“The challenges we face today…are simply too big for government to solve alone.”

Last updated on: July 1, 2008 at 2:58 pm By Policraticus

Barack Obama apparently does not feel that government should solve all the social and economic problems in the U.S. Today he stated that he wishes to expand President Bush’s faith-based initiative programs, and even went as far as to say that he supports the decisions of faith-based organizations to hire according faith. More from MSNBC. CNN reports that Obama is working hard to energize the Christian vote, working among groups, pastors, and churches that have hitherto been neglected (perhaps taken... Read more

Ethno-Catholicism and the Mexican American Community (Part 1 of 3)

Last updated on: July 1, 2008 at 2:12 pm By voxnovablog

In his book, The Church in the Barrio, Robert Treviño traces the history of the relationship between the Mexican and Mexican American community and the Catholic Church in Houston from the 1910s to the 1970s. In so doing, Treviño explores the customs and traditions of the nascent Mexican community in the city and how its self-understanding as a group defined its Catholicism and its relationship with the Church hierarchy. The chief point of Treviño’s book stems from the concept of... Read more

President Bush Wants War With Iran

Last updated on: July 1, 2008 at 11:46 am By Radical Catholic Mom

Yesterday afternoon as I made dinner and cleaned up my house before my husband returned home, I listened to NPR’s Fresh Air and Terry Gross’ interview with Seymour Hersh regarding his article in The New Yorker about President Bush’s desire for war in Iran. It was so disturbing I had to listen to the full 44 minutes of it and then it was last night’s dinner topic. Seymour reports that Democratic Congress gave Bush his requested funds for “covert operations”... Read more

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Worst African Dictator of Them All?

Last updated on: July 1, 2008 at 11:33 am By Morning's Minion

I bet you are thinking: Robert Mugabe. If so, you would be wrong. Do not consider this in any way a defense of the loathsome Mugabe regime, run by a man who cares only about personal power while the people suffer immensely. Zimbabwe is a true humanitarian tragedy. But no, the man I am talking about is Teodoro Obiang, the ruler of Equatorial Guinea. (more…) Read more

Context Is Everything

Last updated on: July 1, 2008 at 9:20 am By Henry Karlson

So many people think that once they pick up a text, they can simply read it and understand what it says. They think there is little to no interpretation going on when they engage a text. It means what it says, and what it says is what they get out of it. They do not understand that, in the process of reading a text, a reader is going through several interpretative processes, creating a meaning for the text itself. Now,... Read more

Libertarian Mecca

Last updated on: July 1, 2008 at 12:08 am By M.Z.

This past Sunday in one of the poorer editions of the Chicago Tribune, there was a commentary offered by a gentleman with the libertarian outfit Reason. Radly Balko lamented Chicago falling dead last in a series of measures over how free the city was. This lament has its foundation in a Reason Magazine study of 35 U.S. cities. The report evaluated cities based on “how much freedom they afford their residents to indulge in alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex, gambling and food.” They... Read more

Electing not to vote?

Last updated on: June 30, 2008 at 12:53 pm By Iafrate Michael

Great post today, M.Z., which gives some perspective on the positions of various VN contributors in the face of continuing accusations from around the Catholic blogosphere. I did want to clarify one thing, though: Henry Karlson, Michael Iafrate (Catholic Anarchist) and Policraticus have clearly stated they aren’t supporting the two major party candidates. Just to be clear, I have not defined my intentions as clearly as, say, Policraticus. I am not supporting either candidate in the sense that I will... Read more

Beginning the Politics of Fear

Last updated on: June 30, 2008 at 11:54 am By Policraticus

Courtesy of Joe Lieberman. When your pal is trailing in the polls, resort to scare tactics. Read more

This Fourth of July Weekend: No Separation Between Temple and State

Last updated on: June 30, 2008 at 11:21 am By Henry Karlson

Buddhist Temple on the National Mall: So, it seems there is to be no wall of separation between temple and state. Only between the church and state. (more…) Read more

Consistency in Ad Hominen Dismissals

Last updated on: June 30, 2008 at 10:29 am By M.Z.

A) Bunch of aging hippies and B) Bunch of know nothing aspiring academics are not consistent. Ideological blindness often keeps people from recognizing that the typical writer on this blog is younger. Such should be obvious from the lack of discretion often shown in entering particular arguments. I believe the median age on this blog is close to 30. Going through Gerald Campbell’s bio, I’m guessing he is the senior member of the blog and a bit of an outlier... Read more

Who saw a vision of wheels within wheels by the Kebar River?