All the talk of Republicans needing to do better among Hispanic voters should not obscure that Romney also failed to maximize his vote total among white voters. Byron York has written a very wise column about how Romney’s Hispanic problem was primarily a middle-class and working-class problem… . Continue Reading »
If you want to know what unqualified utilitarianism or hedonism is likely to get you, you can hardly do better than starting with Jeremy Bentham. Since many of his works are either still mere manuscripts or available only in poor editions, however, it has only been with the work of the Bentham Project at the University College London that we have begun to more accurately apprehend his views. … Continue Reading »
Despite his humble origins as a baker’s son from Trastevere, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, longtime curial head of the Holy Office (“successor to the Inquisition,” in journalese) and scourge of the nouvelle théologie of the 1950s, was a formidable figure in pre-conciliar Catholicism. Ottaviani’s approach to theology was neatly summarized in the Latin motto of his cardinalatial coat of arms, Semper Idem [Always the Same] … Continue Reading »
On an early summer day, six years ago next month, an event of historic significance took place in Washington, D.C. A diverse group of people”politicians, clergy, and émigrés”gathered to dedicate the Victims of Communism Memorial in honor of “the tens of millions of men, women and children who were ruthlessly and systematically exterminated to advance the cause of the murderous, malevolent ideology that is Communism.” … Continue Reading »
Numerous commentators, particularly among contract or consent theorists, maintain that government is a result of the Fall”something that would not be necessary were it not for Adam’s sin. As Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense, “society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil.” … Continue Reading »
Western Christians celebrated Pentecost last Sunday, while Eastern Christians look ahead to Pentecost in late June. It’s the season of the Spirit, a time to muse on the politics of Pentecost. When Israel’s prophets predict the future coming of the Spirit, their next thought is almost always about the renewal of creation … Continue Reading »
In a short piece for The New Republic, Noreen Malone examines the most frequently highlighted phrases from books available on the Kindle for what they tell us about the contemporary mind. These include passages from books like The Hunger Games, Pride and Prejudice, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People… . Continue Reading »
On May 25, a mere twenty years after his murder, the Italian Catholic priest Don Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi will be beatified. A figure much beloved in Sicily, Puglisi will be the first victim of the mafia to be declared a blessed by the Catholic Church… . Continue Reading »
Oh, the things we endure for the sake of familial love: a snoring spouse, the clutter of children, an opinionated sister-in-law, and graduation ceremonies. Graduation exercises are a lot of things, but mostly they are boring. I challenge anyone who has ever been to a graduation to say otherwise… . Continue Reading »
Emily Witt’s report on her experience of the San Francisco BDSM scene in the latest issue of n+1 provokes not only for its graphic descriptions, but also for the questions it raises about life’s meaning. The piece contrasts that radical environment with Witt’s more conventional desires … Continue Reading »
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