Two classic clips from Yes, Prime Minister. If you have never seen the show, and you are into politics and political discussions, you should see it and Yes, Minister, its predecessor; the series presents the best deconstruction of politics that you will probably ever see. You told a lie: (more…) Read more
Today is the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. On the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, I posted the first part of what was going to be a debate last year between myself and Shawn of the blog Rerum Novarum on the morality of the bombings. Prior to the debate, Shawn and I agreed that the atomic bombings would be justified only if two conditions were met: 1) the bombings did not involve the intentional targeting of noncombatants; and... Read more
Just when I thought he’d reached his campaign nadir, he outdoes himself with a video that overtly mocks the purported messianic undertones of Obama, and covertly suggests he might be the anti-Christ. Watch it below. According to knowledgeable evangelical sources, the language of the ad is so similar to that of the Left Behind series that the message is blindingly clear. It’s both despicable and blasphemous, even as it tries to hide behind a certain whimsical breeziness. These people claimed to... Read more
Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict. Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated. “I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined... Read more
We were graced to be the subject of a post over at Mark Shea’s blog wherein we were given some unsolicited advice on how to run our comboxes: In the same way, nasty and abusive combox chatter drives out normal decent people. You wind up with abuse-dominated conversations where quiet ordinary people would not dare to tread lest they become the next victim. Good advice, I’d say, for any blog–advice that certainly would have been welcomed by us with alacrity... Read more
There are different types of stealing, since stealing is the taking of things belonging to another aginst the owner’s will. This is done either by pure deceit, by violence, or by fraud. If it is done by pure deceit and in secret, then it is called stealing. If it is done by violence, either the violence is done in the open and is called plundering, or it is hidden and it is called a robbery. If the taking of things... Read more
When Vox Nova was launched over a year ago, one of the first complaints received was that it was insufficiently diverse in terms of representing the fullgamut of Catholic opinion. Persistent critics called for more “conservative” voices, when what they really wanted was more of the same in terms of Catholic blogs–in other words, the tired old Republican talking points masquerading as authentic faith in action. That brand of opinion can indeed be made compatible with orthodox Catholicism under certain... Read more
Catholics tend to harbor a mild ambivalence toward John F. Kennedy, whether it be induced by the alleged extra-marital affairs or the supposition that his faith meant nothing to his politics. Say what you will about JFK, there is one element of his presidency that I think deserves a return of Catholic appreciation: his nomination of Supreme Court Justice Byron White. The ruling on Roe v. Wade was the result of a 7-2 vote, five of the majority votes coming... Read more
President Hugo Chávez is using his decree powers to enact a set of socialist-inspired measures that seem based on a package of constitutional changes that voters rejected last year. His actions open a new stage of confrontation between his government and the political opposition. The government quietly revealed last week that the president had approved 26 new laws on Thursday, when the 18-month decree powers bestowed on him by Congress were set to expire, but officials withheld offering the full... Read more
An essay by Nicholas Lemann about the once forgotten, provocative Arthur Bentley provides a definition of politics: all politics and all government are the result of the activities of groups. Politics is a never-ending, small-bore struggle for advantage among constantly shifting coalitions of interest groups. Bentley called this “pluralism.” There is no such thing as a “transcendent public interest;” all politics at all times involve dealmaking. As politicians succeed, they become more obviously attentive to interest groups, more obviously engaged... Read more
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