Kathryn Jean Lopez is the editor of National Review Online and a nationally syndicated columnist with United Media.
A native of Manhattan, she enjoys old episodes of "Firing Line," walks around the Capitol, and Adam Sandler movies. The last one has nothing to do with his politics, though: Big Daddy was a Rudy guy, something that lightning strike during the New Hampshire debate made impossible for any faithful Catholic University graduate.
She can be reached at klopez@nationalreview.com.
Kathryn Jean Lopez
Bruce Jenner: Obama’s ‘Done Nothing’ to Earn Nobel
by Kathryn Jean LopezI normally hate revealing “overheard” conversations, but something tells me Bruce Jenner might not mind. Waiting at Reagan National for our bags a few months ago, I was struck by how discerning Mr. Jenner was about politics.
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Jenner was recognized by someone at the baggage claim. Conversation ensued. It was just a few months into the Obama presidency and Jenner started talking about how he wanted to give the president the benefit of the doubt but seemed especially struck by the stimulus at the time as a bad idea. There was criticism of Bush, too, on the bailout, but Obama was clearly trying his patience as he tried to wait and see. (more…)
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The Grand and Gracious Andy Williams
by Kathryn Jean Lopez
This story warms my heart: Andy Williams is not a fan of the president:
I think he wants to create a socialist country. The people he associates with are very Left-wing. One is registered as a Communist.
Yes, that Andy Williams.
Of “Love Story” fame — you don’t have to love the movie to sing the song.
Or, for the men in the room, there’s The Godfather.
And this is the kind of story I usually only get listening to Bill Bennett’s interviews with random musicians on his morning show: (more…)
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‘Angels and Demons’ Unreal from Top to Bottom
by Kathryn Jean Lopez
“Angels & Demons” upset me.
But not for the reason you may think.
The new movie, based on the Dan Brown book of the same title, is, of course, full of nonsense. But most of it I expected.
The boots, I didn’t.
I know that the Vatican didn’t grant Ron Howard and his team all of the access they wanted. But after seeing the movie, I wonder if anyone having to do with the film even went to Rome. Or, more specifically, if any women associated with the movie went to Rome. (more…)
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Jack Bauer and the Pope
by Kathryn Jean Lopez[There are spoilers in this post.]
24 isn’t the first thing most people would think of when looking for a pop-culture representation of papal guidance, but if you’ve been watching 24 this season, you’ve seen a taste of what Pope John Paul II meant by “the genius of the feminine.” You’ve seen the complementarity of men and women at work.
During Monday night’s show, that Port Authority officer was not that innocent, having agreed to help a supposed electronics-smuggling ring (tempted by the extra money it would bring his family, with twins on the way). Seeing his regret once he knew the stakes–that he was aiding another terrorist attack on the United States–Jack Bauer couldn’t let him die if it was within his power to keep him alive. (more…)
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Rocky, My Man
by Kathryn Jean Lopez
As you’ve heard, over at National Review Online, we’re going through a list of the best 25 conservative movies of the last 25 years. If you’re a reader of our print edition, you might have seen the full list by now, which includes a list of movies that almost but quite didn’t make it. And here’s my problem.
Well – first – here’s the “Also Rans” list:
Air Force One, Amazing Grace, An American Carol, Barcelona, Bella, Cinderella Man, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Hamburger Hill, The Hanoi Hilton, The Hunt for Red October, The Island, Knocked Up, The Last Days of Disco, The Lost City, Miracle, The Patriot, Rocky Balboa, Serenity, Stand and Deliver, Tears of the Sun, Thank You for Smoking, Three Kings, Tin Men, The Truman Show, Witness. (more…)
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Bush had “people banished to a free speech gulags”
by Kathryn Jean LopezA lot of you here in Big Hollywood live in the real Hollywood so maybe you have a map to this alternative reality Steven Weber lives in? As I saw the last eight years, whether it was at a convention, in Crawford, on the Mall, or even in Iraq, there were always people speaking freely and often crassly (or with shoes) about the president. And right until the end — George W. Bush was shamefully mocked this morning at the Capitol. Perhaps his Wings allow Weber to travel to Stalin’s Russia or Hitler’s Germany, or, contemporarily, Chinese Laogais. Otherwise, his reality is a mystery to me.
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Calling George Clooney
by Kathryn Jean Lopez
Yesterday I mentioned the doc-sitcom Scrubs. Today, comes this news on the Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page: “Hospital Scrubs Are a Germy, Deadly Mess.” In the last season of another medical drama, ER, will George Clooney have the audacity to return to the state of the emergency and expose this dangerous state of affairs? We can only hope.
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Good Works
by Kathryn Jean LopezFor various reasons, I have been thinking a lot about death lately. Most recently, I blame Scrubs. (Spoiler alert.)
Without being grim or sectarian, let me summarize. During an episode of the NBC ABC show last night, stars J.D. and Turk, two young doctors who had been roommates during college, walked an older patient—a retired football coach and widower—toward “the light.” Turk described himself as a “man of faith.” Dr. J.D.’s not quite there yet.
Over in the National Review world, we’re anticipating the likely imminent death of Father Richard John Neuhaus. He’s a Catholic priest who is on our masthead, was a longtime religion editor of ours, and founded the ecumenical journal First Things, which covers religion, politics, and culture. I’m a Catholic, too, and was surprised by the urgent pray-for-Fr.-Neuhaus-to-get-well e-mails. He’s been sick for a while now; this is his second relapse of cancer. And, as it happens, doctors don’t expect him to hang on for much longer. Which is sad for all who know him—a prolific writer, solid preacher, and generous man, he will be missed—and for all who would have liked to know him. But, for a faithful Catholic priest (and so many religious believers), death is actually joyous news.
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