Culture

Citizens with Full Names of a Unique Nature Unite!

By Carroll Andrew Morse | December 4, 2006 |

Somehow the fact that Illinois Senator and potential 2008 Presidential contender Barrack Obama’s middle name is “Hussein” became a minor story this weekend. (I think Maureen Dowd is to blame). In the spirit of bi-partisanship, let me state that I believe that worrying about whether someone’s middle, first, or last names fits into certain transient…

Give Locally, it’s More Effective

By Marc Comtois | December 1, 2006 |

I posted a couple weeks ago about Arthur Brooks’ findings that conservatives are more charitable than liberals. Last night, John Stossel (via Karen Woods) looked into whether or not we are “Cheap in America” and found that it was a myth. Working off of this, Woods draws a couple conclusions: Bureaucracies, government ones and even…

Brown University Let’s the Evangelicals Back In

By Marc Comtois | November 28, 2006 |

After telling the Reformed University Fellowship that they wouldn’t be allowed on campus just, well, “because,” Brown University has had a change of heart. But they still haven’t been forthcoming as to why the RUF was banned in the first place. Yesterday, Ethan Wingfield, president of the Reformed University Fellowship, said he was pleased at…

Brown University: Not a Bastion of Free Speech

By Marc Comtois | November 21, 2006 |

Yesterday, I read in the ProJo about how Brown University had rather suspiciously banned an on-campus student evangelical group. Leaders of the group say they were given different reasons for the action. At first, they were told it was because their local sponsor, Trinity Presbyterian Church, had withdrawn its support, which it hadn’t. Then they…

I Agree with Spielberg: “I’m a parent who is very concerned.”

By Marc Comtois | November 21, 2006 |

“DON”T LOOK AT THE TV!” Exclaiming that sentence–directed to my unsuspecting daughters–is a regular occurence in my household on any given Saturday or Sunday afternoon when Dad (me) is watching “the game.” Especially now that the weather is getting colder and there’s less to do outside. On the weekend, when they are taking a break…

Heather has Two Mommies…..and Two Daddies…er Donors…or One Donor and some other Guy

By Marc Comtois | November 20, 2006 |

I urge everyone to read this NY Times Magazine piece, “Gay Donor or Gay Dad?” about the complicated nature of family relationships that can develop when two same-sex partners seek a donor to assist them in starting a family. Reading the whole thing is essential because it is a complicated piece about a new, complicated…

Conservatives Back Ideology with Cash

By Marc Comtois | November 20, 2006 |

{N.B. Cross-posted at Spinning Clio–MAC} Historian Ralph Luker points to a new book by Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks called Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism. According to this story: When it comes to helping the needy, Brooks writes: “For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous…

Experiments in Beneficial Information

By Justin Katz | November 13, 2006 |

I don’t think Julian Sanchez understood what I was saying: … let me just address one qualm about the analogy between skeptical science and liberal societies. Katz doubts it will go through because while scientists have the shared goal of improving science (let this rather rosy view of actual scientists’ motivations pass for the moment),…

Between J. Sanchez and the Deep J.G.

By Justin Katz | November 12, 2006 |

Perhaps I’m particularly attuned to such discussions because the past few months have brought an increase in Rhode Island progressives’ declarations that their goals are evolutionary inevitabilities, but I can’t get the ring of their proclamations out of my ear when listening to somewhat rightish rationalists. Take the following from Julian Sanchez: [Jonah Goldberg] mocks…

Theocrats, Moral Relativism & the Myth of Religious Tolerance, Part IV: Moral Recovery via Rediscovering the Meaning of Words

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 24, 2006 |

The comments sections of Part I: The Difference Between Religious Freedom and Religious Tolerance Part II: Are We Hostile Toward or Encouraging Religious Belief? Part III: Consequences of Excluding Religion from the Public Square of this Theocrats, Moral Relativism & the Myth of Religious Tolerance series, plus Justin’s Favoring the Non-Participatory posting, offer up many…