First Links — 10.23.12

To Have and to Hold: A Roundup of Scholarly Articles on Marriage Kevin Lewis, National Affairs Church Scandals Must Come Fr. Stephen Freeman, Glory to God for All Things Get Ready for the Mali Invasion Walter Russell Mead, The American Interest Tom Wolfe and His New Novel, Back to Blood Boris . . . . Continue Reading »

Victor Morton on “Red-State Cinema”

I’m excerpting the relevant bit: Lastly, what’s your favorite “conservative”/right-wing film of the year so far? None of the usual suspects are great, frankly — I don’t like affirmative action in any of its forms, and I won’t pretend that these films are . . . . Continue Reading »

The So-Called Foreign Policy Debate

Neither candidate wanted to talk much about foreign policy, and so they spent a lot of time making their signature domestic points. Insofar as it was an economic debate, Romney won. He did play the card—often—of saying the most important foreign policy issue is strengthening our economy . . . . Continue Reading »

Obama, Kind of a Jerk, Won

But not decisively—Romney always held his own. And I would only say Obama won on the parts of the debates focused on foreign policy. On domestic issues, Romney won. Romney played the gentleman and the minimize-the-exposure strategy. Also a strategic vote-gaining focus on Israel. Very good . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square Today

William Doino Jr. on St. Kateri’s long journey home : Born in 1656 at the Mohawk fortress called Gandaouague, near present-day Auriesville, New York, Kateri Tekakwitha was thrust into a world of conflict and danger: Inter-tribal warfare raged, and was aggravated by Dutch, English, and French . . . . Continue Reading »

New York’s Secret Social Conservatism

A new poll suggests that a majority of parents in New York City oppose distribution of Plan B to high school students: Fifty-three percent of New Yorkers think that Department of Education should not be dispensing Plan B to high school students. A poll commissioned by the  Chiaroscuro . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 10.22.12

Fewer Protestants, but Better Protestants? Terry Mattingly, GetReligion The Wrong Side of History Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Catholic New World Glory and Indignity: The Strange Life of John Randolph Allen Mendenhall, The University Bookman Does the Name “Theophilus” Violate the . . . . Continue Reading »

George McGovern

So I’ve gotten a couple of emails asking me to say something about the death of McGovern. There has been a lot of conservative commentary about his basic decency and class. He was a gentleman and eventually even a fine businessman. The man is not to be confused with the general looniness of . . . . Continue Reading »