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First Links - 08.31.11

Stop Giving One Hundred Percent! The Scriptorium , John Mark Reynolds Thou Shalt Not Say “Jesus” Patheos , Thomas S. Kidd GOP leaders push to have marriage defined in N.C. Washington Times , Cheryl Wetzstein How the Church of England can—and will—endure The Spectator , Tom . . . . Continue Reading »

Clarence Thomas and the Amendment of Doom

Walter Russell Mead takes note of the recent reappraisal by some liberal intellectuals of the work of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas : There are few articles of faith as firmly fixed in the liberal canon as the belief that Clarence Thomas is, to put it as bluntly as many liberals do, a dunce . . . . Continue Reading »

Pay For Proven Cancer Care

I have seen a couple of stories lately on a radical new last ditch cancer treatment involving extensive surgery and then a 90 minute bath directly on organs of hot chemotherapy. Significant questions remain about efficacy. A column in the NYT discusses the history of severe cancer treatments in . . . . Continue Reading »

Romney Doomed?

Jonathan Last argues that Romney is in huge trouble because he is a mediocre-to-lousy campaigner with no real support base and no real principles.  I think Last very slightly overstates his case.  Romney’s campaign for the governorship in 2002 was pretty good.  On, the other . . . . Continue Reading »

A Tale of Two Traditions

Theologian Carl Truman has a helpful post explaining the different views of tradition held by Protestants and Catholics : Ask a thoughtful Protestant about where Protestantism and Catholicism most significantly diverge, and it is likely that they will mention the closely related areas of tradition . . . . Continue Reading »

Market Rationing

Writing in Public Discourse  today, Yuval Levin argues that it is both possible and necessary to curb entitlement spending and broaden the provision of healthcare in a manner that respects the equality and dignity of all. His piece covers a good deal of ground, but one of its most . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square Today

In her latest On the Square column , Elizabeth Scalia explains how disdain for religion can impede diplomacy: What I can’t help wondering, though, is why Bill Keller wants to weaken the nation’s diplomatic hand. The Times is a longtime champion of the nuanced efficacy of . . . . Continue Reading »

More On Ugly

Speaking of ugly. The sculptor of the controversial statue of  John Paul II  at Rome’s main train station, criticized across the political spectrum, on social networks, and even by commuters, has agreed to make small alterations to the  odd depiction . Though the statue . . . . Continue Reading »

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