Culture

Falling from Thoughts of Heaven

By Justin Katz | June 9, 2005 | Comments Off on Falling from Thoughts of Heaven

After the twelfth of the twenty-four episodes of Lost’s first season, religious viewers thought they’d taken another step toward inclusion in mainstream culture, as represented by television and film. (Or at least one religious viewer did.) Lost treated religion seriously — acknowledging it as part of the society in which we live. Without a tone…

Enough Already!

By | May 26, 2005 | Comments Off on Enough Already!

This report is simply over-the-top and contributes to the ongoing destruction of civil society in America: Hollywood once again jumps into bitter DC politics when an episode of NBC’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent suggests a judge killer would wear a ‘Tom DeLay’ T-Shirt! The House Majority Leader plans a letter of protest later this…

Chipping at the Edges

By Justin Katz | March 23, 2005 |

Mark Steyn writes the following in a piece that touches on the Terri Schiavo case: You can read similar stories in almost any corner of the developed world, except perhaps the Netherlands, where discretionary euthanasia is so advanced it’s news if the kid makes it out of the maternity ward. As the New York Times…

Life Is a Yes-or-No Question

By Justin Katz | March 11, 2005 | Comments Off on Life Is a Yes-or-No Question

For a guest column on TheFactIs.org, a news and commentary site sponsored by the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute and the Culture of Life Foundation, I’ve expanded on my thoughts related to Stanley Kurtz’s Policy Review piece about population decline and the possible social strategies for dealing with it. The bottom line is that…

Victor Davis Hanson on Today’s America

By | March 8, 2005 | Comments Off on Victor Davis Hanson on Today’s America

The March 14, 2005 edition of the Weekly Standard includes an article entitled “The Sage of Fresno: Victor Davis Hanson, down on the farm.” Here is an excerpt: Hanson places much of the blame for this decay on America’s elites, who he says have fostered a cult of post-modernism, identity politics, and affirmative action –…

What If This Was Our Daughter or Sister or Wife? What If It Was “Only” A Stranger’s Life?

By | February 22, 2005 |

My wife heard last night the sad and horrible news of the death of one of her dearest friend’s daughter. We grieve for that wonderful family, whose kindness to others – including my wife – has never known any limits. Having been fortunate enough to be present at the birth of our three children, I…

Two Comparisons via Diorama-Like Assemblages

By Justin Katz | February 9, 2005 |

Only seventeen years old, and one Charlestown, Rhode Island, high school student already has the contemporary “no thought required” art world all figured out: Jeffrey Eden devised his award-winning project less than 30 minutes after his high school art teacher asked him to express a thought or two in a three-dimensional way. … The student’s…

“I Have A Dream…”

By Marc Comtois | January 17, 2005 | Comments Off on “I Have A Dream…”

Today the nation honors the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I think it proper to post some excerpts from King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. (It can be read in its entirety here). It is an inspirational piece in which King called upon our nation’s heritage, both political and religious, to justify…

Essence Magazine Makes a Stand

By Marc Comtois | January 5, 2005 |

On Monday Stanley Crouch broke the story that the popular Essence magazine was taking on the omnipresent oversexualized and slutty portrayal of black women in hip-hop music and videos. Through dialogue and discussion, they hope to raise awareness and, hopefully, “Take Back the Music.” When asked how the magazine decided to take a stand, the…

The Meaning of “Tolerance”

By | December 26, 2004 |

Each of two recent articles on the troubles in the Netherlands contained interesting quotes on the long-term impact of multiculturism. There is a warning for America in these words as they highlight the ongoing confusion over the meaning of “tolerance.” A quote in the first article said: …tolerance became a pretext for not addressing problems……