Family Entertainment w/Eric Metaxas

I think an awful lot about why most Americans have a hard time finding entertainment that shares their values. Just recently I was asked to speak briefly on that subject for On the Page, a new feature at nationalreview.com.

To see it, click here.

Hey! Want to join “Manhattan’s Smart Set”?

Just go to www.socratesinthecity.com and register for our emails and you’re in! Because according to GOD IS BACK: How the Global Rise of Faith Will Change the World, an acclaimed new book by two Economist magazine journalists, “Socrates in the City holds discussions on ‘the examined life’ for Manhattan’s smart set.” SITC is mentioned alongside the Trinity Forum and the C.S. Lewis Institute as examples of faith-friendly efforts among the high-brow circuit. Of course.

For a fab article on the subject of whether God really is back — or ever left — in the current issue of World magazine, click here. It’s by my friend Marvin Olasky, Provost at Manhattan’s King’s College. Must reading.

If you are already receiving Socrates emails, you are — of course — already part of “Manhattan’s smart set”. And congrats to you! But if you aren’t receiving them — good grief, by all means click here and sign up before anyone knows you haven’t already done so! And register for our Juen 20th, with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, which is selling extremely briskly, so hurry!

Cartoon of the Week

For more, go to www.theargylesweater.com. …and of course my “Don’t You Believe It!” cartoons can be seen here each day by clicking on the blue “Don’t You Believe It!” bar.  No, I didn’t illustrate them, but I did write them.  Collect ‘em and trade ‘em!

Do you know this man?

If you don’t know TIm Keller, the pastor of Manhattan’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church, and the author of the New York Times bestseller Reason for God, you are in for a treat. Tim is a phenomenon, and without him my world would be quite a different place. Redeemer has been an island of sound biblical teaching in that vast sea of secularism called Manhattan, and what has grown out of Redeemer over the years is incalculable. The MPSC, which my wife runs, and the Geneva School, which our daughter attends, are but two things that come to mind. The following article, “How Tim Keller Found Manhattan”, appears in the current issue of Christianity Today. To read it, click here.

Huckabee on Bass at Socrates in the City

As Socrates once said: “Well, I’ll be an egg-sucked mule!” Socrates events are not places where you are likely to get cracker-barrel philosophers — much less bass fishin’ tips, or trick-rope exhibitions. But on June 20th, SITC is proud to welcome former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who will speak on “The Role of Faith in Politics” — and who may well show us how to twitch a hula-popper through the lily pads to lure a lunker out of hiding. (see photo, left.) Unless he means the other kind of bass (see other photo.) In any case, it’s sure to be a big ole mess o’ fun, so if you are in the NYC-area on June 20th, do not miss it! This event will sell out quickly, so hurry!  To register and for details, click here.

Is America a Christian Nation?

Here’s an interesting article from USA Today.

Have you taken the Oath?

CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME OUT OF HARVARD B-SCHOOL?

My friend Max Anderson (standing, right) says it can! The full story is in the New York Times — click here – and tells of a group of Harvard B-schoolers who have come up with something they’re calling the “MBA Oath“.  According to the Times, nearly 20 percent of the graduating class have signed the “voluntary student-led pledge” stating that “the goal of a business manager is to ’serve the greater good.’” What?? The oath even “promises that Harvard M.B.A.’s will act responsibly, ethically and refrain from advancing their ‘own narrow ambitions’ at the expense of others.” Forgive me, but I need a chair. To find out more, visit www.mbaoath.org.

Angels & Demons (and Bears! Oh, my!)

Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, and Dan Brown are at it again, with a new movie destined to confuse, mislead, and vex millions. If you saw their previous collaboration, The Davinci Code, or read the record-breakingly awful book — or better yet, just heard about it — you may be interested in my take on it. It came in the form of a parody, titled “Screwtape on the Davinci Code. When I posted it on my website a few years ago it was linked to everywhere, and became a small internet sensation. In case you missed it then, here it is again. Enjoy!

Biden’s Last Gaffe: Declares Self “First ‘Negro’ V.P.”

Biden: “We have overcome! Glory, Hallelujah!”

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BIDEN’S LAST GAFFE: DECLARES SELF “FIRST ‘NEGRO’ VP”

In the latest in a series of verbal gaffes, flub-ups, and super-bloopers, U.S. Vice President Joseph P. Biden yesterday proclaimed himself “America’s first ‘negro’ Vice President”. The staggering statement immediately sparked confusion and rancor in his audience, and led to widespread calls for his resignation.

The comment came late in the day, when the increasingly unpredictable 66-year-old Biden is known to go off-script, and capped off a series of bizarre statements that put him at odds with the President’s official policy.

But Beltway insiders saw the breach coming: Biden was known to be unhappy about recently being excluded from important Presidential meetings because of what some were calling “inappropriate behavior.” At a meeting of Senate leaders a week earlier, Biden kept grabbing at Nancy Pelosi’s neck skin, insisting she should have cosmetic surgery. “Don’t let the turkey-neck get you down!” he said, grinning.

Later, in a Cabinet meeting, he had playfully gotten the President in a prolonged bear-hug from behind, refusing to let go until the President said “Joe Biden’s the best-looking Vice President ever.” Aides said that the President was “obviously uncomfortable”.

The “bear-hug incident” had been a last-straw for the President, who was privately “seething” and decided to exclude Biden from future top-level meetings. But Biden wouldn’t take the snub lying down and on Monday had vowed “to be my own man, come what may.”

Speaking to a pro-Israel group that morning he shocked reporters by declaring that a missile strike on Tehran was probably “imminent” — or “certainly would be if I had a damn thing to say about it. They don’t listen to me.”

An hour later, Biden was at it again, telling a small group of gay activists touring the Capitol that he was ready to put same-sex marriage into the Constitution “if that would help heal our nation.” He also said: “But you gays have to tell your buddy Barak to give me the access I was promised in the campaign!”

White House insiders were irate and immediately contacted the Vice President’s staff, demanding he issue clear retractions before the day’s news cycle came to a close. Biden’s advisers begged him to reverse course firmly and swiftly, with a press conference. Ironically, it was in an effort to do just that that Biden made what critics are calling the “worst gaffe of his gaffe-filled career.”

Biden understood that he needed to apologize and make it “crystal clear” that he was on the same page as the President. But in the process, he seemed to get carried away.

“Make no mistake, my friends,” he said, squinting thoughtfully and grasping the podium with both hands, “the Vice President is appointed by the President and serves at the President’s pleasure. And whatever I might have said to indicate that there was the slightest bit of daylight between my views and the President’s is sheer hogwash and tomfoolery! I am part of the Barack Obama administration — period — so by definition, whatever he stands for and whoever he is, I am a part of that, legally and politically and every other way you want to imagine. And that’s not my opinion; it’s how our government works! Read the Constitution!”

Then he seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. “Holy Cow!” he suddenly said, apparently thinking out loud, “I’m the first negro Vice-president!”

“I’d never thought of that before,” he muttered to himself, evidently as shocked as his audience by what he had just said. His statement was greeted with baffled silence and then scattered boos. Biden quickly sensed he’d said something amiss. “I probably shouldn’t say ‘negro.’” he said, “But back when I was a boy in Scranton, Pennsylvania, we used to say ‘colored.’ Negro was a step-up! So you’ll have to forgive me.”

“I know I’ll catch heck for it tomorrow, so let me set the record straight: I’m the first black — correction, I’m the first Afro-American Vice-President! I stand behind the policies and racial make-up of my President on every level! If he’s black, I’m black. And I’m damned proud of it! I stand shoulder to shoulder with Barack and Michelle and all of the blacks in this administration! And thank God there are so many of us! It’s about time!”

He then lifted his arms triumphantly, saying: “We have overcome! Glory, hallelujah!”, finally adding: “The President and I are soul brothers! Heavens to Betsy! Wait till my mother finds out!”

Reaction was swift, with condemnations coming from all quarters. Former President George H.W. Bush said he found Biden’s comments “appalling”, adding: “The fella’s gone plum loco”. Hollywood comedian Wanda Sykes was less measured: “That fool’s about as black as Rush Limbaugh’s double-wide ass! Dag! I must be going blind, cause if Biden’s black, Wesley Snipes is a damn albino!”

The Obama administration immediately distanced itself from the remark, with a White House official telling reporters: “President Obama has great affection for Joe, but we can make no more sense of the statement than any of you can. Joe Biden speaks for Joe Biden.” END

Enjoying a laugh before the recent difficulties.

Biden Washes Trans-Am in White House Driveway

Click here for the story.