I recently completed one of those 360-degree review things, where you are reviewed by associates, clients, coworkers, supervisors, and supervisees, who evaluate your leadership qualities. Most of the results were pretty predictable, from my point of view. Except for one: People rated me in, like, the 96th percentile on "balance."...

I hear that some Christian pastors are having a problem with President Obama's support of gay people's right to marry. Why? What does the Bible really say about gay relationships?

The Book of Leviticus is often quoted to justify objections to same-sex love. Leviticus 18:22 clearly states:...

Lately I've been talking with a lot of people who feel out of control. I don't mean they feel out of control just regarding the economy and politics. Many of us feel that way, and with good reason. I mean their very own day-to-day lives seem out of their control....

Malev flight 4049 is halfway across the Atlantic, and I am on it, en route to JFK. Less than 48 hours ago, the transatlantic shipping company that took my stuff away in August of 2010 delivered it all to my door. The timing was admittedly weird, but thinking it had...

It's puzzling on the face of it. A lot of people calling themselves Christian seem far more concerned with what people do in their private lives, and with their private parts, than what they do in their relationships with God and their neighbor. But actually Jesus had very little to...

Anthony Weiner's pecker and Arnold's mistress. The tabloids, and even the more "respectable" publications like the Huffington Post, are increasingly filling their pages with celebrity gossip. Apparently most Americans are fascinated with people who think they can get away with things we can't, or don't, but...

I keep having this vision. I am in a little wooden rowboat, out in the middle of the ocean. I can row, but there's not much point. I lost my compass a couple of years ago, so I wouldn't know which direction to head, anyhow. I just try to keep...

I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. It's the end of January -- another cold, gray day in Budapest. I've been here nearly three months. I am walking down Baross utca near Kalvin ter, on my way to my new favorite kavehaz, when it hits. As I come...

Democrats Abroad Hungary is a motley crew. We each have our own story. A few are students, here for a term or two. There are those who came for a job years ago and never left, and others who can't wait to leave. Some have family ties. Some married Central...

From my window I see sheets of ice floating down the Danube. It's mid-winter, and I am finally here in Budapest. Last week I went with a Hungarian lawyer to the Immigration office, where we applied for a residency permit, making it official. At last I can send for the...

Election Day 2010. I think of a piece of graffiti from the 1970's encapsulates it: "America is like the biggest department store in the world, but they still don't have your size." It seems I'm not the only person to feel this way.

I think back two long years to...

August 30. I've been back in the U.S. for a month and 10 days. It's hard to believe just six weeks ago I was swimming in the crystal waters of the Adriatic and eating little fish friends in olive oil. It's one thing to decide to leave. It's another to...

July Fourth. Drinking morning tea on the deck of Philip's house in Koskina, on the island of Evia, in Greece, I can hear the BBC News playing inside. It is Independence Day in the U.S. People are getting ready for barbecues and beach parties with their families. Or maybe not....

It's been exactly two months. On April 3rd I wrote the first installment of "Notes of A Temporary Ex-Pat." It's not looking so temporary anymore. Walking down Visegradi Street, passing little butcher shops and greengrocers, I think to myself, "I made it; I got out of the Matrix." I breathe...

Note to Self: Accept any and all invitations which are not either (1) prohibitively expensive or (2) a danger to life and limb.

In three weeks, I have heard three classical piano concerts, one singer of American folk blues (definitely a low...

It's Saturday afternoon in Budapest. The shops are shutting down for the rest of the weekend, a civilized custom, I think. I arrived at this exact time two weeks ago. I'm getting used to life here. The smoke is bothering me a little...

I came here to find a corner of the world where relationships, ideas, and beauty were more important than winning. I wanted a place where people sat down to dinner, where I could live and breathe while I collected myself. Maybe a dream,...

One of the cool things about travel is that it is like being a baby: everything is new, and the smallest achievement is a triumph. I promised myself a week to get acclimated, without having to produce anything noteworthy. Here is the first three and a half days:

Arrival: My...

I pop the no-jet-lag in my mouth and look around the plane. The upholstery is a bit shabby, but they still give out pillows and blankets. A nice touch, I think, hoping the engine is in better shape than the seat covers.

I am on Aerosvit Ukranian Airline, flight...

It's happening again. Women's self-determination is being attacked head-on, on multiple fronts.

This week's news featured a year-long study of campus rape, in which the Center for Public Integrity reported that one in five women on college campuses across the country is a victim of rape or...