The US Supreme Court has declared the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns to be unconstitutional as it violates the so called individual “right to bear arms”. We need to unpack this. The Catholic perspective is to start with Aquinas, who viewed law as “an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community”. The Enlightenment era gave us another view of the law, predicated on the notion of individual liberty as the... Read more
Here’s a story for those among us who uncritically accept as a truism that capitalist medicine automatically results in innovation while more humane health care systems automatically result in lower quality care. This just in, from AlertNet.org: Cuban scientists said on Tuesday the first vaccine to extend lives of lung cancer patients has been approved by Cuban authorities for use and is available in the island’s hospitals. The drug, CimaVax EGF, has been shown to increase survival rates on average... Read more
Okay, so not really. But given the way some of McCain’s prior statements have been twisted, I can almost imagine the DNC running an attack ad based on that premise: Only World War III would prompt Republican presidential candidate John McCain to bring back the military draft, McCain said on Tuesday. Many Americans are fearful the U.S. government will be forced to reinstitute the draft given the prolonged Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Asked about that possibility by a potential voter... Read more
Although this art of logic has manifold utility, still, if one is learned only in it, and ignorant of aught else, he is actually retarded, rather than helped to progress in philosophy, since he becomes a victim of verbosity and overconfidence. By itself, logic is practically useless. Only when it is associated with other studies does logic shine, and then by a virtue that is communicated by them. Considerable indulgence should, however, be shown to the young, in whom verbosity... Read more
George Weigel on Benedict and the revival of the Latin Mass. Art critic Roger Kimball on critical thinking and the Enlightenment. Two good pieces from The Atlantic: Is Google Making Us Stupid? and a consideration of the unintended consequences of good intentions – an American Murder Mystery. Jonathan V. Last previews, negatively, the new Brideshead Revisited film. For fans of the Sopranos, a definitive and I think convincing case that Tony is dead. Stephen Norwood reviews the relationship between Harvard... Read more
Nolo Contendere: I do not wish to contest. Upon a defendant offering this plea, the judge will then say, “The court finds the defendant guilty.” For the man who chooses not to contest an election by voting, do we likewise claim he abides whatever candidate is elected? Read more
Gerard Bradley says he has “an unmatchable record on life issues.” Deal Hudson proclaims: “McCain IS pro-life!” Oswald Sobrino one-ups Hudson, declaring McCain “extremely” pro-life. Maybe these three men are not very informed on McCain’s record on life. Would it be charitable to borrow a term that Christopher Blosser slings at Doug Kmiec and call them suckers? Perhaps ideologues is a bit kinder and more accurate. Before I get into this, a brief caveat is in order: I am not... Read more
As we head into the summer doldrums, I know that many of our readers here at Vox-Nova are probably suffering severe withdrawal from their favorite TV programs. Luckily, I have just the thing: A ten part lecture series! The lectures, by Prof. Paul Cantor of the University of Virginia, examines the interactions between commerce and art, and studies the myriad ways in which artists have been influenced by economic concerns. Lecture One introduces the topic. Lecture Two focuses on Shakespeare,... Read more
Recently, Ryan Anderson from First Things Blog defended President Bush’s pro-life record. Though he did not link to us, he mentioned that “several members of the blog Vox Nova” argue that Bush has not done too much against abortion. He links to Christopher Blosser from the Catholics in the Public Square blog to prove his point that many contributors from Vox Nova are ignoring the facts. From reading both Ryan’s and Christoper’s points and the arguments being made by my... Read more
Two of my professors on the great American philosopher John Dewey: John McDermott, discusses Dewey’s liberalism, and Gregory Pappas talks about Dewey’s emphasis on “the local” in democracy. These talks given along with others within the greater context of classical American philosophy. Read more
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