According to early reports, the three gunmen who slaughtered an office full of French cartoonists and two police officers, said, as they departed the scene, “We have avenged the Prophet Mohammed…” Charlie Hebdo, the magazine, is essentially dead at the hands of religious zealotry. For what, you might ask, did Mohammed demand revenge? The publication […]
Archives
-
Free Speech and the Death of Charlie Hebdo
07 Jan 2015
-
News. News. News. January 7th Edition
07 Jan 2015
In what I hope will become a running feature here at Bereans @ The Gate, here are links of interest for today: A sliver of the GOP attempted a coup against John Boehner for Speaker of the House. They failed. Now, there are consequences. Some of them will lose choice committee slots. If you plan […]
-
Huackabee’s 2016 Chances
06 Jan 2015
Mike Huckabee (R-ARK) is considering a presidential run in 2016. He has stepped away from his lucrative Fox News show so that he can ponder the possibilities. (Fox does not allow employees to run for office while under contract.) Indications are that he will jump into the contest. Huckabee is, without challenge, the standard-bearer for […]
-
Marriage Benefits Without Marriage?
05 Jan 2015
Brigid Schulte, at The Washington Post, has written an interesting piece on Isabel Sawhill, a scholar at Brookings, and the future of marriage. Sawhill has historically promoted and defended marriage based on its economic benefits for both parents and children. For example, children in single-parent families are four times more likely to live in poverty than […]
-
Interstellar: What Hollywood Ought to Be
02 Jan 2015
This review is late. After all, Interstellar debuted seemingly eons ago and most of those who are going to see it in theaters have already done so. If you are on the fence about the possibility, let me implore you. Get thee to a theater. Interstellar demands a large screen, high quality sound, and popcorn drizzled […]
-
Politico‘s James Hohman has a nice piece up this morning on Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) and his quest for a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution. Kasich has formed a non-profit organization, Balanced Budget Forever, to promote the effort. Though the article is ostensibly about the legislative quest, the sub-theme is Kasich’s possible presidential bid […]
-
Snowpiercer: Dystopian Tale for the 99%
11 Dec 2014
“Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.” –Arthur C. Clarke Science fiction is, almost without fail, either set in the future or an unknown universe. This allows the author, or filmmaker, to turn blank pages and screens into whatever he or she wishes. Without the baggage of now, science fiction often comments […]
-
http://youtu.be/rfU3hI8ML30 Stand with Hillary, a PAC that is not affiliated with Mrs. Clinton, recently produced and publicized “Stand with Hillary.” I wish I had been part of the brain-storming session that produced this video. I imagine the white board must have included phrases and bullet points that said something like: Problem:six-figure speaker’s fees, extreme wealth. […]
-
GOP in 2016: The Field and the Issues
02 Dec 2014
Politico has a reasonable article this morning on the emerging Republican presidential field, focusing on the issues that divide and distinguish the candidates. James Hohmann highlights immigration, NSA eavesdropping, Medicaid expansion, Common Core, and gay marriage as the key fault lines. He takes those issues and splices them through a potential field of: Jeb Bush […]
-
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 1
24 Nov 2014
This trend is execrable. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2. The Hobbit 1, 2, and 3. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn–Part 1 and 2.* Hollywood, like a dairy farmer with cold hands, has gripped tightly to whatever dangling teat it can find, wringing every drop of funds from the American cash […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach