Iowa 2016: Five Things We Learned

Iowa 2016: Five Things We Learned

  It’s 9 months until Election Day, and here are five things we learned from the Iowa Caucuses:   1. Cruz Won; Clinton and Sanders Tied Ted Cruz pulled well ahead of Donald Trump, while Hillary Clinton virtually tied with Bernie Sanders.  For the...
The Iowa Caucus: Just What We Need

The Iowa Caucus: Just What We Need

Embed from Getty Images The Iowa Caucus is kind of ridiculous. But for those of us from Iowa, it’s our ridiculousness. And for those of you not from Iowa, perhaps it’s not such a bad thing. Let me explain. As a recent New York Times column demonstrates, critics...
Sharing Our Stories

Sharing Our Stories

When I was in first grade, I remember that I wanted to be a writer more than anything else in the world.  I wanted to tell uplifting stories that gave people hope.  That desire has stuck with me in some way throughout my life.  And so, I jumped at the chance to tell...
Prison Reform: Not Just for Prisoners

Prison Reform: Not Just for Prisoners

 Without a doubt, Barack Obama’s recent editorial in the Washington Post calls forth the best of America: the chance for redemption.  Obama explains his recent decision to end solitary confinement for minors in the federal prison system. He lays out a well-researched,...
Sudden Sadness and the World Around Me

Sudden Sadness and the World Around Me

A few Saturdays ago, I felt a profound sadness I hadn’t ever experienced before. I’d had a few tough disagreements with friends, and I was caught in the pains of my freshest (and, perhaps, fifteenth) attempt to quit a tobacco product. Classes were about to begin, and...
Worth Reading: What “the Other” Can Say

Worth Reading: What “the Other” Can Say

Embed from Getty Images Three months have passed since Navid Kermani – author, essayist, practitioner of Christian-Muslim dialogue – was given the 2015 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. Three months have passed, but his words have not faded. That night, wearing a...
New York Values

New York Values

I moved to New York three and a half years ago. After two years in Grand Coteau, LA, it was a jarring transition to find myself living on a block with a higher population than all of Grand Coteau. Despite this initial shock, I’ve come to feel at home in New York and I...
The Name of God Is Mercy – Review

The Name of God Is Mercy – Review

Embed from Getty Images   “Lord, forgive me if I have forgiven too much. But you’re the one who gave me the bad example!” This line, from a priest who had doubts about whether he was too forgiving in the confessional, is one of many priceless anecdotes from Pope...
Simple Gestures and Signature Graces

Simple Gestures and Signature Graces

The holidays in Spain are not unlike the holidays anywhere — food and family, travel and church, lots and lots of shopping. Of course there are cultural peculiarities but the basic rhythm is familiar — bursts of frenzy interrupted by occasional moments of...