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Yes, It Is Sectarian Violence in Nigeria

In an article in the The Weekly Standard , Joseph Bottum refutes the argument that the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria is not about religion : Much of this is the incompetence, corruption, and fear of encountering well-armed rebels typical of too many third-world militaries. But another factor . . . . Continue Reading »

The Secret to Fixing Campaign Finance is Secrecy

In an op-ed for the Washington Post , R.R. Reno and Marc Geffroy propose a creative way to reform campaign finance— anonymity : Our system of campaign finance is corrupt. Money floods into campaign coffers, but rarely because of a heartfelt desire to advance a political cause. The three most . . . . Continue Reading »

Universal Health Care Doesn’t Reduce Abortions

William Saunders, vice president for legal affairs at Americans United for Life, knocks down the claim that universal health care reduces abortion : While Reid’s argument that health care benefits reduce abortion rates is unsupported, and even disproved, studies do confirm that abortion law . . . . Continue Reading »

A Sprawling Debate

In a recent post, Randal O’Toole of the Cato Institute takes on Austin Bramwell’s argument that suburban sprawl is t he result of government planning . How can this be, O’Toole asks, when notorious sprawls like Houston don’t even have a zoning code? Bramwell responds by . . . . Continue Reading »

The Books That Influenced Me Most

Seems like the obligatory post of the weekend. :-)1.  Ideas Have Consequences by Richard Weaver.  This is the first book that I ever read that taught me how to think.  It presented matters of history and ideas as inter-related.  And it painted a picture of American social change . . . . Continue Reading »

Top Ten Books, Fred’s Theology Edition

These top ten lists are so fascinating to read, especially the lists that mingle great books with those admittedly not-so-great books that made a big dent on the list-maker at a certain age. Those lists are such quirky autobiographical documents.  They require an uncommon degree of self . . . . Continue Reading »

Top Books

So, here’s my list. Of course, the Holy Scriptures remain the most important “book” in my life, but that’s a given, so, next, in order, and it is extremely difficult to name only a handful, since there are so many books that have had a profound influence on my life, these are . . . . Continue Reading »

Obama’s Legal Vision

And now, my conclusion about where Obamacare falls into the law-versus-politics schema I mentioned, below, in the context of marriage and divorce. There was one real highlight and moment of clarity for me in Obama’s now-infamous Baier interview: the sequence where the President insisted that, . . . . Continue Reading »

Ten Books that Have Influenced Me

I share Joe Carter’s enthusiasm for both books and lists, and while I try to avoid participating in Internet memes there are some that are worthy of indulgence. Here are ten books that have influenced my thought and outlook on life and hopefully will be worthy of interest to the . . . . Continue Reading »

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