While I appreciate that some people have genuine concerns about church-state separation, religious freedom and cultural sensitivity, I simply can’t take “war on Christmas” stories too seriously, given the real wars going on in the world. As Stephen Colbert noted last night on The Colbert Report, “it’s the only war that’s been going on longer than Afghanistan!” (I…

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has officially recommended that U.S. lawmakers repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, citing a Pentagon study — taking religious concerns into account — that reports allowing openly gay troops would cause only “limited and isolated” short-term disruptions to military readiness. A new poll reports that a majority of Americans now support repealing DADT, but…

Today (and every day, really) is Veterans Day, and I’d like to thank my father and others for their service and sacrifice. Incidentally, now that I live near Canada (and get to watch CBC’s figure skating coverage), I’ve seen how they wear red poppies on what they call Remembrance Day in honor of their veterans,…

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have concluded their trip to Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country and the president’s former childhood home. Although the Indonesia visit had been postponed twice because of erupting domestic American concerns, the Obamas also ended up leaving early, due to an actual erupting volcano. (Nature has a sense…

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