Schism in Amnesty International?

June 21, 2007 By Henry Karlson

After it was reported that Amnesty International would support so-called “abortion-rights” throughout the world, I knew things were messed up. Will they support prison terms for those who are opposed to so-called “abortion rights”? Are they moving beyond the original vision of AI? Would they create a new set of political prisoners based upon their own new-founded ideology? Thankfully, others are asking this very question. In Ireland, AI officials do not want to support a pro-abortion stand. They do not... Read more

Michael Novak’s Shoddy Economic Analysis

June 21, 2007 By Morning's Minion

Over at the First Things blog, Michael Novak has written a detailed post against what he sees as persistent criticism of the “American economic system” (is there any real doubt where his allegiances truly lie?). He wants to hone in on such criticisms using “the fires of critical thought”. Except than when he gets down to his actually arguments, he shies away from critical thought and instead relies on ideologically-tinged obfuscation. I wish to deal only with one point he... Read more

Who’s Really Running France?

June 21, 2007 By Policraticus

Left: Nicolas Sarkozy President of France and former leader of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire Right: Maurice Merleau-Ponty philosopher of France and former Marxist humanist So did France really end up electing a socialist after all? Is France masterfully playing both sides? (H/T: Anxietas) Read more

In Search of Personhood, In Search of Friendship

June 21, 2007 By voxnovablog

Continuing the theme I began in an earlier post regarding leisure, a question arose with respect to what kind of activity constitutes leisure. The claim was made that leisure is that time when one is free from the burdens of toiling and laboring for the necessities of life and free to become fully human through self-perfecting actions. With the focus being on the ‘self’ there was some concern that one’s pursuit of self-actualization actually becomes self-ish. As I suggested and... Read more

Corporatism

June 21, 2007 By voxnovablog

Uncle M.Z., will GE go to heaven?No my dear, GE will never die – even if she someday goes bankrupt – but we need to treat her as a person just the same. Communism is richly mocked for its centralized companies. Yet when we look at the American corporation we see the epitome of freedom. Communism is condemned for making people dependent upon the State by expecting the State to provide employment and ensure shelter and food. We look to... Read more

Bush Vetoes Embryonic Stem Cell Bill

June 20, 2007 By voxnovablog

Congratulations to President Bush for vetoing the human embryonic stem cell bill! Way to go President. Read more

Happy 50th Anniversary of Ordination to Renato Cardinal Martino

June 20, 2007 By Policraticus

Renato Cardinal Martino’s 50th Anniversary of Ordination is today! He’s been called “an idiot” by one Catholic blogger. He was told by another blogger to “hush up!” Still another has described some of his actions as “act[s] of stupity.” A Catholic apologist has unabashedly characterized his work as “unworthy of responsible churchmen” and “the kind of sloppy language on social topics that regularly comes from some European churchmen.” A law professor submits that some of his vocalized ideas have “has... Read more

Is Scalia Dissenting Again?

June 20, 2007 By voxnovablog

Remember Scalia’s attack on Evangelium Vitae, when he mocked John Paul’s teaching on the death penalty by calling for “new staffers at the Congregation for Prudence in the Vatican.”? And now Scalia’s keen sense of dissenting irony strikes again. This time, the topic is torture. And, no, Scalia is not writing a treatise on the topic in First Things. Rather, he is ad-libbing about a television show. Scalia is a huge fan of 24, the show where the main protagonist... Read more

Militant: The War of Mercy

June 20, 2007 By voxnovablog

Part 1: Nonviolence vs. The Just-WarPart 2: Justice vs. MercyPart 3: The War of Mercy(Disclaimer: I hope that this discussion can lead all of us to a closer look at Church teachings, and so I have tried to keep my thoughts focused upon the Magisterium’s teachings. It’s my hope that any discussion provoked by this post will maintain the same mindset. Though we can find truth in many places, why not go to its source – Christ and his Church?... Read more

Letter to Eddie Vedder by Gary Cherone

June 20, 2007 By soutenus

“My hope is to introduce as many who will listen, regardless of where they stand, to Libertarians for Life. For their arguments are persuasive, reasoning from science and philosophy. Anyone with an objective mind will find them hard to ignore.” -Gary Cherone (pictured left)For some time now, Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam has spoken out in favor of abortion choice. In June of 1999, the rock world heard a different take on the issue when Gary Cherone (at... Read more