-
Martin Schram: Rebirth of a Nation
“Rebirth of a Nation,” a slow-moving epic now playing on a news screen near you, is a movie-like reality tale of a shattered nation hopelessly warring with itself — and hopefully healing itself. It has just reached a stunning, perhaps climactic, twist. It is the sort of real-life reversal that know-it-all reviewers probably would have panned as corny — way too Hollywood. But they didn’t pan it. Because it was precisely the sort of feel-good switcheroo our nation’s despairing moviegoers have desperately longed to see. The key to this shattered nation’s hoped-for rebirth turns out to be the some...
Tribune News Service
-
Heidi Stevens: Blended families. Racial diversity. Has an inauguration ever looked more like America?
Has an Inauguration Day ever looked more like America? The racial and ethnic and gender diversity: From Kamala Harris, a Black woman of South Asian descent, being sworn in by Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, to Jennifer Lopez addressing the crowd in Spanish after singing “This Land is My Land.” The blended families: President Joe Biden was surrounded by children and grandchildren (“a whole bunch of Bidens,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar called them), from both the late Neilia Hunter Biden and Jill Biden, his wife of 42 years. Harris was accompanied by her stepchildren...
Chicago Tribune
-
Josh Hawley loves to tout his Missouri hometown. Residents split over loving him back
LEXINGTON, Mo. — From the front windows of his Lexington, Missouri, home — a historic brick building where in 1861 Confederate sympathizer Maj. Gen. Sterling Price planned a rout of Union troops — Greg Hildreth can see the bone-white Lafayette County Courthouse and its grassy square. "That's where Josh Hawley filmed a campaign speech. He was talking about his hometown of Lexington," said Hildreth, who, until five years ago, identified as a lifelong Republican. "I've told everybody, I wish I had known then what I know now, I would have hung a big Nazi banner or something off of my building" in ...
The Kansas City Star
-
Mary Schmich: A Catholic pastor speaks out about Trump. Some parishioners walk out
On the Sunday morning after the deadly riot at the United States Capitol, Father William Corcoran put on his black suit and clerical collar and stepped into St. Elizabeth Seton church in the Chicago suburb of Orland Hills to celebrate the 7:30 a.m. Mass. When it was time for the homily, he stood in front of the “celebrant’s chair” on the altar and removed his mask so that he could be clearly heard. He looked out at the 140 or so masked parishioners who sat in the sanctuary, which was still ornamented for Christmas. He had a feeling this might not go well. At the 5 p.m. Mass the day before, nin...
Chicago Tribune
-
Martin Schram: When the Oval Office was between its masters
It happens only on the rarest of occasions. But there have been moments when the Oval Office is truly between its masters. And I have been there, standing alone in the Oval Office doorway, on two occasions – precisely at noon, on two of those few quadrennial Inauguration Days when the United States has been peacefully transferring the power of the presidency from one political party to another. It was an assignment I gave myself, back on January 20th of 1977 and 1981. Because, back in that more innocent era, I wanted to witness just whatever there was that could be seen or felt when the Oval O...
Tribune News Service
-
Martin Schram: GOP hid truth from terrorist 'true believers'
Joe Biden is standing in front of his official blue backdrop Thursday, framed by those white lettered reminders that he’s in his “Office of the President-Elect” – right where he constitutionally belongs. “Out of all the peril of this moment, I want you to know … I remain so optimistic about America, as optimistic as I’ve ever been,” Biden is saying. “… Come Wednesday, we begin a new chapter …” But as much as we want to be reassured by Biden’s words, we cannot stop thinking about what we know – and he knows – is mainly on our minds: At noon Wednesday, Biden will be taking the inaugural oath in ...
Tribune News Service
-
Bible podcast tops downloads in virus-hit US
New York (AFP) - A Catholic priest's podcast about the Bible was topping downloads Thursday in the United States, filling a niche for the faithful as the pandemic restricts in-person mass. The voice of "The Bible in a Year" -- which has been downloaded over four million times in a matter of weeks -- is charismatic priest Mike Schmitz. The podcast, which is to include 365 daily episodes, features him reading and discussing the Good Book. "The Bible in a Year" topped US downloads within 48 hours of going live January 1, according to a spokeswoman for Ascension, the Catholic publishing and educa...
AFP
-
No procession, but Filipinos turn out in droves for Black Nazarene
Hundreds of thousands of devotees turned out in Manila on Saturday to hear Mass honouring a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in place of the Philippines' largest religious procession, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Black Nazarene is a wooden statue of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns and bearing a cross. Devotees believe the statue grants prayers and wishes to the faithful. The annual procession of the Black Nazarene in Manila is usually attended by millions. This year, 15 Masses were held throughout the day instead, until late into the evening. Devotees generally...
DPA
-
Martin Schram: Safeguard us all, GOP – shift Trump's powers to Pence
Rev up Barry Goldwater’s car. Put Mitch McConnell in 1974 Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott’s seat. Put Kevin McCarthy in 1974 House Minority Leader John Rhodes’ seat. And put in Goldwater’s seat, any of today’s famous Republican senators you can trust to remain patriotic and true-to-his/her-word for a full 24 hours. (Sadly, John McCain would tell you, this rules out his pal, Lindsey Graham). Then put pedal to metal and drive today’s three Republican elders on the same route those 1974 GOP elders rode back on Aug. 7, 1974 – when they made their famous short drive to the Nixon White House. In 1...
Tribune News Service
-
Martin Schram: Was Trump’s most moving speech too inciting?
We stared for hours at our news screens Wednesday afternoon, unable to look away, but unwilling to actually believe what we were seeing. Yet, in one sense, it was a sight we’d been seeing for ages – wild insurgents, some with guns, running over a weak excuse for police. But it was always happening in faraway third world countries. And we knew it couldn’t be happening here. Could it? But there it was, all over our news screens – happening this time beneath that iconic white dome that Abraham Lincoln had made sure would be constructed and completed despite the Civil War. Because Americans needed...
Tribune News Service
- More