I don’t mean to pick on Gerald, but his recent post at The Cafeteria is Closed regarding the racial identity of Barack Obama’s church furnishes me with an example of a rhetorical tactic I often find problematic. In the post, Gerald presents quotes from the church’s website about how it is “Unashamedly Black,” has deep roots in “the Black religious experience,” etc., and then, as an argument for the church’s racism, asks us to imagine what we would think if... Read more
Taxes.In the history of humanity, taxes have always been a despised necessity for the continued existence of the state. Without taxes, a country cannot be run. There will be no utopian country where taxes are non-existent. They are with us until the end of the world. This does not mean, however, their collection and use cannot be improved upon. (more…) Read more
A couple of my professors are admirers of Leo Strauss, and I have only recently started to read him in more depth. This is very much worth the time. He is a radical thinker much abused these days by those cheaply wielding a political club so as to whack around those who, unlike them, are not foreign policy “realists” (which basically means they dare to disagree at this time on this point on this particular topic). Strauss, however, was much... Read more
As if his 100% NARAL record wouldn’t do it, his ties to his racist Church cinches it. Note how his church’s magazine honors anti-Semite and racist Louis Farrakhan in this interview. If Obama were a Ron Paul, for instance, it would be on the front page of CNN like it was yesterday. Racism in any color should not be tolerated. Even if Obama is NOT a racist, he should not be aligning himself and his family with people who are.... Read more
Part I. Part II. Part III. Part IV. The rise of Protestantism allowed many Gnostic ideas to enter the public consciousness. Old, rejected, notions were given a new trial, and many of them ended up being welcomed by the Reformers. While the rejection of ecclesiastical authority and tradition allowed Gnostic thought to return, it must be made clear that there was not a wholesale adaptation of Gnosticism by any one Protestant group. Yet it is easy to see that ontological dualism found within... Read more
French President Minster Nicolas Sarkozy was much heralded upon his election. He has been viewed as having a more sympathetic view of Iraq. He prolonged a pointless transit strike with his anti-union rhettoric. Many conservatives in America were openly wondering if he was one of us. I don’t know his position on waterboarding so I can’t speak for Katherine Lopez of National Review, but with a second divorce and the rumored pregnancy with his mistress, I think we can safely say... Read more
Our conversation the other day about the meaning and essence of liberalism was interesting. I tend to think, though, that for many people today being a liberal is less about holding to certain principles than it is about holding certain political positions. That is to say, what makes one a liberal is not that one believes in equality, or the priority of the individual, or the instrumental nature of the state. What makes one a liberal is support for gun... Read more
In my prediction below, some may have detected a lack of love for McCain. I don’t believe I have written on McCain. I’m not excited about his candidacy. I’m not a huge fan of mavericks. I think he is reckless in his foreign policy pronouncements. I do support his believe in balanced budgets, and I thought he showed real leadership in the immigration debate. If I had to pick his greatest fault, I would say it is his need to... Read more
I have often been told that one does not become truly “pro-life” until one actually obeys Jesus Christ and ministers to the lesser brethren (cf. Matthew 25). Then, I am told, respect for life in its totality is finally and truly gained, for life consists in the full duration of one’s living existence. Well, such was the case for Jeffrey Reed, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, who was assigned to Casa Juan Diego as part of his seminary... Read more
Something weird is going on in Hollywood. (more…) Read more
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