Longing for Lent and Liturgy

The risk is mindless ritualism, but I can’t help but wonder if the benefits are so much  more that the risk worth taking. T’is the season for many blog posts on Lent, but my experience last weekend demands I say something on the topic.Invited to St. George’s Anglican Church in . . . . Continue Reading »

Too Much Deficit, Not Enough Rich People

America’s deficit problem, says National Review ‘s Kevin D. Williamson , is that the rich don’t have enough money. Even if you raise taxes on everyone earning $250,000 a year, you couldn’t raise enough revenue to cover this year’s deficit: Nonetheless, there . . . . Continue Reading »

On Romance, Lent, and Moderation

It might be Lent. It might be my continued struggles with gluttony. It might be the number of friends and former students struggling with alcoholism. Whatever the cause moderation has been much on my mind. Prudence used to be a popular name. Other virtues, hope and charity, still retain their . . . . Continue Reading »

Baby Joseph Moved to St. Louis Hospital

This is good news.  The Canadian hospital trying to impose a futile care-forced termination of life support upon Baby Joseph no longer has control of his care. He is now in St. Louis.  From the story:“Baby Joseph” was brought to St. Louis overnight where doctors are evaluating . . . . Continue Reading »

The Problem with Pi

Because my fascination with mathematics far exceeds my ability to understand the subject, I often find things that appear interesting (to me at least) but could be completely nuts. A prime example is a paper I stumbled across a few weeks ago called The Tau Manifesto . The manifesto is dedicated to . . . . Continue Reading »

Dr. Pat Deneen vs. Cato (Institute) Unbound

Extreme libertarianism brings out the thoughtful moderation in our Porcher friend. He defends the Straussians and the Neocons from Brad Thompson’s fantastic charge that they are NATIONALISTIC FASCISTS. That means, of course, that any public concern for virtue or the quality of citizens is . . . . Continue Reading »

A Different Kind of Gay Marriage

Ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel have come up with an acceptable form of gay marriage:   gay men marry lesbians . Rabbis from the religious Zionist community have launched an initiative to marry gay men to lesbian women - with some surprising successes. So far, 11 marriages have been performed. . . . . Continue Reading »