A Thinking Reed

  • Carter on Singer

    Joe Carter is, I think, too hard on Peter Singer in this post. Singer is wrong about a lot of stuff–his views on disability and on bioethics in particular. But as much as anyone he deserves credit for bringing the abuses of animals in factory farms to public attention, not to mention his work on…

  • Mill, animals, and liberalism

    Gaius asks whether a liberal who traces her intellectual lineage to J.S. Mill–i.e. who sees the purpose of politics as permitting the widest possible scope for human liberty consistent with the liberty of others–can consistently be in favor of laws for preventing cruelty to animals or protecting the environment: how [did] liberals, historically, either politically…

  • Moyers on “Changing the way we eat”

    Bill Moyers interviews Michael Pollan about food policy, public health, climate change, and what, if anything, Barack Obama can, should, or might do to reform our food system.

  • William Placher, RIP

    The well-known teacher and theologian has died at the untimely age of 60. I only knew him through his books, but he was by all accounts a wonderful teacher and a good Christian man. He spent the vast majority of his career at tiny Wabash College in Indiana; as a leading light of Yale-style “postliberal”…

  • Guest post: Sunnydale, 90210

    Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from the Missus on the important parallels between Beverly Hills 90210 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As some of you may know, the Thinking Reed and I have recently entered the Buffyverse. One of the most wonderful things about the Buffyverse is its near seamless overlap with…

  • Give thanks

    It’s good for you (scientifically proven!). Of course, it’s also meet, right and our bounden duty, in case you needed another reason.

  • Wednesday metal – Opeth, “Porcelain Heart”

    Well, it’s sort of a de facto Friday for many of us.

  • The zen of steer

    Jon Katz writes about his friend Elvis the steer’s spiritual centeredness.

  • Free choice for some

    Catholic Obama supporter Melinda Henneberger makes the case against the “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA), which, it appears, could result in Catholic hosptials (a third of all hospitals in the US, according to Henneberger) shutting their doors rather than being forced to provide abortions. Many of these hospitals rely on Medicade and Medicare funds to…

  • Slow blogging?

    Kind of a cool idea, actually. I don’t necessarily think that more blogging is always better (in case you couldn’t tell), or that “blog in haste, repent at leisure” is necessarily wise. I find that my best posts (or at least the ones I like best) are the ones that I think about a bit…