“Later, I went back and looked at it and realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, oh … I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, ‘I am the carpenter.’ But that wouldn’t have been the same, would it?” “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow,” Soggy Bottom Boys “I Am a Pilgrim,” The Lost Dogs “I Am a Rock,” Simon & Garfunkel “I Am Always... Read more
The Weather Channel last night failed in its duty to help me drift off to sleep, instead showing a fascinating documentary on the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. I was dimly aware of the historical fact that such a storm had occurred, and recalled seeing it at the top of those grim lists of American natural disasters, but I hadn’t ever heard a complete telling of this story. And I had never been even dimly aware of the remarkable story of... Read more
Civility does not mean, primarily, being nice. It means, foremost, being honest. Without a shared commitment to truth, there can be no civility. Pretending that one is trying to be nice while dripping with condescension and scorn is not compatible with civility. Particularly when this faux-politeness is all in the service of distorting another’s words — creating a mocking effigy of their argument, then criticizing that effigy for being so crudely drawn. The great thing about the evangelical subculture is... Read more
On the question of international intervention in Libya I’m afraid I can’t offer any deep insights or unique wisdom. I have read numerous arguments expressing support or reluctance about this engagement and, unfortunately, I have found both sets of arguments compelling. I’ll list some of those in a bit, but first let me try to explain how I’m trying to go about thinking about this. I try to view military action primarily through the lens of just war theory. That... Read more
Marci A. Hamilton, “Philadelphia Is the Ireland of America” Here is what we have in Philadelphia: The Cardinals’ cover up of the abusers left child predators in ministry. They may have been moved from parish to parish, or school to parish, but they performed the standard sacraments for one family after another. That means that in addition to sexually assaulting children, they presided over untold numbers of christenings, first holy communions, confirmations, marriages and funerals. So one Catholic family after... Read more
Tribulation Force, pp. 354-356 “Rayford’s day — and, he felt, his future — were both set,” Chapter 16 begins. While Nicolae Carpathia signs his peace treaty with Israel, Rayford Steele will be getting Antichrist One ready for a flight to Baghdad, and then, after a brief tour of the ancient ruins set to be rapidly transformed into the new Global Capital City, for a flight west to New York. That peace-treaty signing, we have been told, is the most important... Read more
Q: What do Ed Koch, Joan Rivers, Barbara Bush, Russell Simons, Moby and Kyra Sedgwick have in common? A: They think that the law should apply equally to everybody in New York. And, of course, it should. Duh. * * * * * * * * * Jason at The Wild Hunt on the “New Apostolic Reformation” group: “If you think what this group is doing sounds like malefic magic, I’d be hard-pressed to argue with you.” Prayer should not... Read more
This advice comes from the GiveWell Blog (via Ezra Klein): The situation in Japan is tragic and worrying, and our hearts continue to go out to those affected and responding. … We believe that: Those affected have requested very little, limited aid. Aid being offered far exceeds aid being requested. Charities are aggressively soliciting donations, often in ways we feel are misleading. Any donation you make will probably be used (a) by the charity you give it to, for activities... Read more
A prayer for everyone who’s ever been out on the pavement … “A Hard Day’s Night,” The Beatles “Hard Headed Woman,” Cat Stevens “Hard Luck & Heart Attack,” Vigilantes of Love “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall,” Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians “Hard Times Come Again No More,” Bob Dylan “Hard Times Come Again No More,” Eastmountainsouth “Hard Times Come Again No More,” Emmylou Harris “Hard Times Come Again No More,” The Lost Dogs “Hard Times Come Again No More,”... Read more
I’ve got my brackets filled in. Here’s my Final Four: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, BP, UnitedHealth. I’ve got BofA edging out BP in the final, but this is a really strong tournament field with lots of great contenders, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from years of March Madness, it’s that anything can happen. No, I’m not talking about the NCAA basketball tournament. I’m talking about Consumerist’s annual March Madness contest for Worst Company in America. For the... Read more
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