Monthly Archives: November 2013

This American Life episode on housing discrimination very misleading

Last week This American Life had an episode on housing discrimination, House Rules, which drew upon a ProPublica series, Living Apart – Fair Housing in America. The TAL episode began with a side-by-side comparison of the differing treatments of black … Continue reading

Posted in Biased reporting, Race | 1 Comment

Embarrassing in his Wrongness

Reason’s Matt Welch responds to Pope Francis’s dishonest and manipulative attack on free markets: Francis’s hyperbolic rants about the role and allegedly dictatorial power of free markets are embarrassing in their wrongness. Cheering them on is like donating money to … Continue reading

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Religious Freedom!

It’s not just the HHS contraception mandate. Another front opens up in the ‘religious freedom’ debate. The Daily Telegraph reports: As beads of sweat slithered down his temples, Andrew Hamblin stared in wide-eyed wonder at the three-foot timber rattlesnake he … Continue reading

Posted in Church & State | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

On the Persecution of Christians by . . .

Cross-posted on the Corner: Cranmer picks up on a curious exchange in Britain’s House of Lords between a UKIP peer (Lord Pearson) and a Conservative minister (Baroness Warsi). The whole thing is well worth a read, but this section, in … Continue reading

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No, Obama isnt downgrading our Vatican embassy — but he should

Contrary to some breathless reports in the conservative press, the Obama administration isn’t downgrading U.S. diplomatic relations with the Vatican. As the State Department’s explanation notes, 1) there’s no downgrade of representation or staff reduction; 2) the ambassador’s residence isn’t … Continue reading

Posted in Church & State | 2 Comments

The Pope, Again

Cross-posted on the Corner As Kathryn notes (and we were discussing over at Ricochet), today saw the release of a major statement by the new pope. One highlight(courtesy of an admiring Guardian): Pope Francis has attacked unfettered capitalism as “a … Continue reading

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Mysticism and Mush – Grains of Sand, Glasses of Wine (or Something)

More on what sort of god is God: Aiden Kimel: I concluded my previous post with the question, How do we stop thinking of God as god? The contemporary theologian I have found most helpful on this question is Herbert … Continue reading

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Finding order where there is none

Via Andrew Sullivan, Benjamin Wallace-Wells’ examination of American conspiracism in New York magazine: The seduction of conspiracy is the way it orders chaos. Hmmm, that sounds like another phenomenon I could mention, which makes this entertainingly ironic : In the … Continue reading

Posted in Religion, Science & Faith | Tagged , | 1 Comment

‘Like criticizing the malign influence of cricket on French society’

Cross-posted on the Corner: There was an exultant article by Jonathan Freedland over in the Guardian a couple of days ago proclaiming Pope Francis an “obvious hero of the left.” I wrote something about it over at Ricochet, but it’s … Continue reading

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About That Pope

Cross-posted on Ricochet: Over at the Guardian Jonathan Freedland exults in a new pope he believes is the “obvious new hero of the left” arguing that “even atheists should be praying” for him, a statement that can be read (on … Continue reading

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