A Heapin' Plate of Conservative Politics and Religion

by Tom Quiner

A Heapin' Plate of Conservative Politics & Religion

by Tom Quiner

What’s the solution: higher taxes or spending restraint?

By Tom Quiner | April 16, 2011

By Tom Quiner The Tea Party movement deserves credit for changing the entire national debate on fiscal accountability. More than ever, our two political parties are debating paths to deficit reduction. Republican Congressman, Paul Ryan, has outlined a detailed plan to fiscal sanity by calling for spending restraint. President Obama, after escalating spending to unprecedented heights, has finally been browbeat into talking about America’s financial house-of-cards. His solution is the…

The Democratic Party will go to the mat for abortion

By Tom Quiner | April 15, 2011

By Tom Quiner The President and his party believe in the public option when it comes to health insurance. They believe in more taxes for the top producers. They believe Guantanamo should be closed. They’re against warrantless wiretaps. They despise spending restraint. They rail against indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. And in particular, they are adamant: no more wars against arab dictators. They have flip-flopped on all of these issues.…

Is a bonfire the moral equivalent of mass murder?

By Tom Quiner | April 12, 2011

By Tom Quiner A man burns a book many people love. He video tapes and broadcasts the event around the world. He adds subtitles to be sure his intended target can read it. The response to those upset with the book burning?  Mass murder.  Beheadings. All done to strangers. Let us not dwell on details. Is there any moral equivalence to the two events?  In other words, is a book-burning,…

The “shocking” white baby from New Jersey

By Tom Quiner | April 9, 2011

By Tom Quiner This baby is “shocking, unsettling and manipulative.” CBS Outdoor, the billboard advertising arm of CBS Television, refuses to allow a group to use this image on a billboard on which they wish to advertise in New Jersey for those reasons. A pro life group wishes to use the image along with this ad copy: Abortion A Woman’s “Right to Choose” vs. A Baby’s Right to Live We…

How do American unions compare to Poland’s Solidarity Union?

By Tom Quiner | April 6, 2011

By Tom Quiner My new musical, The Pope of the People, is in the middle of its three weekend run. It’s a musical about the impact of John Paul II on Poland and the world. The musical drama depicts the famous strike led by Lech Walesa at the Gdansk shipyards. Mr. Walesa made 21 demands on behalf of the fledgling Solidarity Labor Union back in the early 80s. My liberal…

Do pro-lifers deserve constitutional freedoms?

By Tom Quiner | April 1, 2011

By Tom Quiner No, pro-lifers do not deserve constitutional freedoms according to Democratic Senator, Frank Lautenberg.  I quote: “These people (referring to pro-life advocates) don’t deserve the freedoms of the Constitution.” Senator Lautenberg  and his party already deny the unborn any Constitutional freedoms, beginning with a right to life. Now does he also want to take them away from folks who advocate for the tiniest human beings? I think the…

Des Moines Register writes about The Pope of the People

By Tom Quiner | March 30, 2011

By Tom Quiner The premier of The Pope of the People, the John Paul II musical, is just two days away.  The Register’s art and entertainment reporter, Michael Morain, wrote a nice piece about the production in today’s Register. Check it out here. I wrote and am producing the musical as part of the Centennial Celebration for the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines. Gina Gedler, one of Des Moines’ top…

Who does the land of Israel really belong to?

By Tom Quiner | March 28, 2011

By Tom Quiner I just received this in my e-mail box.  It’s been forwarded around the world.  I don’t know who wrote it, but it is darn funny.  In case you didn’t see this yet, I think you’ll get a chuckle. *** An ingenious example of Israeli humor, speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly and made the world community smile… and set the record straight. A…

The Pope of the People premiers next Friday

By Tom Quiner | March 26, 2011

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgTpO4TFSEk&feature=player_embedded] The Pope of the People, the John Paul II Musical, premiers at 8 PM next Friday, April 1st, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines. Written by Tom Quiner, it dramatically presents the historic events of JPII’s first ten years as Pope. You can find the complete performance schedule here. You can purchase advance tickets online at www.thePopeofthePeople.com. Ticket prices are $18 in advance; $22 at the door.…

The Woman at the Well

By Tom Quiner | March 26, 2011

By Tom Quiner [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z2lNUzD6Co] Today’s gospel reading is about you. And me. If you were to create a list of the Bible’s best stories, the story of the Woman at the Well ranks high.  You can find it in John 4:5. The story is rich with symbolism. Every detail in the story has meaning. What strikes me is how Jesus sees us as we really are, that He knows “who…

Two non-partisan reasons to defund Obamacare now

By Tom Quiner | March 24, 2011

By Tom Quiner I’d like conservatives to do something very difficult: to make the leap of faith that Democrats had good intentions in passing Obamacare without a single Republican vote. I’d like liberals to do something very difficult as well: to make the leap of faith that Republicans had … and have good intentions in opposing Obamacare. I know it’s hard, but try for the next five minutes. The foundational…

Will Vice President Biden call for the President’s impeachment?

By Tom Quiner | March 23, 2011

By Tom Quiner [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dRFJ6CF2Mw&feature=player_embedded] Joe Biden said he would call for the President’s impeachment if he took us into another war without Congressional approval. He said he consulted with five constitutional scholars who helped draft a treatise calling for impeachment should the President take such an action. He was adamant, even furious, in his eloquence that it would be absurd to go into a country without cause when our troops…