Random News and Notes

1. So the final event of THE BUILDING BETTER THAN THEY KNEW TOUR at Furman was really enjoyable. You’ll not be surprised to know that I finished my big talk by explaining that there’s no solution to our so-called crisis in health care (with its deeply demographic dimension) that . . . . Continue Reading »

Of Parties and Populists

Over at The American Conservative, Larison uses the NY Times/CBS News poll to argue that the Tea Partiers aren’t populists but rather “base” conservatives . He echoes Peter Beinart, who points out the differences between the Tea Partiers and the followers of William Jennings . . . . Continue Reading »

The Mormon Menace

A neighbor at First Thoughts  has found occasion (someone was listening to Glenn Beck . . . ) to issue yet another warning to any who might consider communing as Christians with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Fair enough.  Since we Mormons (you may as . . . . Continue Reading »

Stuck with Virtue in Our Pro-Life Future

The conference at Assumption on “Reintegrating Man” with the help of French Catholic thought was one of the best ever, particularly because I got to have the first and last words. Thanks to Glen Arbery and Dan Mahoney for a fine time. More later on the many things I learned there. One . . . . Continue Reading »

God and Human Rights in Utah

If they can be found anywhere, it’s certainly in Provo. Our own Ralph Hancock, in conjunction with the brand new John Adams Center , is hosting a conference entitled God and Human Rights: Are Faith or Foundations Necessary ? The conference will run events at both BYU and Utah Valley . . . . Continue Reading »

How and Why We Should Listen to the French

The next stop on the BUILDING BETTER THAN THEY KNEW TOUR is Assumption College in Worcester, MASS. I’ll be giving a conference keynote talk Friday night at 7:30 in the auditorium of La Maison. The next day will feature presentations by some genuinely legendary figures—such as Dan . . . . Continue Reading »

A Bit More Darwin

1. Thanks to Ivan the K, John Murley and the other people at RIT for a great time. The large audience was very attentive, and the questions were both smart and respectful. One student did try to explain our anxious experience of existing for a moment between two abysses—which I brought up as . . . . Continue Reading »

Darwinian Cage Match

So last night our own Peter Lawler debated leading Darwinian Conservative Larry Arnhart here at RIT over the explanatory power of Darwinian evolution to capture to the totality of human experience in general and American political experience in particular. There was an impressive turnout of . . . . Continue Reading »