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Family Poetry: Richard Wilbur

Joe asks whether I’m having the teenager read any of Richard Wilbur’s poetry as part of her American-literature course. Wilbur, a former U.S. Poet Laureate, is an elder statesman of American letters and may well represent, though I don’t know anything about his actual politics, one . . . . Continue Reading »

Obama worries China

From conversations with friends and acquaintances in Hong Kong, the damage the Obama administration has done to American interests in the Far East may be far worse than meets the eye. The Bush administration, whatever its other failings, achieved something that no previous US administration had . . . . Continue Reading »

Addendum

Forgot one item on the teenager’s reading list for this year: How to Read a Book, by Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren. When I handed her the book, she took one look at the title, laughed, and said, “Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?” . . . . Continue Reading »

Spend, Tax, Borrow—Repeat Ad Infinitum

This year the federal government will: Spend: $30,958 per household Tax: $17,576 per household Borrow $13,392 per household The Heritage Foundation has more . . . Via: Justin Taylor who notes, “And none of these estimates include the cost of health-care reform!” . . . . Continue Reading »

Bioethics and Question-Begging

Well it seems like Ivan can relax , Michael Peroski has just solved all of our problems : Proceeding from ideology-driven inquiry entails starting from an answer: “Research on human embryonic stem cell should be forbidden because embryos are equivalent to human lives” and working . . . . Continue Reading »

Worst Theologian Ever?

I have a particular fondness for strong opinions, Best/Worst lists, and theology. You don’t often find all three in the same place but Fred Sander’s hits that trifecta in his post ” Karl Bahrdt, Worst Theologian Ever .” (No, not Karl Barth , Karl Bahrdt .) A Lutheran . . . . Continue Reading »

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