Paul Kengor stories

Paul Kengor: Remembering Bob Hope at Christmas

This Christmas season, let’s remember Bob Hope, a truly special American. As pretty much anyone over 60 would attest, Hope was a household name once synonymous with Christmas in America. His annual holiday special on NBC was a must-see. He did comedy skits, sang songs in the snow with leading...
Paul Kengor: The Pa. Lottery’s dubious Christmas gift

Residents of Pennsylvania, your government is at it again. ‘Tis the season. It’s Christmas time, and that means your government is again using your money to promote a scheme that gives false hope. It’s engaging yet again in its seasonal scheme to take money from millions without giving them anything...
Paul Kengor: Drunk and stupid at the Pitt-Notre Dame game

“Drunk, fat, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.” Such were the immortal words of advice from Dean Wormer to Kent “Flounder” Dorfman in the 1978 epic “Animal House.” I have an addendum to Wormer’s advice: Drunk and stupid is also no way to go through a...
Paul Kengor: ‘President Fetterman’? The commendably independent Pa. senator

David Catron is a seasoned, astute political analyst. He has an impressive if not uncanny record picking the most unlikely presidential winners, including Donald Trump in 2016. Thus, Catron had my full attention with his recent column, “Is John Fetterman Running for President?” “Decidedly to the displeasure of his Senate...
Paul Kengor: Teaching ‘No Kings’ nonsense

I would prefer to ignore the No Kings movement. I wrote about it back in June and received emails from No Kings advocates oddly taking umbrage with my obviously correct assertion that Donald Trump is, of course, not a king. Trump could be called lots of things. He has been...
Paul Kengor: Tipping is getting ridiculous

Let me begin this column by stating for the record that I’m a big tipper. I say this certainly not to boast but so my overall theme isn’t misunderstood. Well beyond the standard 20%, if a waitress/waiter does an especially good job, or tugs at my heartstrings, I err on...
Paul Kengor: Are you smarter than a senator?

Inspired by the TV show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-grader?” I propose a new concept. Let’s call it, “Are you smarter than a senator?” And let us begin, boys and girls, with this question: “Do we Americans believe that our rights come from God or government?” If you answered...
Paul Kengor: Baseball Karen and ballpark vulgarity

You may have seen the viral video of a disturbing moment at a Philadelphia Phillies vs. Miami Marlins game. A dad fetched a home-run ball for his son — for his birthday. As always in these situations, fans scrambled for the ball but applauded the lucky person who ended up...
Paul Kengor: Pittsburgh scores a big win — Dr. John Byrd

When we think of a person’s impact on a city or region, we tend to think of some titan in industry or even a major sports figure. Perhaps some 19th century industrialist or current tech giant, or big-time quarterback or pitcher or NHL player. When we think of a city...
Paul Kengor: 100 years ago, when the KKK was dominant in Western Pa.

This summer marks the centenary of the landmark Supreme Court case, Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The case dealt with a ballot initiative in the state of Oregon that required all parents to send their children to public schools. The actual intended...
Paul Kengor: A nation of slobs

“I always know when I’ve landed in America,” observes a German friend, “because the people in the airport look like slobs.” It isn’t just airports. Americans look like slobs everywhere. When they go out to dinner, attend an event, and basically go out and about in public. My friend Jeanne...
Paul Kengor: Trump assassination tragedy still on minds of many

One year ago, Donald Trump was nearly assassinated in Butler. In my hometown. It was a historic, tragic event that affected not only the loved ones of those killed or injured but so many of us in this region. Personally, it has been strange over the last year when I...
Paul Kengor: Our nation’s founding, an American miracle

I recently had the privilege of being featured in the new film “The American Miracle.” The film is a docudrama, a mix of interviews with experts on the American founding and reenactments. The experts include the likes of Joseph Ellis and Robert George. The actors range from Richard Dreyfuss, Pat...
Paul Kengor: The silliness of ‘No Kings’

The first rule of launching a campaign is clever sloganeering. One might also call this marketing or “branding.” Many groups over the years have been very effective in that regard, from Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign to the LGBTQ movement’s “Marriage Equality” slogan to the enormously effective Black Lives...
Paul Kengor: Trump’s big deal for steelworkers

It was September 2020. United Steelworkers, the steelworkers union, was aglow — literally — for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. You might recall what I’m talking about. Driving around Pittsburgh, you couldn’t miss it. The steelworkers union — which is to say, the brass that runs the union — had...
Paul Kengor: The ‘least American’ but ‘very American’ pope

Prior to the papal conclave, I did a column titled “The pope of surprises.” It made the point that, throughout history, the Catholic cardinal-electors leave the Sistine Chapel selecting a pope few expected. But gosh, no one expected an American pope. “One of the more extraordinary days of my life,”...

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