Christine Flowers, Columnist and Radio Host

31/10/2024

With all the hullabaloo about the Washington Post editorial (which will be my column tomorrow) I thought it might be nice to remind you about how my old editor Sandra Shea made peace with my opinions. I'm amused at the subtitle of the column: "An editor asks: How I can live with myself giving a platform to someone who stands for everything I abhor?" Ah, such tolerance.

An editor asks: How I can live with myself giving a platform to someone who stands for everything I abhor?

22/10/2024

A subtle reminder that polls are irrelevant.

All (Vanessa Bayer, Aidy Bryant, Beck Bennett, Cecily Strong) but two friends (Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock) are surprised by Donald Trump's victory while watc...

22/10/2024

Polls! Social Media! Town Halls! Debates! Liz and the vengeful conservatives! Kamala's White Dudes! Angry Uteri and Vaginas!
None of this means anything. Just go and vote. I know people from countries where you get shot for even trying. Make your voice heard. Don't be silenced

02/10/2024

I was surprised at how courteous the two debate partners were last evening. It was good to see men who could both speak (unlike Kamala Harris, who has a difficult time expressing coherent thoughts) and avoid insults (unlike Donald Trump, who has a difficult time being rhetorically decent.) However, in terms of who won the debate, which I don't think will change the election landscape other than to make JD Vance an even more formidable candidate and surrogate, it was clearly the New York Times best selling author of Hillbilly Elegy, who was cogent, clear, direct and established that suburban women have nothing to fear from him. The fact that Tim Walz was not able to admit to his radical views on abortion, and in fact lied about signing a bill that would deprive the victims of botched abortions life saving care, and the fact that Vance was able to actually express empathy and sympathy for women in difficult situations has shown that the GOP can and should be the party of true family values.

It was the best debate of this season, and in fact of the last two election cycles, in my opinion.

30/08/2024

I am outraged, beyond the point where I have the appropriate words. Two local boys, grown into amazing young men, the Gaudreau brothers, Matthew and Johnny, were killed by a drunk driver. They were here, at home, for their sister's wedding this weekend. Riding bikes, they were murdered, and I use that word on purpose, by a drunk driver.

I have no sympathy for drunks who get behind the wheel. I have no sympathy for their "struggle" and their "disease." They are as much intentional killers as the ones who shoot a gun into the air at a party, for kicks. They are as much intentional killers as pot smokers who get high, and decide that their hedonism is more important than the lives of innocent pedestrians (I say this because I was almost killed crossing the street by a woman who was high on something other than life.)

I am making this post public because I am disgusted with the misplaced empathy for those "struggling" with addiction. Yes, sympathize with the addiction and the attempts to overcome it, but do not let anyone with a history of drinking and driving to ever again have a license. Throw them in jail for at least ten years or half the lifetime of the person they killed, whichever is longer. Shame them publicly. These are not good people, these are not people who made "mistakes." This is evil, in a very modified form.

There is a family that should have been celebrating the wedding of a beloved sister and daughter this weekend, and will instead be mourning the loss of two beloved brothers, and sons. The hockey community will be mourning the loss of two decent and gifted men.

I respect those who understand their addictions, and do everything in their power to make themselves better. I honor anyone who does the difficult work of conquering their own demons so they do not impact the innocent.

But if you drink, even if you think "I got this," you deserve to be forever excised from society for the harm that you have done, or are capable of doing.

God rest the souls of the Gaudreau boys.

26/08/2024

I have often lamented the abandonment of the practice of veiling in church. I remember as a child sitting in a pew and looking at the edges of a beautiful lace mantilla fall over the back of the seat in front of me and thinking that there were so many pretty brides in church. The significance was lost on me, that it was a sign of reverence and humility, and by the time I was old enough to understand the meaning, the practice had died out. I am so happy that the tradition is returning, and it is being carried back by young women, which is a joy. The outward celebration of faith is something we should always delight in. I am going to be stocking up on my own veils going forward.

A new generation of worshippers is longing for a ‘lost type of Catholicism.’

14/08/2024

Going on with Dawn Stensland in 3....2....1

13/08/2024

I saw a man this morning outside of the local Planned Parenthood at 12th & Locust in Philly being harassed and cursed at by a man who apparently supports abortion. The pro life activist was simply praying silently. Grace personified. Powerful. And I realized that we're winning. That simple act of dignity, with a rosary and a smile, sent chills down my spine and put a lump in my throat.
We use words to hurt, and to cut. We dehumanize people who have the power of their convictions, because we see them as "the other" and the enemy. And yet, the humble act of ignoring the attacks, and of focusing on the important goal-namely, protecting human life-made this man a hero. I walked up to him, hugged him, and went on my way to court.

As I said kids, only good news this week.

05/08/2024

Josh Shapiro has made a big deal about getting tampons in schools for girls, and forcing Catholic nuns to sue him because he wanted to force them to pay for the birth control of their employees. I mistrust any man who spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about ovaries.

29/07/2024

Madeline Allbright once famously (or notoriously) said that there is a special place in hell for women who don't support women. That's a bit simplistic. There is no obligation to support a woman who doesn't embody your core principles, simply because she happens to share your biology. That's not to say that there isn't a great deal of good that can come from the titanium-strength power of female relationships, based on reciprocal respect. There are a lot of women with whom I disagree on core issues but who I personally know as human beings who enrich my life, and who I have grown to love. And there are women who do seem to share my core principles but with whom, sadly, I clash at a personal level.

My point is that I am not a puppet programmed to dance to music that I am told is the only acceptable tune. I do not support Kamala Harris and will never support her. That's not because she is a woman. It is because her life, and the way she has lived it, negates my most precious, deeply-held beliefs. I'd say the same if she were a man.

So this girl power crap, this pandering to the lowest common denominator is a non-starter for me, and if you are offended by my refusal to play along, it's going to be a very long four months.

22/07/2024

Is it KaMALa, or KAMala? I don't want to be called a racist or a sexist when I'm only trying to speak correctly in the present, unburdened by my past....pronunciation...

18/07/2024

Love when I get to hang with Mary Walter

Lots of fun on Mary Walter Radio with Columnist and Radio Host Christine Flowers and YOU!We covered everything from priests to the RNC to Assassination Attem...

11/07/2024

Today, John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty will be sentenced in federal court. Let's take a moment to talk about compassion.
I do not know John personally. Our paths have never crossed, even though we might have seen each other in the hallway in passing at the radio studios years ago. He and his crew had a show on Saturdays, I think. He is much more famous than I could ever hope to be, and has been more integral to the modern history of this city than most mayors and secular kings.
He was convicted of crimes. I respect the verdict of the jury, although given recent jury verdicts in other cases, including OJ Simpson etc., the infallibility of "12 Angry Men" is no longer guaranteed.
But he is a convicted felon.
He is also a man who did more for his community, namely his city, than many of the more publicly virtuous "non felons."
He has contributed untold thousands to charity.
he has worked with unions, and non union lobbies, to help get things done in a city that is famous for its apathy and atrophy.
He is, I am told by people who have known him, a deeply loyal friend.
He is a devoted father and husband.
He is a human being, flawed, perhaps deeply flawed, but also a deeply good one.
The Inquirer has a story today that talks about hundreds of letters of support and character references sent on his behalf, from commoners and secular kings alike. Even Ed Rendell weighed in.
So, again, let's hope that the judge shows compassion in his sentencing.
We are not vengeful creatures. Because if men who killed, and r***d, and destroyed lives are deemed worthy of mercy, surely a man like Johnny Doc is, too.

10/07/2024

I mean of course Joe Biden will drop out now because Amal's husband told him to.

10/07/2024

A few people have inboxed to ask me why I am giving "comfort" to the "enemy," namely, criticizing the GOP at a time when Joe Biden is very weak and it is quite possible that Trump will win the election in the swing states. Here is my personal answer.

I have no investment in Trump winning an election simply because I cannot stand Joe Biden, and reject pretty much everything he stands for. I don't make a "well, Trump is better than the other guy" calculus.

As everyone should, I look at the issues that are most important to me, and on that count, the GOP has not done enough to convince me that it deserves my vote at the top of the ticket. The abortion issue is one. The rhetoric about immigration is, and always has been, another. I just saw someone post about how great it would be if Marco Rubio were picked as VP because he could speak Spanish to "so many of the illegal voters." That comment smells of something rather repellent. And this is coming from someone who would love to see a President Marco Rubio.

So can we just stop with the "you HAVE to vote for this team because the other team is so much worse?" We are all adults, we can agree to disagree, everyone knows where I stand, which is kind of flailing around in pinkish waters, and I won't know until I enter that booth where my conscience will lead.

And God Bless America, which is in no danger of disappearing despite the psychotic ramblings of some Democrats, and the tin foil predictions of some Republicans

09/07/2024

Also...if you talk about sealing the border, along with saying that you don't want to offend people who think abortion should be legal, just to win elections, you will not get my vote. I vote issues and conscience, not color or tribe.

Which I suppose makes me politically irrelevant these days.