Reports streaming in: United Russia, the party of President Vladimir Putin, will win big, consolidating its power in parliament and ensuring continuing sway of Putin even after his final term as president is up. Communist Party is looking to challenge the results, and the U.S. is calling for an investigation into voting irregularities. Read more
When the news broke that Archbishop Edwin O’Brien was being moved from his position as head of the Archdiocese of United States Military Services to serve the Archdiocese of Baltimore, I was secretly hoping that the Church would use the opportunity to quietly get itself out of the business of serving as chaplain to the American war machine. No such luck. Meet the new warrior shepherd, Archbishop Timothy Paul Broglio. [NOTE: Some VN readers are concerned that comments have been... Read more
While Roman Catholics are celebrating their first Sunday of Advent, Byzantines continue the so-called “St Philip’s Fast” in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity. Like Lent, this is a period of forty days which is used to prepare oneself for Christmas. What I find interesting is the Gospel Reading we had today, Luke 18:18-27: (more…) Read more
Today, Russian voters began heading to the polls to have their say on the form and face of Russia’s parliament. At stake? The presence and power of President Vladimir Putin’s party in Russian politics, as well as the legacy of Putin himself. The “United Russia” party has stepped up its criticism of Western policies (e.g., U.S. foreign policy) and its stifling of political opponents, such as the Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party, in an effort to win up... Read more
Tim’s El Salvador Blog remembers the four North American churchwomen — Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and Cleveland Lay Mission Team Member Jean Donovan — who were martyred on December 2, 1980. Read more
In what may be at first glance a seeming turbid assertion, the great German philosopher Karl Jaspers provides a line whose rich insight is yielded only before the affectively awakened spirit: “The rational is not thinkable without its other, the non-rational, and it never appears in reality without it. The only question is, in what form the other appears, how it remains in spite of all, and how it is to be grasped.” Taking a moment to lay-out only a... Read more
Finally, after years of caving into special interests, the US Congress is poised to increase national fuel efficiency standards– to 35 miles a gallon by 2020, up from the current average of 25. In Europe, however, vehicles average 37 miles a gallon right now, and this will increase to 50 by 2012. The current average in Japan is 45 miles a gallon. So, a small step, but we need to keep some perspective here. The American propensity for driving enormous... Read more
Quatermass The name might mean little to nothing to most Americans, but those who are fans of science fiction, and have studied its history on television and film, might recognize the name of one of its most famous and influential characters developed for television. Back in the 1950s, Nigel Kneale created the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass for the 1953 serial, The Quatermass Experiment. He was the head of a British “rocket group,” who sent a manned rocket into space,... Read more
From the Center for Immigration Studies: The nation’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) reached a record of 37.9 million in 2007. Immigrants account for one in eight U.S. residents, the highest level in 80 years. In 1970 it was one in 21; in 1980 it was one in 16; and in 1990 it was one in 13. Overall, nearly one in three immigrants is an illegal alien. Half of Mexican and Central American immigrants and one-third of South American immigrants... Read more
I sometimes am asked by Vox Nova readers why Karl Marx is included in our blog banner given the atrocities committed by 20th century communist states. I tend to reply that there are many good ideas in Marx’s writings, and that not all of it must be jettisoned because “Marxism,” which is its own animal, has had a cold, bloody and unjust face. But, more importantly, Marx has so profoundly shaped our understanding of economics, politics and the alienation the... Read more
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