The Baptist minister at Real Live Preacher went to an Orthodox church during his sabbatical for an ecclesiastical safari. It surprised him more than expected: Pews? We dont need no stinking pews! Providing seats for worshipers is SO 14th century. Gorgeous Byzantine art, commissioned from a . . . . Continue Reading »
The “health care reform” juggernaut continues to roll, much of it above the public discourse. An article by a Harvard Business School professor in the current New England Journal of Medicine suggests “value based system.” What does that mean? A lot of bureaucracy. From the . . . . Continue Reading »
Kenneth Anderson has a followup at the Volokh Conspiracy blog on the corrupt manipulation of creditor rights by the Obama administration. Indiana pension funds have brought their case for creditor rights to the Second Court of Appeals. “The ‘strong-arming’ that caused them not to . . . . Continue Reading »
Since the mid-80s, a long progression of doomsayers have warned that our declining market share in the patents-and-Ph.D.s business augurs dark times for American innovation. The specific threats have changed. It was the Japanese who would destroy us in the 80s; now its China and . . . . Continue Reading »
Joe asks if the popularity of Billy Collins’ audio recordings is good for poetry . I am no poet-in-residence at First Things , but I would like to answer a revised version of Joe’s question: Is Billy Collins’ popularity itself good for poetry? My answer: “Yes.” Leaving . . . . Continue Reading »
Matt Zeitlin reminds us that Princeton was once “an intellectual playground for entitled male WASPs,” and Adam Serwer is defending multiculturalism’s efforts to make Princeton less so. Our own James is wondering how America’s “quantitatively superqualified” can . . . . Continue Reading »
Along with the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, comesonce againthe age old judicial question, “Is the U.S. Constitution a ‘living document?” At the American Spectator , Jonathan Witt answers with a qualified “yes”: This brings us to the . . . . Continue Reading »
A reporter from Life Site News.com covered my speech at the anti euthanasia symposium and did a fine job summarizing what I said over a one hour speech. (I also like the photo). From the story:Reflecting on the euthansia agenda amid the modern advances in palliative care, Smith asked, . . . . Continue Reading »
The New England Journal of Medicine, in addition to publishing important scientific and medical reports, is highly political. It supports assisted suicide, for example, and even respectfully published the Groningen Protocol—the Dutch check list to determine which babies can be murdered . . . . Continue Reading »