As expected, the parole board in Utah has unanimously rejected Ronnie Lee Gardner’s appeal for commutation of his death sentence. I’ve written on Gardner this week , part of my ongoing attempt to build a political-theory argument against the barbaric and unnecessary punishment. We live . . . . Continue Reading »
Apparently some of the richest people in Silicon Valley have caught the transhumanism bug—Google types, no less. An extensive article in Sunday’s New York Times’ business section tells the story. From. “Merely Human? That’s So Yesterday:”ON a Tuesday evening this spring, Sergey Brin, the . . . . Continue Reading »
Particularly for pastors: a friend who pastors a small Evangelical church nearby writes in response to Memorial Gratitude , my reflection on the difficulty some of us have in feeling the kind of gratitude that soldiers deserve: I tried something in church on the Sunday before Memorial . . . . Continue Reading »
The discussion of Joseph Bottum’s Blood for Blood , today’s “On the Square” article, has started up. Readers who have not yet read his provocative criticism of the death penalty, in which he takes a very different (and to me more compelling) position than the usual . . . . Continue Reading »
The vicar of Collingbourne Ducis, UK, discovered a law left over from the Middle Ages that allowed her to s ummon the men of her village to archery practice . So she did: The Reverend Mary Edwards, of Collingbourne Ducis, near Marlborough, called residents to the village recreation ground on . . . . Continue Reading »
Joseph Bottum reflects on the forthcoming execution in Utah of double murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner, and wonders whether there is justification for this punishment. These paragraphs — especially the sections I have put in boldface — stand out for me:A government has two legitimate goals in . . . . Continue Reading »
Marc Guerra’s CHRISTIANS AS POLITICAL ANIMALS is now available from ISI Books. You can get it on amazon for $17.79. That’s right! A magnificently produced and beautifully written hardback for that low price. It’s THE pomocon treatise on theology and modern democracy. We can . . . . Continue Reading »
Wesley Smith has known for a long time that Jack Kevorkian was creepy. And thanks to Wesley and Rita L. Marker and others, First Things readers have come to know this as well. And now, to confirm their assessments on creepiness, comes Sanjay Gupta’s interview with Kevorkian on CCN. When . . . . Continue Reading »
Since Mr. Goldman has not done so, I’ll simply call everyone’s attention to a new Spengler column at http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LF15Ak01.html(for some reason dated June 15).Another entry in the long-running “Ask Spengler” series.D. . . . . Continue Reading »
Can you imagine? An Aussie lives near a high cliff from which suicidal people jump. And he tries to stop them! From the story:In those bleak moments when the lost souls stood atop the cliff, wondering whether to jump, the sound of the wind and the waves was broken by a soft voice. . . . . Continue Reading »
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