Monthly Archives: February 2013

We disagree because we disagree

Posted on February 26, 2013 by David Hume

Rod Dreher has some interests thoughts and link roundups to the idea of Natural Law, by way of explaining how non-religious people need Natural Law to construct a rational foundation for ethics. I think Hume is right on this: Reason … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Making Friends and Influencing People

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

The Indianapolis Star reports: Women obtaining an abortion-inducing drug would be required to undergo an ultrasound before and after taking the drug under a bill approved Wednesday by an Indiana Senate committee. Though the bill doesn’t specify that it be … Continue reading →

Posted in law, politics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Old Nick, Dead Right

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

Isaiah Berlin on Machiavelli: Machiavelli’s cardinal achievement is his uncovering of an insoluble dilemma, the planting of a permanent question mark in the path of posterity. It stems from his de facto recognition that ends equally ultimate, equally sacred, may … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy | Tagged , | 7 Comments

The End of a “Catholic Moment”?

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

Ross Douthat mourns (prematurely, I fear) ‘the end of a Catholic moment’: The mid-2000s were the last time the Catholic vision of the good society — more egalitarian than American conservatism and more moralistic than American liberalism — enjoyed real … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Asteroid 2012 DA14

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

For some reason, the asteroid’s near(ish) miss brought this to mind…

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Ben Carson and neutral principle

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Heather Mac Donald

A little over a week ago, renowned pediatric surgeon Ben Carson electrified the Right by giving a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast that was widely deemed a critique of President Obama’s agenda on health care, taxation, and stimulus spending.  … Continue reading →

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Mass shootings and urban violence

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Heather Mac Donald

President Obama once again conflated the Sandy Hook massacre with chronic gun violence in last night’s State of the Union speech: in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries have been stolen from our … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Benedict Resigns

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

Brendan O’Neill (atheist, former altar boy) looks at the pope’s resignation and is none too impressed: Benedict is aware of the crisis of vocation in the modern world, the way in which he what he called the ‘relativist cultural context… … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Tagged , | 5 Comments

In the 21st Century

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

A hideous story from NBC: Assailants stripped, tortured and bound a woman accused of witchcraft, then burned her alive in front of hundreds of witnesses in a Papua New Guinea town, police said Friday after one of the highest profile … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, Religion | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Nice Try

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

Well, this made me laugh: In authoring scripture, Origen [an early theologian] argues, God has deliberately planted all sorts of interpretive obstacles: problems, difficulties, mistakes, morally objectionable stories, and so forth. These manifold obstacles lead us to press beneath the … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Tagged , | 3 Comments