This story from last week about New Hampshire Republican lawmaker Martin Harty is despicable: Barrington Republican Martin Harty told Sharon Omand, a Strafford resident who manages a community mental health program, that “the world is too populated” and there are “too many defective people,” according to an e-mail account of the conversation by Omand. Asked … Read more
This “Late Saturday Night/Really Early Sunday Morning” marked the arrival of one of my very least-favorite times of year: the dreaded Daylight Savings Time. (As you can see from the artist’s rendering of me on the right, there are deep bags under my eyes. I expect those to last for at least a month. The … Read more
Along with all the other troubling reports out of Japan, Americans seem to be keeping a particularly close eye on updates about the nation’s nuclear power plants, two of which were disabled in the immediate wake of the disaster. Joe Lieberman, among others, has suggested we “quickly put the brakes on” nuclear power in this … Read more
I know we have all been riveted, and horrified, by the news coming out of Japan this weekend in the wake of Friday’s massive earthquake and tsunami. Below is just a sampling of some of the stories, images, and ways to help out there on the Web right now: Above, a before-and-after Google Earth image … Read more
Gene Yang is a graphic novelist who has won two Eisner awards (one for the widely-available American Born Chinese) and was nominated for the National Book Award, a first for a graphic novelist. He is also a Catholic and a teacher at a Catholic high school. On his website, he writes, “I’ve always struggled with … Read more
Today the Maryland House of Delegates voted to kill a bill that would allow same-sex marriages. On a voice-vote motion, the House sent the bill back to the Judiciary Committee, with the understanding that it didn’t have enough support to pass on the floor, even though it cleared the Senate two weeks ago (on a … Read more
Over the past two weeks, protestors around Egypt have been breaking into State Security Agency offices and carrying out documents they fear will be destroyed by government operatives. The records have already produced a few bombshells, but this tops the list: Perhaps the most controversial document to surface was one that purports to lay out … Read more
Time for a few Friday links: John Allen on Pope Benedict’s latest book: “It’s likely to cement the impression that Benedict XVI is his own best spokesperson.” Diary of a Part Time Monk: A man decides to fast on doppelbock beer (“liquid bread”) and water for the whole of Lent — just like monks used … Read more
I read an interesting article in Time today about Germany and the economic powerhouse it has become. Their exports are high, unemployment is down to 6.9% and their GDP rose 3.6% in 2010. They have recovered from the economic recession that swallowed Europe and their future is bright. What bothered me in the article was the view … Read more
In a Chicago Sun-Times opinion piece this morning, Reason magazine’s Jacob Sullum says the Democrats aren’t serious about the national debt. Nothing surprising about that, but he concludes with this beauty: Picking up the president’s investment theme, The New York Times says it’s “obfuscating nonsense” to declare that “we’re broke,” as House Speaker John Boehner … Read more
Long before I became a Catholic at age 34, I opposed abortion. I came to this position on the basis of reason alone — as an Evangelical I had not been schooled on this issue. Evangelicals, by the way, did not start their anti-abortion activism until the 80s, taking over leadership from Catholics like Dr. … Read more
After two months of deliberation, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) has signed legislation to abolish the death penalty in that state: Quinn called this the hardest decision he has had to make as governor, but one he felt was required. “If the system can’t be guaranteed 100 percent error-free, then we shouldn’t have the system,” … Read more
Ash Wednesday as a solemn day of penance must take on new meaning for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia today: The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Tuesday that it had suspended 21 priests from active ministry in connection with accusations that involved sexual abuse or otherwise inappropriate behavior with minors. The mass suspension was the single-most sweeping … Read more
AOL News ran a piece yesterday by Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood director who wrote the recently released unPlanned. In the column, she outlined the ways Congress and the American public have been misled by Planned Parenthood over the years. Johnson would be in a position to know since she worked eight years for … Read more
Over at the National Catholic Reporter blog, John Allen has an intriguing discussion of There Be Dragons, Roland Joffé’s upcoming film about the life of St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei. From a journalistic point of view, it’s tempting to style “There Be Dragons” as a sort of anti-Da Vinci Code – a pop culture portrayal of Opus … Read more
An article in the Wall Street Journal examines the debate over whether parents should let children drink alcohol at home. Not surprisingly, both parents and experts differ. According to a 2009 survey, 86 percent of American youths have used alcohol by the age of 21. (This number actually seems a little low to me.) The … Read more
A recent CDC study found that the number of 15 to 24 year olds who reported being virgins in 2008 had increased slightly since 2002. In his latest column, Ross Douthat sees in that trend a reason for optimism — not because he thinks we’ll ever really see an end to premarital sex, but because … Read more
C. S. Lewis is big business these days, but is the new “Lewis Bible” taking things a bit too far? The Lewis Bible, available in cloth (18,000 copies sold since its November debut) or leather (6,000), shares a recycling genre with “A Year with C. S. Lewis,” a collection of 365 Lewis readings, which since … Read more
Frances Kissling, former president of Catholics for a Free Choice, has been disowned for not being consistent in her pro-choice stand. According to LifeSite News: Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the largest abortion provider in the United Kingdom, has “excommunicated” U.S. abortion philosopher Frances Kissling from the abortion movement, … Read more
As Oscar Wilde once said, “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.” Evidence in support of his statement can be found in this mind-boggling article, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal: Life isn’t easy for the self-proclaimed superhero who calls himself “Phoenix Jones, Guardian of Seattle.” A 22-year-old day-care worker by day, he dons … Read more