In eighteenth century Europe, one of the favorite intellectual debates was the Debate of the Ancients and the Moderns, whether Europe had now exceeded the greatness of the Greco-Roman era or had not yet done so. There is a similar […]
Culture
Comments on the Film “The Descendants”
I recently saw a film called The Descendants, about a large family of landed aristocratic background in Hawaii. Though the Hawaiian setting is interesting, it is a story that could happen in many cultures – California is not without a […]
Christmas and Steven Pinker’s Decline of Violence
A few months ago biologist Steven Pinker released a paper (Article 1, Article 2) and a book claiming that despite 9/11, Rwanda, and other such events, violence is actually declining in the world. He rebukes the myth of the ‘noble […]
Some Points on Housing
Recently The Weekly Standard ran an article by Ike Brannon and Benjamin Gitis suggesting that the mortgage deduction was no longer so important as it had been in the past, and recommending instead a program in Wisconsin called WHEDA, which stands […]
9/11, Ten Years Later
When the 9/11 attacks happened, ten years ago, we knew that we didn’t like it. But we in the Western World were forced to think about the delicate question of, if we were against this, what were we for? Were […]
The Motivation of Conservatives and Liberals
In Gareth Cook’s article the psychologist Jonathan Haidt, following Romans 1, suggests that there are five inborn ‘instinctive’ virtues that humans recognize, though they do not always live up to, of course. These are: i. fairness, ii. not harming others, iii. […]
Are Corporations People? Part II
I have another observation to be added to my Corporations post. And it’s kind of a compliment, incidentally, on the work of corporations and business in general in creating wealth. In John 6:15, Jesus, after feeding the five thousand, “knowing […]
Sex-selection Abortion In Asia
The ugly specter of sex-selection abortion is a reality in Asia, and unfortunately not just in China. Modern technology has met old attitudes and made this possible. It is legal here in the USA de facto, but not much practiced […]
The Fate of Planned Parenthood: It Isn’t Just About Abortion
In the last two weeks votes were taken on whether Title X should continue to fund Planned Parenthood’s work in pregnancy prevention, prenatal care, and education. No Federal money, and to my knowledge no state money, funds Planned Parenthood’s abortion […]
Are Corporations People?
The ‘corporation’ has been an item of controversy in the past, and not only on the left. This The Economist article, “Peculiar people,” is a good primer on the issue. I would add that: 1. Most corporations in America are not ‘big […]