A Thinking Reed

  • Huck on the environment

    Better than most of the other Republicans (except possibly McCain). Still, I think this is an argument that might appeal to conservative Christians otherwise inclined toward skepticism about climate change: Do you believe that human beings are the primary drivers of climate change? The honest answer is I don’t know. And for me, that’s not…

  • McCarraher on capitalism, consumerism and the declining American empire

    Interesting interview with Villanova University prof Eugene McCarraher (via Eric) on consumerism, capitalism, and the decline of the “American empire.” McCarraher’s always a delight to read, even if you don’t agree with everything he says. He pulls no punches and isn’t shy about calling out trendy theological shibboleths. For more from McCarraher, see here, here,…

  • Bourbon’s moment

    Bourbon’s shot at the big time (via). Recently I’ve been enjoying a bottle of Elmer T. Lee single barrel out of Frankfort, KY. I’ve long been more partial to bourbon than other kinds of whiskey. Though I won’t turn my nose up at a fine Irish whiskey like Bushmill’s.

  • Spe salvi

    New papal encyclical on Christian hope. Haven’t read it yet, but it looks good.

  • Clinton and Iraq

    Michael at Levellers expresses some well-justified outrage at Bill Clinton’s recent attempts to whitewash history and portray himself as an early opponent of the Iraq war. But as I mentioned in a comment to Michael’s post, not only did Clinton not oppose the war, his Iraq policy made it much more likely than it otherwise…

  • The Huckster and neo-populism

    As Mike Huckabee continues to gain on Mitt Romney in Iowa, he seems to be steadily moving from a second to first-tier (or at least 1 and a half tier) candidate. Whether this is a function of his performance in the debates or his Chuck Norris endorsement remains to be seen. Over the last couple…

  • Kucinich/Paul in ’08!

    In the – ahem – unlikely event that he secures his party’s nomination, Dennis Kucinich has suggested that – wait for it – Ron Paul might make a good running mate. “I’m thinking about Ron Paul” as a running mate, Kucinich told a crowd of about 70 supporters at a house party here, one of…

  • Christ’s ambiguous reign and living in hope

    Yesterday, of course, was Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the liturgical year before we head into Advent. The pastor at our church delivered an excellent sermon on the different aspects of Christ’s kingship and how we can become aware of them in our lives. Jesus reigns over all things, but he reigns…

  • Thanksgiving re-post

    I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I think it holds up pretty well: It’s interesting that Thanksgiving is the only secular holiday in the American calendar that has explicitly religious overtones (we might say that holidays like 4th of July and Memorial Day have implicit religious overtones, but that’s another matter). That…

  • We’re doomed

    I’m not sure what I think about the whole Peak Oil issue, but Georgetown political scientist Patrick Deneen has thought a lot about it and has a – “sobering” is too mild a word; “apocalyptic” maybe? – post up about the relationship between oil and food and the implications that might have for world population.