So Ramadan came to an end. And Ramadan was a violent one. But what do we mean by that? It depends. Here are two examples from partisan media and what they chose to focus on: At Breitbart, the focus is on the approx. 3500 killed or wounded by various Muslim extremists. At Huffpost, the focus is on the anti-Muslim hate crimes aimed at Muslims here in the US. I can’t imagine anything illustrating so plainly the split in our modern society. If... Read more
The film that is: An annual viewing tradition around July 4th. From a time before the dark days of Multiculturalism taught us to ignore the myriad sins of the world while refusing to forgive the sins of the West. Adapted from Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels, it marked that last point where the Civil War was popularly understood as driven by the issue of slavery, but also about many complex issues, as history always is. But that was then. Today history, like so... Read more
The courts do not have a right to force parents to kill their children. That’s good. After the initial response from the Vatican, Pope Francis reversed course and chose not to side with the courts. Which is good. The whole notion of ‘consistent life ethic’ would have gone out the window if the Vatican’s initial statement about the case would have remained. That Donald Trump stepped in is nice, though what the head of state can do in this situation, I... Read more
Just a reminder: And who can forget: Sometimes it’s nice to to remember the basics. Happy Birthday America. And well done. Read more
To celebrate a wonderful and blessed country. Are we still worth celebrating? Probably. It always seems bad to some and better to others. But from a historian’s POV, things could be worse. A lot worse. Both in our history and in our present. I don’t think the fact that we’re so blessed needs to be a curse. It should compel us to use our blessings responsibly. But for our part, despite the sins that we, like all societies through history,... Read more
An insightful look into the era that taught us the first and greatest commandment is to get laid, and the second is like unto this, to get high. Anything else that happens to society? Since society sucks anyway, it matters not. The exact number of casualties from that particular revolution have yet to be compiled. Read more
Thanks to my sons, I’ve learned everything I ever wanted to know about Chris Pratt. That comes from him being in the least likely Comic Book movie I would ever enjoy. My boys get a kick out of the fact that of all the modern CB movies, Guardians of the Galaxy is the one I like most. Apparently he spends a considerable amount of time raising funds and awareness for premature birth and other conditions impacting children. This comes from the... Read more
Peter Beinart at The Atlantic takes a look at the post Culture Wars I landscape. As we stumble into the Culture Wars II, it’s worth noticing the differences. Especially because, from the point of view of the faithful, we’ll be called upon to compromise ourselves to join the movements as they are now manifesting themselves. That is because this new phase is being waged by forces that are decidedly post-religious. Mr. Beinart does a splendid job unpacking what that might mean.... Read more
God bless these parents and this beautiful child. Already facing a fatal genetic condition, the child has struggled to live during his short life. The parents had hoped to bring the child to the US to try an experimental procedure in a last hope of saving the baby. In a turn of events that explains the general hesitation about turning such matters over to the State, the UK courts have said the parents can’t do this. The hospital will remove... Read more
And yet CNN is doing a bang up job doing just that. Over the last year, if there has been a single, glaring casualty of all that’s happened, it’s CNN’s credibility. Read more
Daffey Thoughts
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