Obama, Kennedy and King

This makes me so proud to be a Hoosier.

We’re Stuck in an English Costume Drama

I recently lent two of my buddies a copy of one of my favorite movies, Lady Jane (1986, Trevor Nunn). I told them that Cary Elwes, the male lead, is blond and stunningly gorgeous—but I also warned them it’s an English costume drama, knowing that most guys can’t stand that sort of thing; Henry the [...]

Update: Clinton/Obama, McCain/Romney

I’ve never lived through a presidential campaign like this one. No one has.
At various times last summer John McCain was the front-runner. Rudolph Giuliani was the front-runner. Mitt Romney was the front-runner. Fred Thompson was the front-runner—and all before a single vote was cast.
McCain’s campaign fell apart; it turns out now that was good [...]

Barack Obama, the First American-African

Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama (The New York Times)
I’ve been a political junkie since childhood—because the politics of my tender years were incredibly dramatic, intense and historic.
The searing TV image of my childhood was Black children and old people getting water-cannoned and beaten, sometimes killed, for such crimes as going to school or registering to [...]

Shocking Events in San Joaquin; or, The Empress and the Queen

John-David Schofield, singing “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”
updated with links
Today is the feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury, the famous Becket of “Murder in the Cathedral.” He was assassinated by henchmen of King Henry II in 1170, and today is the anniversary of that vile act, which shocked all of Christendom.
Maybe you read Chaucer’s “Canterbury [...]

Gene: Tell Your Story about Jesus

Bishop Gene Robinson (Michael Houghton/The New York Times)
Last year during the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, Larry King had Gene Robinson and others (Andrew Sullivan, the Rev. Jo Hudson, the Rev. David Anderson, the Rev. Albert Mohler) on his CNN talk show to discuss LGBTs in the Church. It was about as enlightening as [...]

Passing a 21st Milestone

Twenty-one years ago today I met a man at a party. His name was Jack. He was tall, masculine, intelligent, sensitive, athletic and funny. Best of all, we agreed about almost everything, except religion.
Seventeen years ago today I married him. An Episcopal priest officiated; we held the service in our apartment. About 40 people came, [...]

Southern Baptists Scorn Holy Spirit Again

Steve Shoemaker

Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC has been kicked out of the state Baptist Convention for noticing that God loves Gay people.
The senior minister, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Shoemaker, has written a remarkable letter testifying to what his church has learned. The whole thing is here, but this excerpt captures his point:
Our church [...]

Our Own Spiritual Retreat

I am forever getting useless ideas. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours working on a business plan for a chain of coffee- and teahouses which would locate Episcopal oratories in your local strip mall. Starbucks, watch out!
I fantasized about renting a storefront here in my town and starting up a little food-and-Jesus operation. It [...]

House Passes ENDA: One Small Step

Taken completely out of context: Astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, who is not Gay, in front of a new statue of himself as a lowly undergraduate, at the dedication of Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering at his alma mater Purdue University.
At long last, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Employment [...]