“David, your writing is always inspirational,” begins the first comment on David Hart’s The Desirist’s Unsatisfiable Desires , today’s first “On the Square” article,. The commenter is responding, I think, to Dr. Hart’s insights into the moral life, . . . . Continue Reading »
[Note: Every Friday on First Thoughts we host a discussion about some aspect of popular culture. Have a suggestion for a topic? Send them to me at jcarter@firstthings.com] Some people think the internet was created for dirty pictures and political arguments. But the true reason is that people . . . . Continue Reading »
You know, I’m looking at the two most recent transfers of power in Communist countries — from Fidel to his brother Raul Castro and from Kim Jong Il to his young son — and I’m wondering how I missed the part in the Communist Manifesto where the leaders of the revolution . . . . Continue Reading »
I have read the 65-page decision by Judge Vinson in Florida that allowed the 20 State challenge against Obamacare to go forward. It’s very well reasoned and measured, in my view. The two biggest deals are: 1. The fine for not buying insurance is probably not a tax , but as the law . . . . Continue Reading »
As C-FAM reports , representatives in the Council of Europe, the European legislative body that meets in Strasbourg, France, reversed an effort by abortion proponents. A resolution came before the Council that was designed to make it difficult for medical professionals to refuse to perform or . . . . Continue Reading »
As expected, a Federal District Judge Roger Vinson is permitting a lawsuit filed by 20 states against Obamacare to go to trial. This decision joins a similar decision by a federal court in Virginia, and is in contrast to a Michigan Federal Judge dismissing a lawsuit against filed against . . . . Continue Reading »
Over at Cranach , Gene Edward Veith (provost and professor of literature at Patrick Henry College) ponders the state of argumentation in a world of blogging, and for good reason. His . . . innocent little post has now chalked up a record 422 comments at last count. What happened is that a very . . . . Continue Reading »
Mental Floss offers Ten of the Best Parents in Fiction and What Ten Classic Books Were Almost Called . The number one parent is Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird , and Bram Stoker considered The Dead Un-Dead for the book eventually published as Dracula . Joan Frawley Desmond . . . . Continue Reading »
Who holds the biggest part of our national debt? China? Japan? No, the bulk is owned by the Federal Reserve . Now, the central bank owns over $808 billion in treasuries . And it still has over $1.086 trillion of MBS in its portfolio left to sell. Since the middle of August, the Fed has . . . . Continue Reading »
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