Well, that’s done for another year. You know what I mean: Halloween. Call me a sour puss whose kids are beyond the trick-or-treat phase, but Halloween seems to get more eerie every year, and not in fun or healthy ways. The ghosts and goblins come out earlier, with some stores now... Read More →

An article in a Japanese magazine caught my eye a few months back. It was about a sumo wrestler, but that’s not what was unusual about it. Sumo remains very popular in Japan, and top wrestlers have the status of major celebrities. News coverage of goings-on inside and outside of... Read More →

Annie Frances McCampbell was born in 1897 on Christmas Day. She hated having a Christmas birthday. As a child, I recall being shocked to hear an elderly woman complain that having her birthday on Christmas meant she got only one annual gift instead of two. Somehow, hearing an... Read More →

  Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter (Isaiah 59:14).  “My body, my choice” has been chanted by abortion advocates for as long as I can remember. So it is somewhat jarring, at... Read More →

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This day brings fond memories of many happy celebrations at the McFadden’s New York City apartment, which was next to the parade route. My parents welcomed family and friends for what was truly a multi-cultural event: German food, because my Dad’s mom was... Read More →

Welcome to Insisting on Life, where I will be greeting you weekly with news, commentary, great links and special guests. The name is the title we gave to our collection of essays by the late, great journalist and Review contributor Nat Hentoff, whom we honored in 2005 as our... Read More →