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Too Many of Us Live in Cities

I’m sorry, this is a trivial matter, really, but it just set me off. The below quoted letter to the editor—reacting to a story about a man who shot a cat to keep it from killing an endangered bird— was published in today’s New York Times Magazine:I read Bruce Barcott’s . . . . Continue Reading »

The Bali Conference Is Over (Whew!)

After pulling a dramatic all-nighter, delegates at the U.N. conference on climate change left beautiful, lush Bali for the real world with an agreed text on their laptops. Those of us who follow these matters were not the least bit surprised at the result: U.N. officials and others who wanted an . . . . Continue Reading »

Something is Going Very Wrong in Healthcare

I am regularly contacted by families who believe their loved ones have been terribly mistreated in hospitals. Sometimes, it is clearly a misunderstanding and I try to set their minds at ease. At other times, the story seems to be an egregious abuse but there is little I can do. On those occasions, I . . . . Continue Reading »

Starbucked

If you spend more time in Starbucks than is healthy for your adrenals, read P.J. O’Rourke’s review of Taylor Clark’s Starbucked . As you might expect from Mr. O’Rourke, the critique is probably more entertaining than the book under discussion. O’Rourke gives Clark high . . . . Continue Reading »

Poetry of John of the Cross

For now we see through a glass, darkly . . . St. John of the Cross, whose feast was yesterday, would be the first to agree. But sometimes the Carmelite mystic’s poetry gives me the impression that he saw, as St. Paul put it, face to face . There are, for example, these two letrillos, superbly . . . . Continue Reading »

Novak on Romney Reloaded

Michael Novak has graciously responded to my post from yesterday about his endorsement of Mitt Romney. He clarifies that he does not mean to suggest that there is a Christian duty to support Romney because his Mormonism has become a subject of the campaign. Phew! But in his clarification, Novak . . . . Continue Reading »

Sci-Fi Writers and Their Gods

This appears to be a pretty exhaustive list of science fiction/fantasy writers and their religious affiliations. Note that Stephen King, whose novels and short stories are rife with Christian fundamentalist whack jobs (think Carrie , The Mist , and Misery real fast), is listed as a Methodist. And . . . . Continue Reading »

The Glories of Anglo-Catholicism

Tucked away down the street from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia sits an unassuming brown Romanesque church. This church is the parish of St. Clement’s, a small community of Anglo-Catholics who are dedicated to the beauty and fullness of the Western liturgy, all with the help of a . . . . Continue Reading »

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