Laura Bush is coming to Samford

  She will speak next week as part of the Tom and Myra Corts lecture series.

   All indications are former President Corts, who once thought I planted an artcile in the Wal St. Journal about the Institution, was an honorable Republican in the tradition of Judge Frank Jo=hnson, though Corts was a native of Indiana with strong days in North Carolina.

    New President Westmoreland is a little more suspicious than Corts, with his seeming inability to distinguish himself from the aw shucks politics of Mike Huckabee, but has some god points. Word is is only child, daughter and recent presdient of the stundet body is a true believer, of the tea party stripe.

   I like George W and Laura though W should never have been presdient. The point is as a matter of integrity the Samford Comunity should bone up on Robert Wuthnow's Rough Country, particularly the Oc 9 Tom Powers review in nybooks.com. Christianity today had a review online, but CT doesn't cut it. The book and the Powers review say the Bushes, with their history with Judge Presler and TExas Right wing politics; and in South Carolina, Harry Dent and Lee Atwater, have a lot of explaining to do.

   This could be a teachable moment for Samford Community with waves for the state of Alabama.

   Proud of Bush 41 for standing up to the Birchers in Harris County Texas in 1966, but his political history since then, bringing Atwater on board in 88-see Atwater's "nigger memo" in Rough Country--and the family's carousing with Richard Land, Pressler and Karl Rove is not the legacy of Tom Corts.

   I hope the Samford Community will make the distinction next week when Laura comes to town.

   BTW, Laura , like your reading initiative. Recommend to you Marsh's bio of Bonhoeffer, Tupelo Hassman's GirlChild, and the short stories of my friend Ron Rash.