R. R. Reno

The success of Dinesh D’Souza’s new movie, 2016: Obama’s America, leads me to revisit my thoughts about his recent book on which the film is based, The Roots of Obama’s Rage. I was and remain unconvinced by the argument that Obama’s anti-colonialist father explains his governing mentality. By my reckoning, the emerging postmodern liberalism of Columbia University circa 1982 (where I was for a semester as a visiting student) explains Obama pretty well… . Continue Reading »

Joan Desmond at the National Catholic Register conducted a very useful interview with Ross Douthat . I find myself agreeing with what Douthat has to say about Catholicism’s realignment from Democratic to Republican (a very partial and complicated but real change). We face a challenge. Because . . . . Continue Reading »

Well, lots more. This new report about a civil union between three people (a man and two women) in Brazil suggests that those of us worried about the slippery slope aren’t out of our minds. I should say that Brazil and South America in general has a much stronger political tradition on the . . . . Continue Reading »

Times sure have changed. It wasn’t but a generation ago (OK, a long generation, but still) that the Republican Party was the party of moderately conservative mainline Protestants, while Jews and Catholics were solidly in the Democratic camp. Now the GOP will feature a rabbi giving the . . . . Continue Reading »

A particularly amusing book came across my desk recently. It’s Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans by David Niose, a “secular activist” in Washington. This is not a book to turn to for nuance. Here’s a sample: Anti-intellectualism, the disappearing middle . . . . Continue Reading »

I love the Feast of the Assumption. The readings for the day include a dragon ready to devour the son of the sun-clothed Queen of Heaven. And then there is the magnificat, the Virgin Mary’s hymn of thanksgiving and praise: “My soul doth magnify the Lord; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my savior.” … Continue Reading »

Enthusiasts of St. Thomas should know about the ambitious publication project being undertaken by the Aquinas Institute at Wyoming Catholic College. It’s very good indeed to see that the Institute is launching Latin and English editions of the works of the Angelic Doctor. . . . . Continue Reading »

Well, well, there’s tolerance, and then there’s tolerance. A recent interview of Martha Nussbaum in the Boston Review shows what at least one pillar of our liberal establishment has in mind when it comes to Catholicism. The interview by Boston Review Web Editor David V. Johnson was . . . . Continue Reading »

I’ve been on a T. S. Eliot kick of late. Last week I reread The Idea of a Christian Society , and for the first time read through Eliot’s elusive  After Strange Gods , a volume he never allowed to be reprinted (but which is of course available on Google books ). I have always . . . . Continue Reading »

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the spreading efforts to combat obesity by reducing the consumption of sugary drinks. The Richmond, California City Council put a measure on the November ballot that taxes businesses on the basis of how much Coke and Pepsi they sell. Although the . . . . Continue Reading »