A Podcast Review: Raven 23: Preparing for a Pardon
By Tom Weiss
There has been an attempt, of sorts, in recent years to rehabilitate the reputation of four men: Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard, Nicolas Slatten, and Paul Slough. Even if you don’t know their names, you may recall the company they worked for – Blackwater Worldwide – and their connection to the 2007 deaths of fourteen Iraqis at Nisour Square in Baghdad. In 2014, after a drawn-out legal proceeding, the four were convicted and sentenced to prison.
Defenders of the foursome have, since their conviction, appeared in media outlets like Fox News or The Daily Mail, along with other, more conservative leaning media outlets like The Blaze Radio Network, The Cato Institute, and the website of former Representative Allen West. They’ve even received support from David French in the pages of National Review. This rehabilitation effort has branched out in recent months in the form of a podcast called Raven 23: A Presumption of Guilt.
Book Review: Neil Gorsuch’s A Republic, If You Can Keep It
Wanted: Civics and Civility
By David Churchill Barrow
If we are fortunate, the Civil War will be the last time we face destruction by a fire set with our own hands. The threat is now dry-rot, that spreads like a fungus from our lack of understanding of our nation’s fundamental principles, and the lack of communication skills needed to convey them to our fellow citizens. A Republic, If You Can Keep It by Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch is a plea on both counts.
Book Review: Mistress of the Waves
By Tamara Wilhite
Amanda Kirasdotr, the main character, grew up on the colony world of Goddard. Enough time has passed that her people are natives of the world and generations behind Earth in technology. It makes the interstellar visitors an incredible novelty, though they have little interest in the colonists. That is, until Amanda saves on who had the misfortune of going sailing without knowing how to swim on a world that lacks the many safety systems they’re accustomed to. This one act turns her life upside down, and it may change her world. And that is the beginning of the book Mistress of the Waves by George Phillies.
Taking Ramy Youssef to Task for His Depressing Hulu Sitcom
By David M. Swindle
Most of my writing these days focuses on Islamist groups in Southern California and the country at large, however sometimes it intersects with popular culture, as it does with my newest piece, published yesterday at PJ Media, Golden Globe-Winner Ramy Youssef’s Muslim Family Sitcom More Tragedy than Comedy…
Opportunities Taken and Opportunities Missed in The Morning Show
A lawyer’s perspective
By Robert Arrington
I watched the episodes of The Morning Show with interest and a great deal of admiration for the performances of Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Anniston. I read Tom Weiss’ review of the show here with interest and pleasure.
Because I don’t disagree with the Weiss review in broad outline, I’m not lodging a dissenting opinion. But I do want to talk about opportunities missed as well as opportunities taken in the production, because there were some.
I can’t help but bring to the show my experience over thirty-plus years with sexual harassment claims. I have defended them, “prosecuted” them, mediated them, investigated them, and served as arbitrator in cases where sexual harassment was part of the mix of claims. I’ve conducted training in how to prevent such claims.
Rereading My Favorite Novel: Donna Tartt’s The Secret History
By Frederick Gero Heimbach
In 2019 I read again my favorite novel The Secret History by Donna Tartt. The experience only hardened my adoration of this book. It’s so full of wonderful descriptions and crazy characters.
Review: Apple+’s The Morning Show
By Tom Weiss
In the first episode of The Morning Show, Apple’s stunning initial foray into scripted television, a conservative small-town Virginia reporter named Bradley Jackson – played to near perfection by Reese Witherspoon – tells her producer, “The truth is the truth whether you’re writing for The Bumf%*$ Gazette or the New York Times.
Book Review: Rick and Morty and Philosophy
By Tamara Wilhite
Rick and Morty and Philosophy is an installment in the deep “and Philosophy” series of books. What can you get out of this book mining an Adult Swim cartoon for wisdom?
Why Disney shouldn’t remake Home Alone and how you can make it more relevant for the 2010s
By Kyle Britain
Disney owns the entertainment multiverse. If they haven’t already popped out some animated or kids show about some age old story, they will at some point. Yet the big trend in the entertainment industry is to try to remake any old thing. Disney now is trying with Home Alone. That’s a mistake, but there are ways to make it more relevant for the modern day.
Why A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life are the Same Story
By Shant Eghian
Every December, I make it a point to watch Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Clive Donner’s version of A Christmas Carol. In my opinion, they are the two greatest Christmas movies ever made. But after watching them this past year, I realized something; both movies are telling the exact same story, inverted from each other.
