Roundup for Noontime Reading

Busyness has made me remiss in letting you folks know about Patheos’ Religion and Faith Book Club, which is currently discussing Stephen Prothero’s God is Not One, with a nifty tie-in to the PBS-series, which is also looking at the book.

Sadly, neither the book nor the series has crossed my path, simply because of a lack of time, but you’ll want to check out the sites and reviews, I think.

Speaking of reading, Halloween is coming up. Check out John C. Wright’s guffaw-inducing thoughts on the problem of evil in spooky stories. Don’t be drinking anything while you’re reading it!

More on Halloween: In the UK, lots of ink being generated this year on the subject of saints vs spooks

The Gay Marriage Question: This seems to be the week of Catholic writers looking at “tolerance” issues, and today Eve Tushnet has a great piece up over at Inside Catholic: The Great Unweaving.

Tushnet, who some may recall from this piece in the NY Times, takes a look at where young Catholic adults stand on abortion and gay marriage and finds the elusive thread that joins them, and which–if cultivated–could resolve them. You should read it.

Francis Beckwith: Asks the question: Is Catholicism Rational? as he reflects on the Protestant/Catholic divide. A good read!

Look at the Chart: Marriage is trending downward in all churches. Msgr. Charles Pope has thoughts on how to fix that.

R.R. Reno: The Body of Death, Pictured

Secondhand Smoke on the “norm” of aborting Down syndrome fetuses

Once again, as in 2000, some seem not to want our military to be able to actually vote: Isn’t it past time for us to develop a means of creating polling places at military installments and aboard naval vessels that would allow our service people to vote, and their numbers reported in a timely manner? I mean, this is the 21st century! We have the technology!

“Power to the Patriarchs!”. Once again, East confronts West.

Joe Carter: Evangelicalism’s Fads and Fixtures. I like that.

The Return of the Know-Nothings

The Government: should limit its involvement in health care. It does it so poorly. Obamacare just sucks, doesn’t it?

He’s been on my mind a lot, lately: Tim Dalrymple writes of attending a talk by the Brothers Hitchens, yesterday and files this – Hitchens and the Grave

Buying votes

I didn’t think it was possible: Worse than Carter. What happens when there is no one left to blame? Oops.

For your Dessert: A BIG Fish Story! Sometimes you don’t have to cast out into the deep; wading among the anchovies might get the job done!

A Memo to America’s Hippies: a reader sent this to me, looking back fondly on her psychedelic days. Or daze. Whatever, she grew up and we love her!

Oh, and by the way, Julie didn’t think much of it