Part I Part II Part III Part IV He knew he was going to meet Jane, and something was beginning to happen to him which ought to have happened to him far earlier. That same laboratory outlook upon love which had forestalled in Jane the humility of a wife, had equally forestalled in him, during what passed for courtship, the humility of a lover. Or if there had ever arisen in him at some wiser moment the sense of ‘Beauty... Read more
After giving it some thought, I decided I would offer this to our cultured readers. What degree of casualness do you think is excessive when discussing public figures? I’m not talking about celebrity trade names like Madonna, Oprah, or Dr. Drew. I’m talking about real people who happen to hold positions of importance. Sometimes I half wonder when I’m looking at various blogs at what point I’m going to see the headline, “Mr. B. say no to womYn priests.” Perhaps... Read more
Part 1: Memory and Identity of the Mexican American Community Part 2: A New Consciousness: Attitudinal Shifts in the Catholic Church in Houston The Need for Constant Renewal in Church Ministry Although the Church in the United States has gained significant ground in ministering and attending to the needs of the Mexican community, as well as to the Hispanic community as a whole, there are still lingering challenges and difficulties force us to recognize that there is need for improvement... Read more
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal told reporters that he will not be John McCain’s running mate. From CNN: “I’m not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president,” Jindal told Fox News. “I’m going to help Sen. McCain get elected as governor of Louisiana.” “Let me be clear: I have said in every private and public conversation, I’ve got the job that I want,” Jindal said. It’s not uncommon for those being considered for a slot on the presidential... Read more
Over the past couple of weeks, the blogosphere has been ablaze with controversy ignited by biologist and blogger P.Z. Myers’ threatened (and later claimed) desecration of a Eucharistic host. Myers’ actions were met with many a forceful rebuke, and rightly so. Curiously, though, there were no calls among Myers’ critics for him to be jailed or fined for his actions, nor was there much discussion about how it was too bad that people were free to engage in this sort... Read more
Part I Part II Part III No knight could offer any love to any lady till he had proved his worth; then he might, ‘and his friend was the more chaste as he was brave.’ The phrase suggests – as we might from other sources suppose, and those not only Christian or doctrinal but imaginative and poetic – that chastity was more than a negation of lust; it was a growing, heightening, and expanding thing. It was a state of... Read more
In an insightful essay in the Washington Monthly, Kenneth Bailen discusses a number of conversations with purported supporters of Al Qaeda in Islamic countries, and polls on the same topic. His basic conclusion is that much of this support is “soft” and reflects anger at the perceived anti-Muslim bias of the United States rather than any support for the agenda of Al Qaeda. In fact, these people tend to oppose terrorism in their own countries, and support policies such as... Read more
Part I Part II But as she looked on him, doom fell upon her, and she loved him; yet she slipped from his arms and vanished from his sight even as the day was breaking. Then Beren lay upon the ground in a swoon, as one slain at once by bliss and grief; and he fell into a sleep as it were into an abyss of shadow, and waking he was cold as stone, and his heart barren and forsaken.... Read more
Rising prices at the gas pump appear to be having at least one positive effect: Traffic deaths around the country are plummeting, just as they did during the Arab oil embargo three decades ago. Researchers with the National Safety Council report a 9 percent drop in motor vehicle deaths overall through May compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of 18 percent in March and 14 percent in April. Preliminary figures obtained by The Associated Press... Read more
Previous: Edmund Burke’s Anti-Ideology Edmund Burke’s Concept of Order Burke was strongly against ideology that flows from the contractual, the scientific, or the rational principles of reason. These cannot capture the varied and organic nuances and subtleties of life. His writings indicate that circumstances are far too complicated, far too messy and human, to be neatly summed up. This mistrust of abstract political systems, quasi-metaphysical principles founded upon reason, seeks a good of society as a good in itself, not... Read more
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