In the wake the House of Representatives voting for the bloated farm bill, Ross Douthat argued that, absent a view of the common good, Republicans end up acting primarily on the short-term interests of Republican politicians and the short-term demands of the part’s client groups. Enter South . . . . Continue Reading »
This weekend a Florida jury decided that George Zimmerman did not murder Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman exercised his right to defend himself with lethal force. My knowledge of this case is far from perfect, but the evidence seems to cast shadows of doubt every which way. The jury found that Zimmerman . . . . Continue Reading »
That Time C. S. Lewis Got Total Depravity Wrong (Like Everybody Else) Derek Rishmawy, Reformedish Derridas Life as an Algerian Jew Scott Krane, Tablet Intuition Pumps and Other (Sometimes Extraneous) Tools for Thinking Leah Libresco, Patheos What Can be Learned from a Dying Baby? . . . . Continue Reading »
Pew’s Forum on Religion and Public Life has released the latest version of its periodic survey of public attitudes toward various professions in America. The survey asks whether a given occupation contributes to society’s well-being. The results? The military tops the list, with almost . . . . Continue Reading »
Along with a couple members of the First Things editorial staff, I was blessed to spend this past weekend on the gorgeous Maryland coast. The occasion was the first annual Fare Forward Summer Symposium. In case you missed the First Thoughts and While We’re At It write-ups a while back, Fare . . . . Continue Reading »
The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript Reed Johnson, New Yorker Faith and the Visual Imagination Rowan Williams and Neil MacGregor, Telegraph A Well-Tempered Universe Br. Humbert Kilanowski, O.P., Dominicana The Great Second-Half 2013 Book Preview Editors, The Millions When the Rock Splits to Pieces . . . . Continue Reading »
Here’s Harvey Mansfield on the Jaume book discussed below, not so much highlighting the bad , but more the not-up-to-snuff : M. Jaumes book excels in the introduction of figures in Tocquevilles lifetime, now forgotten, such as Frédéric Le Play, Silvestre de Sacy, . . . . Continue Reading »
Brief review by British Tocqueville scholar Jeremy Jennings at Standpoint of this book . Can’t get the link for the review to work, so search for it yourself. The Good: Tocqueville as Pascalian Most intriguing of all is Jaume’s examination of Tocqueville’s relation to Pascal and . . . . Continue Reading »
According to the Washington Post, Luis V. Gutierrez quoted Paul Ryan as saying “Youre a Catholic; Im a Catholic; we cannot have a permanent underclass of Americans exploited in America, Ryan is absolutely right, which is why Gang of Eight-style immigration reform is . . . . Continue Reading »