This week, I decided it would be interesting to provide two rather short quotes from J.R.R. Tolkien. Both of them indicate aspects of his thought and character which might surprise many of his American readers. The first comes from Tolkien’s minutes of the December 1, 1913 meeting of the Stapeldon Society. : At the 791st meeting.. one of the world’s great battles between democracy and autocracy was fought and won, and as usual in such conflicts the weapons of democracy... Read more
At approximately 10:31pm EST, both the Associated Press and MSNBC called the New Hampshire Primary for Hillary Clinton. At that time, 67% precincts were in, and Clinton was leading Barack Obama 39% to 36%. Fox News, however, refused to make a projection despite projecting John McCain on the Republican side at the same time as the AP and MSNBC much earlier in the evening. An anti-Clinton bias? Responsible coverage? UPDATE: With the inevitable as obvious as it could be, Fox... Read more
Dear Governor Huckabee, Remember when I told you not to do this? Well, this is what happens when you don’t listen to me. (Cross-posted on RedState) Time to mend some fences, I’d say. Read more
Which was fine – I knew what the readings were, I can even do a few of the prayer responses (I could have done more if I’d known where the missalettes were – they weren’t in the pews) and I do know what’s happening. I was actually sorry that I don’t understand Spanish, though, because the priest’s delivery in his homily was excellent and seemed to be engaging, and I really would like to have known what he was saying.... Read more
One of the consistent teachings of Pope John Paul II that has been recast recently by Pope Benedict XVI is the obigation of Christians to care for the migrant. Christians are called to look deeper past the surface politics of immigration and into the more substantial realm of morality and human dignity. In honor of the 2008 National Migration Week, I would like to display excerpts from John Paul II’s 1997 and 1999 Message for World Migration Day, given August... Read more
There has been a recurring discussion around these parts over the meaning of liberalism, and who or what qualifies as a liberal. In part, this is due, I think, to the fact that the word liberal is used differently in the United States than it is in other parts of the world, and in part because the word has somewhat different meanings depending on whether it is used in a political or a religious context. (more…) Read more
“A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies! A chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure.” Blade Runner has become one of the most popular science fiction movies from the 1980s. When it was at the theatres, it was not an instant success. In fact, one can say it was a box office failure. Despite the draw that Harrison Ford should have had for the film, the movie bombed. Blade Runner was not an... Read more
I found this photo (source: AP) on the CNN political blog and I thought it was pretty funny 😉 My favorites are the faces of Richardson and Edwards… add your own caption! Read more
How the lethal injection drugs work: (ABC News) This injection contains a triple overdose of anesthesia drugs: sodium thiopental, which induces unconsciousness; pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the breathing muscles; and potassium chloride, which stops the heart. The drugs are usually mixed and injected by prison guards with no medical training. Furthermore, there can also be problems inserting the needle into the patient’s vein. For an execution, the person inserting the IV into the prisoner often has little training or experience.... Read more
While not trying to replicate the heroic efforts of Maximos of What’s Wrong With the World, I will briefly touch upon an area of annoyance. Socialism is the collective ownership of the assets of production. Socialism is not the development of any government program. While socialism does seek as its end a more proper redistribution of wealth; tax and welfare schemes to achieve a more just distribution of wealth are not socialism. They are more properly welfare politics. As more... Read more
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