A group of male pro-lifers arrived on the campus of Penn State University recently to dialogue with students about what is truly the most important moral issue of our time. The results were mixed. However, a few female students rigidly maintained that men have no business talking about abortion. Therefore, dialogue between men and women, in their minds, on the subject of [...]
We live, scientists tell us, in a four-dimensional space-time continuum. In a way that is difficult to grasp, space and time are profoundly inter-related. But the imagination lives in a fifth dimension -- Dimension H -- the realm of the hypothetical. What is and what could be lie in tantalizingly close proximity to each other, separated only by our free choices. Free [...]
A convention for liberal activists was held in Providence, R.I. in mid-June, 2012. The opening speaker, who will remain nameless out of respect to her ancestry, is a Democratic congressional candidate. She called the attendees to exercise “culture power” and urged women who had had abortions, as well as those who supported these women, to stand. She then said to [...]
Editor’s Note: Editor Paul Tuns spoke with frequent Interim contributor Donald DeMarco by email. DeMarco, a prolific author, professor emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ont., and an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., was recently named a Senior Fellow of HLI America, an initiative of Human Life International. Some of his recently writings [...]
In the movie version of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, there is a scene in which the captain of the book-burning squad makes off-hand comments on some of the books that are about to be incinerated. In his view, philosophy books are the most pernicious. He pulls down a book from the shelf and cradles it in his hands for a moment [...]
“All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin.” -- George Gordon Lord Byron Birth, as it is often said, is a miracle. A baby is born, a living, breathing, honest-to-goodness baby that you can hold in your arms. Just prior to delivery, it was something parents were expecting, but whose reality was still concealed. It was something [...]
I am a baseball fan. I appreciate, therefore, the dramatic home run and the superlative play of those privileged individuals who are dubbed All Stars. Naturally, on the night of July 11, I turned my TV channel to the broadcast of the All Star Home Run Derby. But a strange thing happened. Despite the triadic confluence of baseball, home runs, and All Stars, [...]
“The Time Travel Society will hold its annual meeting three years ago.” This chronological bit of humor may be viewed as a tribute to H. G. Wells’ fabled time machine. Nevertheless, we do possess a technology that has much in common with time travel. It is the modern television set, partnered, as it is, with the handheld remote that can carry us, at [...]
I have, on a few occasions, during my career as a pro-life advocate, been mistaken for one who promotes the other side. A TV talk show host invited me to come on her show to neutralize a previous guest of hers who was, to her chagrin, pro-life. A group of pro-abortionists asked me to host a pro-choice taping for them. I have [...]
Abortion requires obfuscation, cannot survive the Truth Ten days after Remembrance Day (November 21, 2010), the Toronto Star, Canada’s highest-circulation newspaper, ran a massive four-page “Insight” feature explaining how an abortionist can reconcile his strong support for “women’s rights” with his personal life. One might imagine a future Remembrance Day when the unborn are remembered and memorialized. Major John McCrae’s celebrated poem [...]
I am the proud possessor of a Bob Feller autographed baseball card. On reflection, however, my pride should be tempered for two reasons. According to certain knowledgeable collectors, there are more of his cards around sporting his signature than not. Feller, the former Cleveland Indians ace, has been most obliging at innumerable card shows. At 92 years young he has more post-induction [...]
I usually do not put much stock in the message that falls to the table when I crack open my Chinese Fortune Cookie. I fully expect it to be positive, reassuring, and designed not to interfere with my digestion. Nonetheless, my most recent experience with this confectionary was a deviation from the norm and much more philosophical than usual. It read: “To [...]
A writer who practices his art at home does not want to turn his place of residence into a library warehouse. And so, every so often, in order to maintain a dynamic equilibrium between acquisitions and dispersals, he must sift through his material and separate the transitory from the enduring. It is a practice akin to gardening in which one separates the [...]
I attended the Catholic Medical Association Conference in Springfield, Ill. that ran Oct. 22-24, 2009 and presented a paper entitled, “Love and Healing.” It was most encouraging to observe the strong and courageous witness for life expressed by well over 300 participants, including many members of the medical profession. Most came away from the conference, I believe, with renewed energy and a [...]
Tiger Woods and his wife were dining in a fashionable Chinese restaurant. When it was time to crack open the fortune cookies, Elin impulsively tore open her husband’s and read the cryptic fortune aloud: “He who drives well on the fairway may not always fare well on the driveway.” “What do you think this means?” she asked in a trembling voice. Her [...]