Author Archives: Edgar

Is abortion the preeminent issue for Catholic voters?

Bishop Richard F. Stika, in a lengthy article in the East Tennessee Catholic, his diocesan newspaper, has posed for Catholics in the Diocese of Knoxville what he calls some “tough questions that you must answer.” I have decided to try … Continue reading

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Some thoughts on growing old

You’ve heard old age called “the golden years.” Don’t believe it. That was an advertising slogan created for a nursing home back in the 1950s. There’s not much “golden” about old age. Don’t get me wrong. Becoming an old person … Continue reading

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The conspiracy theory virus

Marie Cahill Cox, one of my daughter’s high school friends from Our Lady of Mercy School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, commented on the conspiracy theories that are currently flooding the Internet. With her permission, I am passing her comment … Continue reading

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Lida Margaret Lowrey, nee Miller (1934-2020)

In 1934, after a day of shopping in Knoxville, Louise and Mabel Miller, the wives of brothers Kyle and Hudson Miller respectively, were resting in the women’s shoe section of Miller’s department store on Gay Street before returning to Jellico. … Continue reading

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Can Catholics vote for a Democrat?

For many U.S. Catholics, a single issue will determine their vote in the 2020 presidential election: abortion … or more specifically reversing Roe v. Wade which established the legal right for a woman to terminate a pregnancy. These Catholics are … Continue reading

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Confession of a former Republican

   For many years I proudly identified myself as a Republican, the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and, more recently, Howard Baker. No longer.    I don’t want to be associated in any way with the … Continue reading

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Deadlock in the 2020 Presidential Election?

By Thomas Murphy, guest blogger Americans could wake up on January 20, 2021, to witness the inauguration as the next president of the United States … well … no one. Twice in the last 20 years — 2000 and 2016 … Continue reading

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Trump’s Greatest Ally: The Media

If you watch the news on TV, read it in a newspaper, access it on a website or just hear it from a friend, what name do you see or hear most often? Trump. Every time Trump tweets, the national … Continue reading

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Is the United States a modern democracy?

By Thomas Murphy, guest blogger If the United States were a Third World country would it pass basic tests for democratic best practices? Probably not. When international observers watch on the sidelines of elections in Africa, Asia, or Latin America … Continue reading

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Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms Revisited

Reading about World War II recently, I came across a reference to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “four freedoms.” I vaguely remembered the phrase, but I was curious to know more so I looked it up. In his State of the … Continue reading

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