With Nemesis, Philip Roth puts an end to to a quartet of novels about death, dying and disease. Roth’s books are as much elegy as honest preparation. There’s no faulting him for not deluding us.
Religion & Beliefs
John Locke: A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)
John Locke: A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), religious and otherwise.
The Sheltering Tree, Flagler’s Cold-Weather Homeless Shelter, Calls for Your Help
The Sheltering Tree in Bunnell has already had to open 22 nights this cold season, with many more to come, taxing volunteers and their resources. Here’s how you can help.
Ten Flagler Churches, Almost as Many Denominations, One Big Unity Celebration Jan. 22
Following up on last year’s celebration across denomination, the Second Flagler Churches Together in Prayer and Song brings together 10 congregations at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on Jan. 22.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” Launches Flagler Playhouse’s 32nd Season
The play and the movie of the “rock opera” were charged up with controversy in 1971 and 1973. These days, “Jesus Christ Superstar” is a nostalgic bath of 70s music and only quaint hints of subversion.
Calvary Christian’s Bus Ministry: Treasuring the Homeless, One Sunday at a Time
Every Sunday, Calvary’s school buses pick up some 120 homeless men, women and children to clean, feed and clothe them while ministering to them without illusions.
The Live Wire, Oct. 14: Foreclosure Crisis 2.0 and the Limits of Tolerance
The foreclosure crisis goes viral, school uniforms get another hearing, boobs against breast cancer, Beirut’s rebirth, tolerance’s limits, and more.
At Indian Trails, a Visa to Middleworld By Way of 2012’s Maya Calendar Rubbish
The Jaguar Stones trilogy authors Jon and Pamela Voelkel brought their live spectacle, humor and accurate history to some 90 Indian Trails Middle School students, setting a calendar’s record straight along the way.
To Counter Bullying, Flagler Sheriff Is Giving Away 3,000 Internet Monitoring Programs
The free programs enable parents to keep track of their child’s internet activity and exposure, from chats to bullying, though the cyberbullying problem may be overstated.
The Live Wire, Oct. 7: Mario Vargas Llosa, “Christian” Homophobes, Soldiers and Privacy
The Nobel Prize goes to a great writer for once: Mario Vargas Llosa; plus the Supreme Court case on homophobes at soldiers’ funerals and more on privacy, obesity and hometown democracy.
The Live Wire, October 5: Why I’m Voting Republican
Dull day in the Flagler Beach murder trial of Gregory Wood, double-deaths at SeaWorld, the Holy Land pretends to be generous, Roth’s Nemesis, Alien again and more.
Idioting Up Over Islam, Rev. Franklin Graham Reveals America’s More Present Dangers
This time, Rev. Franklin Graham is unable to get away with his usual offenses and fallacies on Islam during a town hall with Christiane Amanpour.
The Live Wire, Sept. 28: War Crimes, Pill Mills, Confederates and God
US soldiers as murderers, Florida pill mills poisoning the South, Bertrand Russell on God, tales from Fatland, folding up the Confederacy, and more.
Fine Arts Auction at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on Oct. 16
Admission is $20 a person, auction prices begin at $65. The auction is a fund-raiser for the private Catholic K-8 school on Belle Terre Blvd.
Ending 33-Year Disgrace, Appeals Court Rules Florida’s Gay Adoption Ban Unconstitutional (Updated)
Updated at 2:55 p.m. The unanimous decision found no rational basis in the state’s prohibition on gay adoptions, and Gov. Crist, who’d once supported the ban, termed the decision “great.”
Obama Condemns Gainesville Koran-Burning as FBI Warns of Possible Retaliation in Florida
As protesters burn Gainesville Pastor Terry Jones in effigy and the FBI warns of possible retaliations in Florida, Obama joins condemnations of the planned Koran-burning.
Gen. Patraeus Warns: If Gainesville “Church” Burns Korans, U.S. Troops Will Be Targeted
A Gainesville “church”‘s plan to burn Korans on to commemorate 9/11 “could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort,” Petraeus said. The Koran-burning preacher is unmoved.
Neo-Supremacy Chic: Glenn Beck
And Sarah Palin’s Tea-Scalding of MLK
Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin’s biggest “tea party” rally on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s most famous speech signals the arrival of a neo-supremacist political movement in god’s clothing.
Experts: Argue All You Want, Mosque Project Is on Firm Legal Ground
Whatever its detractors say, the project to build a 15-story Islamic center, including a mosque, near Ground Zero has the law, including a particular GOP law, unquestionably on its side.
Krauthammer’s Sacrilege: When Reactionaries Fire Up their Sunday Missals–and Miss
A comparison of Ground Zero’s neighborhood to Auschwitz or Gettysburg is ridiculous, given the ritzy and lurid neighborhood of Ground Zero. Walk the walk.
Breaking His Silence, Obama Defends Mosque Near Ground Zero
The president’s Ramadan speech at the White House was not as soaring as Mayor Bloomberg’s defense of the Islamic center in Lower Manhattan, but it was forceful and left no doubts about the president’s stance.
Opposition to the Mosque “At” Ground Zero Desecrates American Values
Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and other reactionaries’ opposition to a mosque near ground zero offends liberty at the expense of the dead of 9/11.
What’s the State of Ecumenism in Flagler (And What on Earth is Ecumenism Anyway)?
Saturday evening’s music and fellowship program at Santa Maria del Mar brings together six churches and five denominations in a historic display of unity in Flagler County.