The Toys of Peace

Christopher Hitchens has a column in the latest issue of the Atlantic on the short stories of Saki. It’s all right, I guess. Not my favorite account, but, then, any mention of Saki is good, if only to remind readers about him. But how could Hitchens leave out the single greatest Saki story, . . . . Continue Reading »

Calculations on Conversion

Jody recently sent me an article from the science blog Gene Expression entitled ” Historical Dynamics and contingent conditions of religion.” Basically, what the piece argues is that the same types of mathematical formulas that Peter Turchin uses to explain the rise and fall of states . . . . Continue Reading »

Link-of-the-Day

A brief but troubling interview with the Republican nominee, posted by the Weekly Standard . “John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned,” says his campaign website , “and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not . . . . Continue Reading »

Undermining Public Trust in Organ Donation

There is a story out today that I find very disturbing, for it both reflects the apparent urge among some organ professionals to cross crucial ethical boundaries and promotes public confusion about when someone can be properly declared dead. It involves heart transplants from babies and implies . . . . Continue Reading »

Sexual Misattraction

This news comes from Natalie Stilwell, a graduate student in moral theology in northern Virginia: Yesterday I came across a striking article from the science news site LiveScience: ” The Pill Makes Women Pick Bad Mates .” The results of a study headed by evolutionary psychologist . . . . Continue Reading »

The Almost Perfect Murder

The first story to give me a healthy Augustinian appreciation of human depravity when I was a boy was the infamous murder of Bobby Franks committed by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. When I finally got around to reading Nietzsche, the crime came to symbolize the natural outcome of proud striving . . . . Continue Reading »