Monthly Archives: October 2014

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is, with Christmas, one of the more enjoyable of our syncretic, splendidly commercialized festivals, so in the spirit of the evening here is a link to The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens, the greatest chronicler of Christmas who does, I … Continue reading

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Once Planned an ‘Orthodox al-Qaeda’, Moved On…

Cross-posted on the Corner: Russia’s fusion of nationalism, Russian Orthodox Christianity and reverence for (heavily sanitized) aspects of the Soviet past continues to evolve in less than reassuring ways BBC: As voters in most of Ukraine prepare to go to … Continue reading

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No Point and No Point in Worrying Either

Writing in The Week, Damon Linker wades into the controversy over the comment by Sam Harris that Islam is a “motherlode of bad ideas”. In many respects the controversy is more interesting than the insult, but that’s a discussion for … Continue reading

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“A Kind of Hydraulic Effect”

Writing in the New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin wonders where the Hobby Lobby decision might lead: The great Oliver Wendell Holmes once observed that important Supreme Court decisions “exercise a kind of hydraulic effect.” Even if the authors of such decisions … Continue reading

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George F. Will, American atheist

Several years ago George Will declared that he was an agnostic on the Colbert Report. Last week he pulled no punches: RCR: Do you believe in God? GW: No. I’m an atheist. An agnostic is someone who is not sure; … Continue reading

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