I write this from my hotel room, a two-minute walk from the Colosseum. My trip to Rome has been planned for months, and I looked forward to it with anticipation since well before Christmas. But after the election, I knew that I’d need to prepare myself for foreigners who tend […]
Christine Flowers: The Oscars, like diamonds, are forever — just tune out the nonsense
I know it’s cool to say that you are boycotting the Oscars (or the Olympics, or the Super Bowl, or whatever national or international event du jour) if you disagree in any way shape or form with the politics of the organizers or likely attendees. It’s today’s equivalent of the […]
Christine Flowers: Nuance on immigration falls by the wayside in current debate
I was just at a round table where we discussed, in the most civilized manner possible, the immigration controversy. Everyone in the conversation liked and respected each other, and listened to the opinions, sometimes quite diverse, from those at the other end of the philosophical spectrum. Some were focused on […]
Christine Flowers: Biden’s December surprise
To say that it was an interesting year is to say that the Earth rotates around the Sun, something that isn’t as much of a slam dunk as it would appear. Ask Galileo. But the truth is that every year is interesting in its own way, and this one included […]
Christine Flowers: There are no ‘ex-Marines’
My Uncle Louie, the Marine. Eighty-three years ago, our national innocence was shattered. Some might call it inertia, given the fact that the rest of the world had been at war for years. We tried to ignore it, but when the bombs came crashing down in fiery meteors on our […]
Christine Flowers: Born in the U.S.A.
There have been some interesting discussions about birthright citizenship, and Trump’s election a few weeks ago has just intensified the interest in the topic. A number of people who are angry at the chaos at the border have jumped right over the normal processes and procedures which would guarantee that […]
Christine Flowers: Advise and consent still matters
There is a great old movie, a black-and-white classic called Advise and Consent. I make sure to watch it at least once a year, not just because of the incredible cast which includes Charles Laughton, Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Walter Pidgeon, and Franchot Tone, but because it is incredibly relevant […]
Christine Flowers: So much for the Dobbs backlash
Every election has a post-mortem. Depending upon your list of priorities, yours might not match your neighbor’s. In my case, I viewed November 5th through the lens of abortion, immigration and election integrity, so neither of the two major party candidates was a perfect fit. One promised mass deportations, the […]
Christine Flowers: My new best friends
Like most Pennsylvanians with a cell phone, I was surprised at how popular I’d become over the past few months. It’s not that I’m a hermit. I have a healthy circle of friends. But in August, my phone started getting messages from people I must have met in the past, […]
Christine Flowers: Opinions — everybody has one
An opinion is like an appendix: everyone has one, it serves no particular purpose, most of the time it’s completely ignored and you only notice it when it’s removed. This is exactly what occurred to me when I observed the manufactured controversy involving Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post editorial […]