Columns

Exposing the sins of the technical Catholics

I am not the pope. I was never a nun. I am barely a good Catholic, even though I do the absolute minimum to keep my club membership current. I am, however, a skilled detector of hypocrisy. Which makes me the perfect person to talk about the second Catholic president. Joe Biden is a Catholic.

Searching for unity in a sea of exclamation points

An email laced with exclamation points is never a good sign. At least not if you’re me. In my world, exclamation points usually follow words such as “idiot!” or “communist!” I take issue with the latter though the former is certainly up for discussion.

Reality trims seed catalogue dreams

One hot day summer day some years ago I was pulling weeds along a row of tomato plants, when the realization came to me that I was crawling down garden rows to cultivate vegetables that we would mostly give to friends and neighbors who also grew more veggies than they would eat and were planning on...

Path to despotism seen in online censorship

People often try and sound profound by quoting Santayana’s apocryphal statement, “Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” But Santayana had his finger on the pulse of my nation in this moment.

Ever sing the college brochure blues?

It has been a bittersweet experience seeing the mailbox flooded with college recruiting brochures addressed to my son Gideon.

Big tech, right wing media and cartoonist logic

While the mainstream media is rightfully focused on the second impeachment of President Trump and the assault on the Capitol, right wing media is obsessed with “Freedom of Speech.”

What America needs is a hearty laugh

America could use a hearty laugh right now, but laughter doesn’t come easily because too many Americans have lost their sense of humor. Humor, says Merriam-Webster, is “the ability to be funny or to be amused by things that are funny.” We are at our best when we’re amused.

Hogs and alligators didn’t mix well

As I poke around among stories and recollections of times gone by, I am continually reminded of how isolated much of south Louisiana was before highways began to connect us, and that our isolation lasted for a good deal longer than we might expect.

Have you ever met a stranger?

Reminiscing with one of my mother’s photo albums, I encountered a snapshot of a long-deceased neighbor (a dear, sweet man) who is still summed up by the phrase “He never met a stranger.”

Disgraceful discourse ours to correct

Without grace, our public discourse will continue to suffer. “Grace,” according to Dictionary.com, has more than one meaning, but all of them are powerful. Grace is “a pleasing or attractive quality,” as well as “favor or goodwill.”