The hubris and profligacy of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine—established foolishly by CA voters on the wings of ESCR/cloning ultra hype—continues to amaze in its sheer audacity. Now, an executive has been brought on board part time for 6 months, for which he will . . . . Continue Reading »
1. Roger Callois on the difference between play, work, and art: A characteristic of play, in fact, is that it creates no wealth or goods, thus differing from work or art. At the end of the game, all can and must start over again at the same point. Nothing has been harvested or manufactured, no . . . . Continue Reading »
Earlier this afternoon, our senior editor R. R. Reno examined, with the analytical skill of a biblical scholar (a good biblical scholar), the bias of the New York Times ’ latest coverage of Benedict and his role in the sex abuse scandal. The title How Do You Spell Tendentious? gives you the . . . . Continue Reading »
For obvious reasons, cultural as much as or more than ideological, some of the people in the First Things circles are some form of Crunchy Con . Rod Dreher invented the term a few years ago to describe those who are socially and culturally conservative but as part of that conservatism value . . . . Continue Reading »
One can always count on our favorite Church basher, Ian Paisley, to think of new and creative ways to knock the Church. Most recently, he denounced Britain for inviting the pope because, regarding the sex-abuse scandals, the Church ” is anti-Christ in teaching and doctrine .” One . . . . Continue Reading »
A long article in todays New York Times reports on some of the Vaticans early responses to the sex-abuse crisis. The facts in the story, such as they are, appear good to know. But what the article tries to draw from it all . . . In fact, of Pope Benedicts career as Cardinal . . . . Continue Reading »
The Huffington Post’s resident bioethicist, Jacob Appel, argued awhile back for cutting off care to patients in PVS in order to save resources for more “valuable” people. I didn’t post on it at the time. But an article at the Hastings Center Report rebutted Appel, . . . . Continue Reading »
Most advocates for legalizing assisted suicide, particularly in the USA, pretend that theirs is a limited agenda, designed for only the “terminally ill,” or the “hopelessly ill” to achieve “deliverance.” In actuality, assisted suicide ideology believes we . . . . Continue Reading »
Today’s “On the Square” offers a preview of the next issue, now in the mail to subscribers , from the editor’s “Public Square.” In The Signpost at the Crossroads , Joseph Bottum examines “the signpost at the intersection of religion and American public . . . . Continue Reading »