National Politics
As a subjective guide to Don’s previous post, laying out facts and considerations in the case of Terri Schiavo, I offer the following anecdote from Fr. Rob Johansen, which I found via Lane Core: In the course of our conversation, [a well-respected neurologist] made reference to the standard use of MRI and PET scans to…
Seeing that I’m among the younger set that supports President Bush’s Social Security plan, I take umbrage at Froma Harrop’s condescention: The folks are going to stop the kids from doing something stupid. Many have known world war and a great depression. They saw the pitiful old people that Social Security lifted from the gutter.…
Perhaps its cause is an irrepressible idealism on my part, but I still find myself stunned and disheartened by the stooped-to depths of political dishonesty. In this one sentence, Rep. Patrick Kennedy appeals to a completely alternate reality to score political points among people whom he assumes to be uninformed and/or stupid: Since the president…
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…
During his State of the Union speech, President Bush introduced an Iraqi citizen with these words: One of Iraq’s leading democracy and human rights advocates is Safia Taleb al-Suhail. She says of her country, “we were occupied for 35 years by Saddam Hussein. That was the real occupation. Thank you to the American people who…
I’ve been pondering Lane Core’s suggestion that Sen. Kennedy’s fire-breathing speech last week was an attempt to set himself up for further histrionics after a calamitous election day in Iraq (emphasis in original): But it occurred to me today — I wish it had done so last week — that Kennedy’s speech was not occasioned…
At the risk of trying the patience, or interest, of some, I offer one last (I promise) analysis on President Bush’s Inaugural Address. Today, the Providence Journal’s Philip Terzian succinctly encapsulated what Bush’s speech was all about. : George W. Bush declared that “the great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations.”…
Peggy Noonan has responded to those critical of her Inaugural critique. In short, she stands by her original thoughts and essentially believes that we Americans have enough on our plate now and don’t need to worry about larger goals at this time. This seems to contradict some of her earlier writings, though. We cannot leave…
Austin Bay has offered perhaps the most pragmatic reason for heeding the President’s call to spread freedom. Bay writes : Idealism, however, isn’t the sole spine of “the democracy strategy.” The strategy seeks to address a very concrete issue: technological compression. Technological compression is a fact of 21st century existence — and it is the…
Related to Marc’s posts (here and here) on Peggy Noonan’s reaction to President Bush’s inaugural speech, Patrick Sweeney of Extreme Catholic delves into some of the relevant theological considerations. He also makes this story-behind-the-story suggestion: Perhaps Peggy Noonan thinks she’s in the running for William Safire’s job. This is ankle-biting envy. This is offering a…