Some Sentences Write Themselves

by Joseph Bottum

Michael Barone, on why all three of the members of Congress defeated so far this season were on appropriations committees: “Suddenly pork is not kosher.” Can I groan now? . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

Profiles in Aloofness

by Kevin Staley-Joyce

There’s a strangely nonchalant line at the beginning of yesterday’s New York Times profile of the thousandth US troop to die in Afghanistan: He was an irreverent teenager with a pregnant girlfriend when the idea first crossed his mind: Join the Army, raise a family. She had an abortion, . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

CS Lewis on the Cross

by Adam Omelianchuk

I have been reading the final book in CS Lewis’s space trilogy That Hideous Strength, and I came across an excerpt worth sharing. For those unfamiliar with the book a man named Mark (who is an unbeliever) is being programmed under the threat of violence to think . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

Shakespeare, Christianity, and Honorable Men

by David Mills

As a second “On the Square” entry today, just posted, Anthony Esolen reflects on Shakespeare’s Christianity through one of his more unusual beliefs: the beauty and necessity of male chastity. This was not much honored, even in his own day, as Esolen shows. Read  Desires Run . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

Breaking News from the PR Department

by Joseph Bottum

From my inbox, a press release about a new book, in which “Author discusses science, psychology and spiritual enlightenment.” And why not? “Imagine what your life would be like without fear. Imagine living a life filled with love, peace and understanding.” Who could object? . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

Census Man’s Dog Bites Man

by David Blum

We’re pretty sure this isn’t mentioned in the Constitution . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

Abortion by Videoconference

by Meghan Duke

On Friday, the  New York Times reported on the “chilling and ghoulish” case of William  Melchert-Dinkel, a Minnesota man who haunted pro-suicide websites and coached at least two people to their deaths all for the “thrill of the chase,” in his own words. Today I . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

How Filthy Rags come back in style

by Frank Turk

While I have a minute today, I have been working through James Davison Hunter’s To Change the World along with another book which I think is the right theological companion to it, and it turns out that Chuck Colson has published a “response” to Davison’s book at Christianity . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

Legislative Mendacity: Bill to Legalize Fed. Funding of Cloning Pretends to be a Ban

by Wesley J. Smith

Biotechnology has not been much in the news lately.  Adult stem cell successes continue to be ignored by media and induced pluripotent stem cell research continues apace.  There are no human trials approved for embryonic stem cells—despite years of promises by Geron and others, . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0

Sex Criminals Can Be Imprisoned Indefinitely

by Joe Carter

On Monday the Supreme Court ruled the federal government has the power to keep some sex offenders behind bars indefinitely after they have served their sentences if officials determine those inmates may prove “sexually dangerous” in the future: “The federal government, as . . . . Continue Reading »

19 May 2010 0