A Thinking Reed

  • Singer and Cowen on poverty

    Interesting “diavlog” between Peter Singer and libertarian economist Tyler Cowen, focusing mostly on Singer’s new book The Life You Can Save. (I mentioned the book here; I still haven’t read it, though I do have a request in at the library.) more about "Singer Cowen", posted with vodpod I think at one point Cowen gets…

  • Foie gras: torture or distraction?

    I don’t really have an opinion on whether foie gras is “really” inhumane or not (I can’t imagine it’s particularly enjoyable for the geese), but this review of a new book on the subject makes a valid point: Face facts: If you oppose foie gras, even if the only thing you’ve ever done about it…

  • Circuses are animal abuse

    I don’t know about St. Patrick, but I can’t imagine St. Francis would approve.

  • Sexuality, status confessionis, and the ELCA

    I see that Carl Braaten has issued yet another jeremiad against the ELCA. This one is in response to the recently-issued draft social statement on sexuality and the accompanying recommendations. There’s not much new there, with one important exception. Braaten has now decided that the controversy over the full inclusion of LGBT people in the…

  • Theological pet peeves

    When Christian writers do one or both of the following: 1. Posit a simplistic dichotomy between “Hebrew” (or “biblical”) and “Greek” thought. These days the former is invariably portrayed as earthy, holistic, and life-affirming, while the latter is otherworldly, dualistic, and sees matter as evil. (As an aside, I often wonder what Jews think when…

  • Schwenkler vs. Larison on trade

    There’s a spirited and high-quality debate about free trade between John Schwenkler and Daniel Larison at Larison’s site here. I’ll admit that I’ve swung more into the protectionist camp in recent years, or at least I think the benefits of free trade have been greatly overblown. But old-time protectionism that benefits certain well-connected interests at…

  • Carrie vs. the hunters

    I figure that any overlap, however tenuous, between heavy metal and animal rights falls under this blog’s purview, so I will link to this story about former American Idol-turned-country superstar Carrie Underwood. Carrie’s latest single is a remake of the immortal Mötley Crüe ballad “Home Sweet Home” and is being used as the soundtrack for…

  • Douthat to the Times

    “Sam’s Club” Republican Ross Douthat has been tapped to replace evil neocon genius Bill Kristol on the New York Times op-ed page. I enjoy Douthat’s writing, which is generally thoughtful, and he has an interesting perspective as a conservative who seems genuinely concerned with addressing economic insecurity and inequality. Predictably, he’s a virtual heretic among…

  • The man came around

    Here’s a great retrospective of the final five Johnny Cash albums (well, technically the last one was released posthumously), which were released on Rick Rubin’s American Recordings label. A piece on Cash’s earlier work is promised in weeks to come. (Fair warning: contains bad language.) I remember being in college and listening to “The Wanderer”…

  • What (if anything) is wrong with ESCR?

    Even if you don’t think (as I don’t) that a just-fertilized embryo is a human person with full moral standing, it’s not unreasonable to feel a bit queasy about embryonic stem cell research. I think philosopher Bonnie Steinbock, in several articles and books, provides one helpful way of thinking about this. Even if embryos don’t…