And I did, but according to the transcript, we’re on a roll. The state of our Union is . . . 2010: Strong 2008: Strong 2007: Strong 2006: Strong 2005: Confident and Strong 2004: Confident and Strong 2003: Strong 2002: Never been stronger 2000: Strongest it has ever been 1999: Strong 1998:...

The State of the Union is a wonderful occasion to drag out one of my favorite quotations from The West Wing. When one staffer acts surprised that the President is not Constitutionally required to give a State of the Union speech before Congress, another staffer wryly notes, “He’s required...

Pro-choice groups are expressing outrage over a commercial set to air during the Super Bowl, which stars Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother Pam. The commercial tells the story of how Pam Tebow was advised to have an abortion for medical reasons, but chose to continue her pregnancy. It is fairly...

As you know, I’m not a fan. Tonight, I’ll be watching the Metropolitan Opera’s rebroadcast of Der Rosenkavalier in HD, and between opera and political bloviating, there’s really no contest (find your local theatre here, though I’m readier to recommend the encore rebroadcast...

Depsite the fact that Obama harshly criticized the Bush administration for “sweetheart deals” and no-bid contracts when he was running for President, the Obama administration has awarded a $25 million no-bid contract to a company owned by a prominent donor to Democratic campaigns. I’ll...

In the wake of Scott Brown’s stunning upset victory in the race for Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat, the prevailing wisdom in the blogosphere is that health care reform in its current state is dead. I agree with those who are saying that now is the time for Republicans to come forward with...

In a nutshell, this is why I can’t vote for Sarah Palin.

Donald Miller is one of my favorite authors (and bloggers). His latest, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life, is my new favorite of his, and that says a lot. Miller made a name for himself about 6-7 years ago with his memoir Blue Like Jazz, which gained a large...

Happy Palindrome Day!

The recent time off for Christmas and the New Year afforded me lots of time to relax, by which, of course, I mean read. Here are some books I’ve recently enjoyed and hope you will too. The Dante Club: A Novel by Matthew Pearl – Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow team up...