John Mark Reynolds’ response has helped me to clarify where I think he and I are disagreeing on the torture question.JMR defends his view based on his argument that torture is worse than killing. Of course, I can easily concede that torture can be worse than killing. But I can’t . . . . Continue Reading »
The topic of torture and Christian ethics is now a heated discussion topic here. I’d like to ask a (perhaps naive) question about torture. Where is the harm located? What ethical principles are being violated by torture?Sixteen years ago, I contracted appendicitis and was in the hospital three . . . . Continue Reading »
Look here.Palin and Captain Kirk mix it up. Palin is funny and at ease. I love her in this clip. Does it matter if she cannot quote Plato correctly if she can yuck it up with Shatner?Have we entered an age where “intellectual” skills will not matter at all to most voters? Will being . . . . Continue Reading »
Office of the White HouseCzar for Celebration and JollificationAlcibiades Antinous, DirectorRE: The White House Christmas CrècheSomeone must tell the President that his display of the Christmas crèche is inconsistent with our recent policies regarding holiday celebrations in the United . . . . Continue Reading »
This past Thanksgiving, my extended family hosted some college students from Asia for the big meal. As we were making small talk, I opened my mouth and had a little roasted foot to go with my lunch: I asked the Chinese students if they had brothers or sisters. They don’t, of course, because of . . . . Continue Reading »
Which is more annoying: Leftists who in the wake of Climategate have suddenly discovered a love for public choice theory or libertarians who in the wake of Climategate have studiously ignored public choice theory? Whatever your answer to that question, I hope it suggests that public choice theory . . . . Continue Reading »
Joe Carter wonders if there should ever be a Mormon in the White House.Actually, I wish there was a better president in the White House . . . and I am quite confident one Mormon in American public life would be doing a better job.If Mitt Romney were in the White House, abortion policy would be . . . . Continue Reading »
Safe to say that Van Jones will never be president.Hanging out with a 9/11 Truther, people who are not sure that 9/11 was an act of terrorism by Bin Laden and company, is a good sign you are not fit to serve. Similarly the right has been plagued by people unsure whether President Obama was born in . . . . Continue Reading »
Uganda may pass a law that could lead to the death penalty for homosexual behavior.The proposed law is odious.Due to the legacy of colonialism, Western people should be sensitive about interfering in sub-Saharan African politics and modest in making moral pronouncements regarding Africa, but this . . . . Continue Reading »
The intellectual habits of a good leader for the United States are hard to describe. What are the similarities between successful chief executives such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Ronald Reagan? It is important to remember that the United States is . . . . Continue Reading »
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