has passed away at the age of 54 . Very sad. Best known for The English Patient , for which he won a Best Director Oscar, Minghella directed a film on a much smaller scale that I much preferred, Mr. Wonderful . No great masterpiece, but if you came from a working-class Italian-American background, . . . . Continue Reading »
Some people will politicize anything. Take the acquisition, under pressure from the Federal Reserve and other government agencies, of investment bank Bear Stearns by JP Morgan. The argument is going about that Bear Stearns is full of people who have consistently decried government intervention in . . . . Continue Reading »
Glory be to God for dappled things , writes Oxford Jesuit, Gerard Manley Hopkins, breaking into verse that echoes St. Francis’ “Canticle to the Sun.” Physical creation proclaims God’s glory, reflects his simultaneous gentleness and might, and reminds us of his loving . . . . Continue Reading »
There are two veins of thought about animal research among liberationist advocates. One has integrity: It says that humans can benefit from animal research, but that we should eschew it for ethical reasons, e.g., as Gary Francione believes, no sentient being can be property. I disagree profoundly . . . . Continue Reading »
The inimitable Edward T. Oakes forwards this for our reading pleasure. Here’s a snippet: The problem with the secular narrative is not that it assumes progress is inevitable (in many versions, it does not). It is the belief that the sort of advance that has been achieved in science can be . . . . Continue Reading »
. . . if your definition of nigh is 7.59 billion years . One of the scientists responsible for calculating the end-time figures was asked to comment further: Dr. Smith called the new result “a touch depressing” in a series of e-mail messages. But “looked at another way,” he . . . . Continue Reading »
I tend to maintain that, despite everything, the New York Times is a tremendous civilizational achievement. Yet sometimes (often?) it publishes bits of such revealing self-parody that you almost think the paper is pulling your leg. Exhibit #14,576 is this Peter Steinfels piece , headlined . . . . Continue Reading »
This news out of the UK is unexpected and a validation of what some advocates have been saying for years. The Royal College of Psychiatrists—not pro lifers—have determined that women who have abortions are at risk of mental breakdown. From the story:Women may be at risk of mental health . . . . Continue Reading »