Embryo

In yesterday’s New York Times Book Review Will Saletan reviewed Embryo: A Defense of Human Life . Robert George and Chris Tollefsen, the authors of Embryo , have a response up on NRO . . . . . Continue Reading »

Is Obama a Cult?

A cult can be defined as a tight knit group of people who devote themselves to a charismatic leader who promises to solve all their personal or social problems by the power of his personality. Given that definition, I would argue that the Obama campaign has all the marks of a cult. First, Obama . . . . Continue Reading »

Reply to Junior Fellow Applicant

An Ellyn Von Huben has chosen to apply for the First Things junior fellowship on her blog rather than go the conventional route. Allow me to reply in an equally unconventional manner. Dear Ms. and/or Mrs. Von Huben: Your application has been received. I found it both frightening and entertaining, . . . . Continue Reading »

Of Note

Articles from this weekend (just a portion, hardly exhaustive) that may interest anyone interested in religion, culture, and public life: Catholic vote and Hilary Clinton ( NY Times ) Rabbis criticizing the revised Good Friday praye r ( NY Times ) James Dobson and John McCain ( Wall Street Journal . . . . Continue Reading »

Slate.com and the Widow’s Mite

Slate has published its list of the 60 Biggest Charitable Donors of this past year. You know who’s missing? You don’t know their names. Neither do I. But I bet if you picked the average congregant from the average African-American storefront church, that person probably gives as much if . . . . Continue Reading »

Special Pleading

A usage question for all you legal types. In an article about a misused government informant, I came across this line: “prosecutors are asking a federal judge to dismiss charges including conspiracy and cocaine trafficking against most of the defendants, even some who pleaded guilty.” . . . . Continue Reading »

RE: Catholic Civility

In response to my posting about civility , Alexia Kelley, executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, has sent this response: In a diatribe riddled with false claims and smug mischaracterizations, Robert T. Miller’s recent blog post attacking Catholics in Alliance for the . . . . Continue Reading »

Mother’s Milk May Have Stem Cells

Now here’s a story that gives the old saying, “the milk of human kindness,” a whole new meaning. It turns out that breast milk may contain stem cells. From the story: The Perth scientist [Dr Mark Cregan] who made the world-first discovery that human breast milk contains stem cells . . . . Continue Reading »