on our November 6 ballot -- seven pledged to...
Saving East Germany's near ruins -- and Tulsa's?
Duane Lester, the All-American Blogger, links to an article in Der Spiegel about a photographer, Stefan Koppelkamm, who toured former East Germany in 1990 and 1991, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and returned a dozen years later, re-photographing the buildings he captured twenty years ago. These buildings...
Roundup 2011/12/28
I got some potpourri for Christmas, so here's some potpourri for you -- an assortment of interesting articles from the last couple of weeks. Photo by Lathyrus on Flickr Warner Todd Huston: The newspaper typo that began NORAD's tradition of tracking Santa on Christmas eve in 1955. James Lileks invites...
Why vote for Brogdon, Wright
A couple of longtime conservative activists in Tulsa have endorsed Randy Brogdon for Governor and John Wright for Lt. Governor. I received their endorsement via their email list; they gave me permission to reproduce it but not to use their names because it might create the impression of an endorsement...
Victims of Communism: Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo, a writer and outspoken advocate for freedom of expression in Communist China, was honored by PEN yesterday with its 2009 Freedom to Write award. Liu has been "in and out of jail" since his active involvement in support of the Tienanmen Square protests nearly 20 years ago. His...
Flaming Lips flame war
There's been a lot of discussion about the vote in the Oklahoma House of Representatives on whether to ratify "Do You Realize??" as the official rock song of Oklahoma. The resolution received only 48 votes in favor, three short of the required majority. Gov. Brad Henry signed an executive order...
Remember the persecuted church
This morning, Christians will gather in freedom across America and throughout the western world to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, His victory over death. Although our faith is the object of ridicule and contempt, none of us in the west need fear arrest, imprisonment, or torture because of our faith....
Lionizing totalitarians
I was at Tulsa Promenade with my family over the weekend and had taken the 12-year-old son to the food court for a late lunch, when I saw this ad for the Tulsa Zoo: It's a spoof of the famous Che Guevara poster, depicting a lion as Che, wearing a...
Obama's radical pals (and other presidential links)
A selection of links and excerpts: CBS News gives Obama-TV a reality check: Without question, the Barack Obama infomercial served as a very slick and powerful recitation of the biggest promises he's made as a presidential candidate. But the very bigness of his ideas is the problem: he seems blind...
Jim DeMint on why he voted against the bailout
The senator from South Carolina and champion of fiscal conservatism had this to say during last night's debate on the bailout: We have seen this Government socialize our education system and make our schools among the worst in the world. We have seen this Government take over most of our...
Daniel Pipes: "Vanquishing the Islamist Enemy and Helping the Moderate Muslim Ally"
My oldest son and I attended Tuesday night's speech by Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes, sponsored by sixthirtyone, TU's conservative student association and newspaper. The speech was well attended. There were no protesters. Four Tulsa police officers were there to keep an eye on things. Pipes's speech, "Vanquishing the Islamist...
A quick update: PLANiTULSA and Pipes
I attended the second PLANiTULSA workshop this afternoon as a participant (having been a facilitator Monday night). I found the experience exhausting, even a bit frustrating. Even having a clear idea about what to expect from Monday night's session, it was still hard to get all the ideas on the...
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