Rand Paul has an impressive combination of ideology, determination and pragmatism. He has, as Allahpundit has written, the ability to “sell libertarian wine in conservative bottles.” He matters, and so it matters if aspects of Rand Paul’s particular style of libertarianism would . . . . Continue Reading »
William Cavanaugh’s presentation at the Wheaton Theology Conference was, as one would expect, challenging and provocative. He asked questions about corporate persons in contemporary law, tracing the background of the idea in the Bible and in medieval thought, but focusing attention on the . . . . Continue Reading »
Anglican Archbishop David Gitari ended his talk at the Wheaton Theology Conference with a neat illustration of the difference between doing mercy and confronting power. He used the example of a factory where many workers were injured. Wanting to help, a church arranged to have an ambulance on call . . . . Continue Reading »
Everyone today wants to talk about the cruciformity of Christian politics. Much to the good there. But, despite narrative theology and NT Wright and everything, there’s an odd abstraction of the cross from the rest of the gospel narrative. Cruciform politics is often translated as a politics . . . . Continue Reading »
Well I certainly would have had more time to watch pro wrestling. Did the sheer number of debates help the joke candidates who had no hope of winning the presidential election. I looked at the Real Clear Politics polling average for Iowa and looked at the debate schedule. . . . . Continue Reading »
Thanks to the generosity of the First Things editorial staff, today is the debut of my biweekly On The Square column. It is on the Republican party and the lower middle-class. . . . . Continue Reading »
So I was watching Fox News’s excellent Special Report with Bret Baier . Baier was reporting about how the special exchange for small businesses is going to have to be delayed for another year. This is on top of other reports that Obamacare will cost the government more than expected, will . . . . Continue Reading »
Just follow me here. On immigration, Rand Paul says: The main part of my plan is trust but verify that says we have to have border security. The Wall Street Journal reported about Rand Paul’s proposal for a huge new guest worker program: Kentucky Senator Rand Paul recently made a splash when . . . . Continue Reading »
At the end of his massively documented The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade , Andrew Feinstein notes the blurring of lines between formal and informal arms markets, the black and the white markets that merge into gray: “While the large defence contractors like BAE and Lockheed . . . . Continue Reading »
Some political theorists have thought that we can live like bees - sociable without command, law, speech, punishments. Hobbes demurs ( Hobbes: Leviathan , II.17). And not because we are superior to bees. We can’t live like bees because we are “continually in competition for honour and . . . . Continue Reading »