Saturday Good Reads

Rod Dreher at American Conservative posted an article that is mostly about the vote this week in Colombia, where an agreement between the government and the longstanding guerilla group FARC was defeated by voters, despite the polls predicting a wide margin of victory (Brexit, Part Deux?). A fascinating chart at the end of the article has to do with the United States. It’s actually a collection of nine charts of key economic indicators for the last eight years, produced by the St. Louis Federal Reserve. And those charts just might explain the appeal of Donald Trump (it’s not limited only to the “deplorables”).

The shadows lengthen: Yoni Appelbaum at The Atlantic takes a look at the first presidential debate, and suggests that America may actually have witnessed its first post-Christian debate. At the Claremont Review of Books, Angelo Codevilla says we may now be looking at the end of the American republic.

According to the Old Testament, King Hezekiah of Judah was one of the reforming kings, and ordered the destruction of cult sites and altars. Archaeologists in Israel may have found evidence of that reform – in an ancient toilet. Richard Gray at The Daily Mail has the story.

North of the US border, a University of Toronto professor has released a video in which he explains why he refuses to use genderless pronouns. CBC Radio interviewed him.

Life and Culture

After the Republic – Angelo Codevilla at Claremont Review of Books.

America’s First Post-Christian Debate – Yoni Appelbaum at The Atlantic.

Breaking the Black Box: Profiling on Facebook – Pro Publica.

“I’m not a bigot” – CBC Radio interview with Professor Jordan Peterson.

A Lesson from Colombia’s Vote? – Rod Dreher at American Conservative.

Poetry

Aleppo’s children – Barbara Mackenzie at Signed…BKM.

The Masks of Heaven – Brendan MacOdrum at Oran’s Well.

We Never Know -- Ana Lisa de Jong.

An ending – Niall Gooch at Niall’s writing blog.

Ten Lepers Leaping – Tim Good at Pics, Poems, and Ponderings.

John Glenday’s ‘The Big Push’ (Videopoem) – via Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

At Home in Heaney country – Rachel Cooke at The Guardian.

History

The Wrong Kind of Throne – Richard Gray at The Daily Mail.

Faith

This is my story, this is my song – Troy Cady at T(r)oy Marbles.

Higher than That – Paul Phillips at Altarwork.

Three Essential Requirements for Flourishing – Dr. Anne Bradley at Faith, Work, & Economics.

Eaten by Lions, Facebook Style – Samuel D. James.

Acappella: Abba Father

Painting: Woman Reading, oil on canvas by Henri Matisse (1894); Musee National d’Arte Moderne, Paris.