Last weekend President Obama announced the appointment of Rashad Hussain as Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Already embroiled in controversy over remarks Hussain was alleged to have made in 2004 concerning the prosecution of Sami al-Arian, this appointment warrants careful consideration because of the problematic mission and track record of the OIC … Continue Reading »
High levels of unemployment may last indefinitely. A number of economists (including this writer) have been warning about permanent joblessness, and the idea is now seeping into popular magazines. More than 8 million American jobs were lost since 2007, based on the most recent revision of the overall job count of U.S. establishments… . Continue Reading »
At a funeral today, one is more likely to hear mourners and preachers alike uttering clichés such as “Dad is with us in spirit,” or “She will live forever in our memories,” than intoning the De Profundis or Dies Irae. Occasionally, these platitudes are given added emphasis with theatrical flourishes like releasing doves to symbolize the freeing of a soul from its bodily container … Continue Reading »
In the wake of sudden disaster, the question of God’s goodness and justice comes into sharp relief. Times of intense suffering, both collective and personal, cause the problem of evil to resurface. Amid the smoke and ashes, the perennial questions of theodicy ascend with theological and existential urgency … Continue Reading »
One loves the work of Ruth Wisse and honors her for her long labors in trying to maintain scholarly seriousness in an American academy that, during her lifetime, seemed in many ways to have turned against itself… . Continue Reading »
In June 2003, Pope John Paul II published his last notable contribution to the Catholic Church’s reflection on the culture of political modernity, the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Europa… . Continue Reading »
Of all the astonishing features of the medieval cathedrals, one feature must stand out as particularly surprising to the modern mind: We have no idea who designed and built them… . Continue Reading »
“Justice and fairness” has become something of a mantra ever since presidential candidate Barack Obama told Joe the plumber that his hope was to “spread the wealth around” so that the economy is “good for everybody.” The plumber, Samuel Wurzelbacher, was less than thrilled by the implications of spreading the wealth… . Continue Reading »
Thank you, lady, for reminding me what it was like / To fall in love with Karen / Fifty years ago… . Continue Reading »
With the publication of Trotsky: A Biography, Robert Service, a professor of Russian history at Oxford and an outstanding authority on the Russian Revolution, has completed a biographical trilogy treating the main architects of Soviet Communism… . Continue Reading »
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