Free Republic

Christmas trees that have graced the two main libraries at the University of North Carolina won't be displayed this year, after numerous complaints, The Charlotte Observer reported. The trees have stood in the lobbies of Wilson and Davis libraries at the Chapel Hill campus during December. This year, they are being kept in storage. Sarah Michalak, the associate provost for university libraries, told the newspaper that she made the decision after several years of complaints from employees and others. “We strive in our collection to have a wide variety of ideas,” she said. “It doesn't seem right to celebrate one...

The "Dueling Civilizations" Letters Charles W. Moore 2002.09.16 My 9/11 column, Dueling Civilizations: Islam and the West, proved to be quite a letter-generator. I was surprised and pleasantly gratified at the large proportion who got the point I was attempting to express -- that Islam and the Christian/post-Christian West are on a collision course, irreconcilably alienated at the most basic level of ethical, moral, principle, and essential worldview -- - and that many agree with me, although of course plenty did not. I had not intended to get into another debate about the past sins and shortcomings of Christendom, but...