First Links - 09.21.11

Backers rally for tough ‘heartbeat’ abortion bill Washington Times , Cheryl Wetzstein Report: Internet giants shun ads of faiths Washington Times , Jordan E. Otero A rough decade for American congregations CNN Belief Blog, Eric Marrapodi France Bans Street Prayers Reuters , Nicholas . . . . Continue Reading »

More Reality?

Here’s the poll hyped by Drudge and others that shows Palin (!) within spitting distance of Obama and half the electorate already planning to vote against the president. But it’s still not the case that any particular Republican is actually leading Obama. I should link—but . . . . Continue Reading »

Don’t Rush to Harvest Organs

Are they out of their minds?I have written in support of the non heart beating cadaver donor method for procuring organs—sometimes called heart death to differentiate it from the “brain death” (really, declared dead by neurological criteria). This approach involves declaring death . . . . Continue Reading »

The Rise of Religious Liberal Whateverism

We need robust religious pluralism, says Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith, to counter our current climate of liberal whateverism : There was a time in American culture, only a few generations ago, when religious differences were major. Baptists were not Methodists, and both were definitely . . . . Continue Reading »

PETA = Porn

PETA is a subversive group, almost (?) a cult, that is so obsessed about animals there are almost no levels to which it will not stoop in the cause of erasing the moral distinction between us and animals.  Remember the vile “Holocaust On Your Plate” campaign that literally compared . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square Today

In her latest On the Square column , Elizabeth Scalia considers the impact senior citizens will have on the 2012 election: Based entirely on anecdotal evidence, however, I believe the press’ credibility with senior citizens has taken a hit from which it is unlikely to recover, and it may be . . . . Continue Reading »

A Ride to Die For

Looking for the thrill of a life time? Take a ride on the euthanasia roller coaster , designed by Julijonas Urbonas, a Ph.D. candidate in London’s Royal College of Art’s Design Interactions department from Lithuania. He has combined the fun of a roller coaster with the certainty of . . . . Continue Reading »