Linkety-Dinkety

1. Found a cool new blog today: Pundit and Pundette. Classy. Christian-friendly. Links to lots of good music. 2. One of the things I’m reading right now is the new Brookhiser bio of James Madison . It seems to have been overlooked a bit, but it’s quite good. Tasty morsels on what an . . . . Continue Reading »

Freedoms in the Future

Religious liberty has very quickly become of intense concern for religious groups across the country, especially for those that will be directly affected by the HHS mandate. But more generally, a broader trend of restrictions on religious freedom seems, if not imminent, at least soon-to-be fiercely . . . . Continue Reading »

Lori’s Ham Sandwich Mandate

Bishop Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut, has written the Parable of the Kosher Deli, “for those with ears to hear.” In this lesson, the government has applied a nation-wide mandate that requires kosher delicatessen’s to serve ham sandwiches. Naturally, the owners were incensed and . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square Today

Russell E. Saltzman on diabetes and despair : Deen thought she would be forced to change her entire life and diet, and like other newbie diabetics wasn’t quite prepared for it. I can sympathize. My 1995 diagnosis came out of the blue. I was asymptomatic; I was skinny. I had a physical . . . . Continue Reading »

Terri Schiavo Law As It Really Happened

Yesterday, I bemoaned the latest historical revisionism about the passage of the federal law to protect Terri Schiavo. I am so sick of the pretense that it was a Republican theocratic game—when in reality, it was a very bipartisan bill choreographed through passage by the leaders of both . . . . Continue Reading »

Putting Economists in Their Place

That’s one of the most enjoyable duties of teaching political science. The link is to my response to a thoroughly libertarian critique—rooted in the freedom to err—of the ‘libertarian paternalism” of “behavioral economics.” It also leads you to the Liberty . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 2.16.12

The Separation of Church and State is Impossible Rollo Romig, New Yorker Gambling and the Common Good Russell Moore, Moore to the Point Is Confucianism a Religion? Peter Berger, The  American Interest The Problematic Rhetoric of Religious Liberty Patrick Deneen, Front Porch Republic . . . . Continue Reading »

Steady On

Reihan Salam is one of my favorite policy writers and he had some interesting thoughts about how the issue of gay marriage impacts Rick Santorum’s chances to win the general election.  This caught me a little short:  But the notion that opposition to same-sex marriage is rooted in . . . . Continue Reading »