My first book, Reformation Spirituality: The Religion of George Herbert
My book on George Herbert is back in print
The Great or Not-so-great Gatsby?
Words and images are two different media, so a novel and a movie are two different kinds of art forms. Sometimes a good written story can be told visually, but if what makes the novel good is its language, that may not translate at all into motion pictures. I don’t know if the movie version of The Great Gatsby (in 3-D, no less!) is worthy of Fitzgerald’s novel or if it might possibly be a good movie in its own right. I haven’t seen it, so you tell me.
But I was struck with this example of a genre in its own right, the movie review, by a master of the form, Rex Reed, who eviscerates the Gatsby movie with razor-sharp words: [Read more…]
Journalists are turning on the White House
As I predicted, the news media is turning on the Obama administration. Not just because the Justice Department, trying to trace a leak, subpoenaed phone companies for a list of calls made and received over two months by 20 reporters from the Associated Press (including both office and personal cell phones). According to the Washington Post, tensions have been simmering between the White House and the press corp for some time. [Read more…]
Rand Paul courts Christian conservatives
Sen. Rand Paul is presenting himself as a “libertarian Republican” rather than a “libertarian,” and is courting evangelicals and other Christian conservatives. In an apparent effort to position himself as a credible GOP presidential candidate, Paul is backing away from conventional libertarian positions, such as legalizing drugs, and is nuancing his support for gay marriage. (I believe he has always been pro-life.)
I know lots of readers of this blog have long supported the Pauls, both father and son. Are you bothered by Rand’s attempt to appeal to the GOP establishment? Or do you support him in trying to make himself electable? And, for you Christian conservatives leery of libertarianism, do these efforts make you likely to support him? [Read more…]
Should you be able to buy a car online?
It’s illegal to buy a car direct from the factory or over the internet. You have to go through a local dealer. The electric car company Tesla is trying to change that. But state and local governments are resisting. That, arguably, goes against the free market and against the trends of the new technology. But do we really want online commerce to kill off small businesses that are the backbone of many small town economies? [Read more…]
IRS harassment of pro-life groups
More increasingly alarming details are coming out about the IRS scandal. See this, for the kind of intrusive information the IRS demanded. See also this and this for how liberal organizations applying for the same status were routinely and quickly approved, no questions asked. And how as many as 500 conservative organizations were targeted. We are also learning that the IRS was harassing pro-life groups as far back in 2009! Not just making them fill out lots of forms and delaying approval for two years and more. But forbidding pro-life leaders from sidewalk counseling and from protesting in front of Planned Parenthood abortuaries! [Read more…]
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