Eve Tushnet
Simcha Fisher is making sense. Read more
Simcha Fisher is making sense. Read more
Guys, a rote and inauthentic Act of Contrition takes a lot out of me! Not sure I’m up for this whole “real” thing. …But no, some of these alternative prayers are really lovely. And the post strikes the balance between the humility of repeated, set prayers and the vulnerability of chosen or self-made prayers. Read more
In the last culture war, relativism’s influence was evident in the stock arguments that kept appearing in magazines and op-ed pages: Breaking taboos is valuable for its own sake; people have a right to make their own choices and not be judged for it; what you call a social evil is really just a cultural difference; et cetera.But those articles are no longer seen so often. Now, the most annoyingly ubiquitous genre in journalism is the social-scientific analysis, as if... Read more
Hey, it pays the bills. No, but here I am in First Things responding to Douglas Farrow’s “Thirteen Theses On Marriage.” Other respondents include Jonathan Rauch, Paige Hochschild, David Blankenhorn, and Amy Wax. Read more
images here–bloody storytelling…. Via AC. Read more
“God,” I said, “like Alfred Hitchcock, vouchsafes us only glimpses of Himself. I have often thought of this. And also that we make a game of trying to spot Him in this scene and then that, till we’ve squandered the revelation of the whole instead of simply accepting and enjoying what He has created.” –actually via Helen of course Read more
“The tiger can’t change his spots. No, wait, he did! Good for him!” Seriously, sit with that one for a moment and see if it doesn’t bring you down! The other day I was thinking about that old line, “How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, but the light bulb has to really want to change.” It’s true enough, but insufficient. The light bulb also has to be able to imagine that change is... Read more
There is no way this could go wrong!: At a time when states are struggling to reduce bloated prison populations and tight budgets, a private prison management company is offering to buy prisons in exchange for various considerations, including a controversial guarantee that the governments maintain a 90% occupancy rate for at least 20 years. more (via Jendi Reiter) Read more
I ask a question at AmCon, and Noah Millman gives some answers. Read more
I review the children’s book Letters from Rifka, at Acculturated. Thanks to NJMKW for suggesting it! Read more
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