Joseph Bottum

The always interesting economics writer Megan McArdle notes that she is getting married on Saturday: We are finally on the brink of that happy moment that every girl dreams of: a qualified change in family status under section 125 of the tax code. See why I like her? Our congratulations and . . . . Continue Reading »

“Follow the Islamic way to save the world,” Prince Charles urges environmentalists . To which Mark Steyn replies , “The Prince of Wales brings together the two great religions of our age.” A little over the top, but it does remind one of the extent to which feminism has . . . . Continue Reading »

A conversation tonight reminded me of a scene I saw in South Dakota a few years ago: A pair of German tourists in the Black Hills, attempting to separate a mother buffalo from her new spring calf, so they could pose their children with the calf for a photograph. The scene is still vivid in my . . . . Continue Reading »

This issue marks, as you may have already noticed, the redesigned layout of First Things. The blame for all this belongs solely to me, the editor, for I’m the one who decided that the old layout had grown tired and stale. There has been, over the twenty years of the journal’s history, something . . . . Continue Reading »

Cardinal Sodano has to go. The dean of the College of Cardinals, he has been found too often on the edges of scandal. Never quite charged, never quite blamed, he has had his name in too long a series of depositions and court records and news accounts”an ongoing embarrassment to the Church he . . . . Continue Reading »

While George Weigel writes about the advance of the Russians in Ukraine —a story echoed today by John Allen —and we learn about the return, finally, of Moscow-area monasteries confiscated by the Communists , here’s another piece of Russian news: “Moscow Metro forced to delay . . . . Continue Reading »

Unbelievably beautiful and informative scrollable display of all of the Sistine Chapel —the perfect web display. . . . . Continue Reading »

I want to thank Wheaton College , out here in Illinois, for inviting me to give this year’s commencement address. I recognize that, as a practicing Catholic, I was a difficult choice for the school to make—since Wheaton College is, after all, the school so well featured in the movie . . . . Continue Reading »

A friend sends along a link to a New York Times article about naming : “Giving one’s offspring odd, random or deliberately misspelled names is a form of mistreatment that also hurts the rest of society.” Remembering his fascination with American naming habits , she adds, “I . . . . Continue Reading »

Unto His Own Image God becomes man: Venter creates synthetic life , reads one headline. One among many, many such boomings of the news about scientist Craig Venter’s synthesis of a new bacterium. A correspondent of Megan McArdle’s observes: I am getting bombarded with the Venter . . . . Continue Reading »