Nathaniel Peters

John Dickerson at Slate has an entire article comparing President Obama to Commander Spock. Spock is famously logical and not prone to emotional outbursts, but he could also enter the minds of others and was therefore more empathetic than his human colleagues. These traits reminds Dickerson and . . . . Continue Reading »

“Nothing to be done,” Estragon says, struggling with his boot as he sits on a rock in a barren waste. Two and a half hours later, not much has changed. “Let’s go,” he says to his friend Vladimir. They do not move, except to clasp hands, grasping for each other in an empty . . . . Continue Reading »

According to Gallup , 51 percent of Americans are calling themselves pro-life compared to 42 percent who identify as pro-choice— the first time Gallup has found a pro-life majority since it started asking the question in 1995. Why the change? Their hypothesis is a rallying among Republicans . . . . Continue Reading »

At Public Discourse Mary Graw Leary provides a guide for responding to “sexting,” when children take and send sexually explicit pictures of themselves. A sample: Before there can be any intelligent discussion about self-produced child pornography, there must be a common understanding of . . . . Continue Reading »

Last week I mentioned Br. Lawrence Lew’s multi-part essay on the theology and metaphysics behind Gothic cathedrals. By now parts 2 , 3 , and 4 are all up, so have a look if you’re interested. . . . . Continue Reading »

Grassroots Films and CatholicVote.org have teamed up for another thought-provoking video: . . . . Continue Reading »

Over at the New Liturgical Movement, Br. Lawrence Lew, O.P. provides a helpful, brief introduction to the theology that helped produce Gothic cathedrals. A sample: St. Thomas Aquinas famously said that “pulchra enim dicuntur quae visa placent”, “beautiful things are those which . . . . Continue Reading »

Earlier I mentioned parts I and II of Daniel Patrick Maloney’s series at Public Discourse on reducing poverty by reducing the number of poor children. In part III Maloney, a former FT associate editor, examines the Medicaid policies that result from this belief and how they could be changed. A . . . . Continue Reading »

Poor Sarah Palin, Joan Vennochi writes today in the Boston Globe : Even though she has no shot at the presidency, Republicans and Democrats still fear her and attack her. And her teenage daughter, apparently. Right across the New York Times editorial page from Nicolas Kristof’s column on the . . . . Continue Reading »

Gay activists have waited for the man they voted into office to throw them a bone, and none has come. So they’re going to start mounting the pressure for him to act, says the New York Times today. The article mentions that Obama could appoint a gay man or woman to fill Justice Souter’s . . . . Continue Reading »