SOMETIMES I REALLY HATE IT WHEN I HAVE THE PERFECT TAGS FOR A POST: Several days have now passed since Alabama’s anti-immigration law, the harshest and most abusive in the nation, came into full effect. HB 56, a de facto criminalisation of migration, replaces any sensible immigration policy with the favorite solution these days: let’s put them behind bars– and we might as well make a profit out of it. The negative consequences of such shameful legislation have been felt... Read more

FREEDOM OF [REDACTED] ACT: A proposed rule to the Freedom of Information Act would allow federal agencies to tell people requesting certain law-enforcement or national security documents that records don’t exist—even when they do. Under current FOIA practice, the government may withhold information and issue what’s known as a Glomar denial that says it can neither confirm nor deny the existence of records. The new proposal—part of a lengthy rule revision by the Department of Justice—would direct government agencies to... Read more

In a remarkable account of a meeting he had with Charles Dickens in 1862, Dostoyevsky recalled that the British novelist told him: “All the good simple people in his novels, Little Nell, even the holy simpletons like Barnaby Rudge, are what he wanted to have been, and his villains were what he was (or rather, what he found in himself), his cruelty, his attacks of causeless enmity toward those who were helpless and looked to him for comfort, his shrinking... Read more

THERE’S A SERIES ON PRAYING THE ROSARY THROUGH ART at Crisis. The Joyful Mysteries are here; I especially liked the choices for the Sorrowful Mysteries. Read more

THIS IS THE ONLY TEXT I WILL EVER BE ABLE TO SEND. In which I go through TFLN until I come up with twenty [ETA: …plus] which work for famous authors. At that point I will have mercy on you people; but for now, let’s do this thing. Rough language, asterisked-out but obvious, in the post which follows. Caryl Churchill, The Skriker (especially since this is from the UK!): There are apples in the microwave and a cup of twigs... Read more

COMING DISTRACTIONS: In this order, more Famous Authors’ Texts from Last Night; two posts on what’s good and bad about using the language of “brokenness” w/r/t homosexuality, and my tentative guidelines or preferences for future discussions of the theology of ditto; and a Halloween series featuring short stories, illustrations/paintings, music, and comics which I think will appeal to horror fans. I’m sorry I’ve been so incommunicada lately, but at least it means I have a lot of words stored up... Read more

“THE STYLITE.” Via TA. Read more

YOU’RE WELCOME. Read more

The only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments, namely, the saints the Church has produced and the art which has grown in her womb. …. A theologian who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental: they necessarily are reflected in his theology.–Joseph Ratzinger, via Wesley Hill Read more

WOW, I AM TRYING AT LEAST THREE OF THESE BEFORE MONDAY. And there are more suggestions in the comments. Read more