A Thinking Reed

  • How antiwar is Obama? or Put not your trust in princes

    Antiwar.com’s Justin Raimondo has recanted his earlier support for Obama in light of the latter’s recent speech to AIPAC where he, among other things, called Iran the greatest threat to world peace and vowed to do whatever it takes to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Lots of antiwar people have been drawn to Obama,…

  • What part of “last resort” isn’t clear?

    It’s a sad state of affairs when someone needs to make the case that war should be a last resort, but Doug Bandow does a good job this thankless task. Also, via Dan McCarthy, I see that Bandow has signed on as Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr’s foreign policy advisor, which is surely a point…

  • Saturday metal – Soilwork, “Exile”

    Nobody does catchy – yet crunchy – melodic metal quite like the Swedes. Say what you will about long, dark winters and Social Democracy, they’re doing something right:

  • Unintended consequences

    David Rieff is a repentant liberal interventionist whose book At the Point of a Gun traces his disillusionment from the days when he was an advocate of Western intervention in Bosnia. Here he asks whether calls for intervention in various trouble spots hasn’t become a form of cheap moral posing since those who advocate intervention…

  • Redeeming the time

    LutherPunk has started up a new blog less focused on theology and ministry and more focused on crafting a lifestyle of self-sufficience and reduced consumption in what might seem like a not-too-promising location: modern suburbia. Derek weighs in here and points out that resisting consumerism dovetails with classic Christian virtues like “prudence, temperance, moderation, and…

  • John Milbank and “red toryism”

    This short piece from arch-Radical Orthodoxist John Milbank has generated a bit of buzz in the theologican blogosphere. Milbank seems to be calling for a socially conservative/economically leftist (or perhaps agrarian/distributist is a better description) “Red Toryism” to combat the hegemony of what he deems a failed neoliberalism (i.e. social liberalism plus relatively unregulated corporate…

  • The religion of animals

    Thanks to Jeremy for tipping me off to this very interesting article about animals and religion from the Martin Marty Center. One of the issues it raises is the upsurge of interest in the “religiosity” of animals: There are ancient precedents for the claim that nonhuman animals have a religious sensibility. Pliny the Elder (23-79…

  • The trouble with food

    Speaking of hippies, here’s a review of some recent books critiquing our industrial food system, including Paul Roberts’ disturbingly titled “The End of Food” (he also authored the equally cheery “The End of Oil”) and Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food” (which I heartily recommend).

  • Hippie cons?

    Dan McCarthy writes that, along with Ron Paulites, post-industrial localist conservatives are a hopeful sign on the Right, and kindly mentions this blog as a small data point. Whether this adds up to a “movement” is anyone’s guess, but the blogosphere (ironically) has given me the opportunity to be exposed to people who take issues…

  • Doings among the Libertarians

    The Libertarian Party has nominated former Republican congressman (and Clinton impeachment manager) Bob Barr as its presidential candidate. Barr seems to be courting some of the same anti-war/small government conservative support as Ron Paul’s campaign (which is still going, incidentally). The natural conclusion to draw here is that this will hurt McCain, if anyone. Barr…