SHS Funnies

by Wesley J. Smith

Why Dusty the retired cowboy continues to be PETA’s public enemy number one:When prodigies go to medical . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Oct 2008 0

McCain Goes After Crucial Boxing Fan Vote

He’s sponsoring this bill entreating President Bush to pardon heavyweight champ Jack Johnson, nearly a century after Johnson’s racially-motivated conviction under the Mann Act and sixty-two years after his death. A similar bill passed by voice vote in the House on Friday. A five-minute . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Oct 2008 0

Helping the Heartbroken

by Ryan Sayre Patrico

Yesterday, I read this article covering of an organization dedicated to give comfort to mothers and families mourning the death of a newborn. It’s a remarkably moving story: A white rose hanging outside the doorway tells nurses that the family in this one room of the maternity ward at Inova . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Oct 2008 0

Finally, A Massachusetts Official Seeks to Truly Protect Haleigh Poutre

by Wesley J. Smith

Readers of SHS will recall the tragic tale of Haleigh Poutre, beaten nearly to death by her adoptive parents and consigned quickly to death by dehydration by doctors who swore she would never awaken only ten days post injury, the Department of Social Services that decided her life was thus of too . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Oct 2008 0

A. J. Liebling: Not as Fat as Aleck Woollcott, But Much Funnier

Francis-Noël Thomas has written an aces piece on A. J. Liebling’s World War II reporting. It does not happen to include my own passage from Liebling’s army travels, so I reproduce it here: . . . the instant of that day that recurs to me most often has been that when I sat with . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Sep 2008 0

Twitter Killed Woody Allen

The man himself in New York magazine : NY: Do you have a theory about why the culture keeps getting coarser? WA: The country has, over the years, moved to the right. And it’s possible that accompanying that move to the right, you also get a lessening of taste. But I don’t know if what . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Sep 2008 0

The Church of Obama

by Nathaniel Peters

I had heard of the messianism surrounding Barack Obama, but I didn’t think anyone would start an actual church. Then a friend tuned me into Sing for Change . According to their website: Sing for Change chronicles a recent Sunday afternoon, when 22 children, ages 5-12, gathered to sing . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Sep 2008 0

1968:Scarcity and Decade Analysis

I’ve already promoted Dan Mahoney’s excellent analysis of the socio-political import of 1968, especially from the perspective of France. Our own Peter Lawler provides his original critical commentary here cautioning us that as seminal as ‘68 was, a fuller picture of the . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Sep 2008 0

Theology in the City

by Nathaniel Peters

The Dominicans at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York have announced a series of lectures on theology for the coming months. Those in the area might be interested in the offerings: To believe well one must first reason well. This is the lesson of St. Thomas Aquinas. Consequently, faith . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Sep 2008 0

Do Prisoners Have the Right to Starve Themselves to Death?

by Wesley J. Smith

The bioethicist Art Caplan has argued against a court order requiring prison authorities to force feed a prisoner named William Coleman, who is on a hunger strike. It is against his autonomy, Caplan opines. From his column: Recently, he took a turn for the worse. Prison officials, fearing for his . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Sep 2008 0