Joan L. Cannon writes: John Irving has attracted plenty of attention throughout his career with his explosive originality and his fearlessness when it comes to convention — from The World According to Garp to the most recent In One Person. Not all his work is created equal, of course, but when I ran across A Widow for One Year, I didn’t expect to be as intrigued as I was. more »

Along religious lines, white evangelical Protestants and black Protestants and atheists and agnostics on the other, are the most likely to say they are uncomfortable with Romney’s faith. Republicans and white evangelicals overwhelmingly back Romney irrespective of their views of his faith, and Democrats and seculars overwhelmingly oppose him regardless of their impression. more »

"Suddenly that little wedge of sky above Hickam Field and Pearl Harbor was the busiest, fullest piece of sky I ever saw. We counted anxiously as our little civilian planes came flying home to roost. Two never came back. They were washed ashore weeks later on the windward side of the island, bullet-riddled. Not a pretty way for the brave little yellow Cubs and their pilots to go down to death." more »

"The Department of Defense estimates that one in four women who join the armed services will be raped or assaulted, but that only about 10% of such incidents are ever reported,” stated Rep. Jon Runyan, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. “Even more alarming is that of those few who did report incidents of military sexual trauma, over 75 percent stated that they would not make the same decision about reporting the incident again, due to the consequences it had on their military career.” more »