The current issue of First Things has an important piece by Timothy Reichert examining the social impact of contraception. He argues that the modern contraceptive culture has led to “a massive redistribution of wealth and power from women and children to men.” The popular use of birth control has split the “market” governing gender relations … Read more
The optimists over at The American Dream (tagline: “Waking People Up And Getting Them To Realize That The American Dream Is Quickly Becoming The American Nightmare”) say the claims of economic recovery are false. In fact, our apparent turnaround is actually the brief period of calm before a second, more serious collapse. There are troubling … Read more
According to Kenneth Vogel at Politico, the fundraising powerhouse Tea Party Express may actually be a front for a Republican PAC. While others have said as much, the point was reinforced when Politico obtained an internal proposal from GOP media firm Russo Marsh & Rogers — the operation behind the “Express” — that appears to … Read more
On April 14, 1906, some clever San Franciscan strapped a movie camera to the front platform of a cable car, and recorded the vehicle’s slow climb up Market Street. The footage is remarkable — one commenter wrote that watching the film is like looking through the window of a time machine. But it’s even more … Read more
If you’re like me, every time some Web site’s security protocol forces you to use numbers in your password, you fantasize about reaching through the screen and throttling the site administrator. Well, we apparently have the right idea (not about the throttling). According to the Boston Globe, a new study — the first of its … Read more
Whenever the fans of active government need an example of a state-run business that works “without taxpayer subsidy,” more often than not, they’ll trot out the U.S. Postal Service. Well, so much for that: The U.S. Postal Service’s current business model “is not viable” and the mail agency should make deeper job and wage cuts, … Read more
The Baltimore contingent of InsideCatholic enjoys patronizing a local bar that serves classic Prohibition Era cocktails. I had my first Gin Fizz there a few months back, and it was a revelation; I’d never tasted anything quite like it. If our government protectors have anything to do with it, I may not again. In early … Read more
Michael Hirschorn at New York Magazine says that CNN has become the sick man of broadcast journalism. Things have certainly changed since the early days of cable. The rise: It’s easy to forget that CNN was once revolutionary. Founded in 1980, back when the idea of watching a channel other than ABC, NBC, or CBS … Read more
The current issue of Our Sunday Visitor has a cover story on the new commission set up by the Vatican to investigate — and come to some conclusion over — the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje. The examination will fall under the authority of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — Pope Benedict’s former … Read more
A new wrinkle has emerged in the beatification process for the late-John Paul II: The sudden healing of a French nun suffering from Parkinson’s disease may not have been a miracle at all. Â [A] Polish newspaper recently reported that doubts had been cast about whether the nun might not have had Parkinson’s at all. … Read more
The recent attacks on Pope Benedict and the Church have brought forth some excellent responses. First, over at National Review Online, Fr. Raymond J. de Souza says that the New York Times‘ Friday expose’ of the pope’s alleged intervention into a Milwaukee abuse case is undercut by the very evidence the reporters cite. The documents … Read more
In yesterday’s Washington Post, columnist Kathleen Parker debuted a new term: Stupak. Etymology: Eponym for Rep. Bart Stupak. Function: verb 1: In a legislative process, to obstruct passage of a proposed law on the basis of a moral principle (i.e., protecting the unborn), accumulating power in the process, then at a key moment surrendering in … Read more
Good news for the hungry tourists of Pompeii: Vetutius Placidus’ snack bar is reopening after extensive renovations. This being Italy, the work took almost 1900 years. Three hundred specially invited guests are to taste the delights of Roman fast food in the thermopolium (that’s snack bar to you and me) in a special ceremony to … Read more
Not every pro-life opponent of the healthcare reform bill is infuriated with Rep. Bart Stupak. Over at Catholic Online, our good friend Deacon Keith Fournier, while greatly disappointed with Stupak’s decision, nevertheless defends him against some of the harsher critics. [Stupak] seems to honestly believe that with this Executive Order, the current Hyde Amendment language … Read more
According to the New York Times, ACORN is close to bankruptcy. The organization’s leadership are teleconferencing this weekend to work out the details. A network that once included more than 1,000 grass-roots groups, Acorn, which stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, was created in 1970 and has fought for liberal causes like … Read more
ABC News is just now discovering last week’s confusion over Christoph Cardinal Schonborn’s comments on priestly celibacy. If you missed it, the cardinal had written a column for his diocesan magazine addressing the past sex abuse scandal. In the article, Cardinal Schönborn called for an “unflinching examination” of possible reasons for pedophilia, and said that … Read more
I’m not sure this video — created by a British publishing company — will do much for the book industry, but it’s awfully clever just the same. Watch the entire two and a half minutes for the twist… Â
If you live in the Washington, D.C. area, possess a brain, and have not attended at least one of the Tocqueville Forum lectures at Georgetown University… well, I don’t know what to tell you. The good folks at the Forum have been putting together some of the most compelling lectures and conferences available in the … Read more
Spiegel Online talked to P.W. Singer of the Brookings Institution about the increasing role of military drones in warfare. They are more widely used than I imagined — the U.S. alone has 7,000 drones flying, and 43 other countries have programs as well. As a result, warfare — and the experience of it — is … Read more
Bob Collins at Minnesota Public Radio received a first-class letter from the U.S. Census, telling him that they’ll be sending him another letter next week. The apparent foolishness of the exercise got him thinking about its expense: There were 105,480,101 households in 2000. At 500 sheets of paper per ream, that’s 210,960 reams of paper … Read more