First Links — 10.31.12

Men Don’t Mother Jenet Erickson, Public Discourse Bernard Lonergan’s Contemporary Relevance R. J. Snell, Crisis Jacques Barzun and Civilization’s Decline: A Debate Tom Ashbrook, On Point Hurricane Sandy Made Us Happy Marc Barnes, Bad Catholic Does Jacob Hate Esau? Jerome A. . . . . Continue Reading »

Go SCSS

Much to be commended was this year’s conference of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists . It was the society’s twentieth, and held at the Kellenberg Memorial High School on Long Island, an impressive institution itself. The conference offered several plenary addresses, including . . . . Continue Reading »

Storms Are Unavoidable

On his blog Via Meadia, Walter Russell Mead reflects on the meaning of the storm: Sandy isn’t an irruption of abnormality into a sane and sensible world; it is a reminder of what the world really is like. Human beings want to build lives that exclude what we can’t control — but we . . . . Continue Reading »

A Restrained Case For Romney

1. Ramesh Ponnuru makes a realistic and thoughtful case for Romney. I would add that I don’t for a second trust Romney’s instincts on judicial appointments. If he becomes President, Romney will already have plenty of fights with the left-of-center related to the related issues of the . . . . Continue Reading »

In Praise of Bees

Losing power last night in lower Manhattan made it necessary to light all my candles, which gave me occasion to reflect on the wonderful work done by bees. For while paraffin is now more common in making candles, beeswax is still preferred by some, including the Roman church, in which it is . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square Today

Andrew Doran wonders what will become of the Middle East’s Christians : In the fall of 2010, a few months before revolution swept the Muslim world, I happened to be in Yemen for work. The trip coincided with the start of the Eid holiday, which provided ample free time to see much of the . . . . Continue Reading »