A Thinking Reed

  • Animal rights across the political spectrum

    A writer at Alternet makes the case for vegetarianism to her progressive allies. I’ve observed before that even on the Left animal rights still seems to strike many as fringy or unimportant. Matthew Scully, a former speechwriter for President Bush, has made the case for better treatment of animals on broadly conservative grounds. In fact,…

  • Ahead of the curve

    In light of the current calls for AG Alberto Gonzales’ resignation/firing, I’d like to point out that I was an early adopter of anti-Gonzalesism.

  • Am I a conservative?

    Blog-friend Russell Arben Fox of In Medias Res identified this humble blog as one of his “blogs that make you think” per some kind of game/meme that was going around (thanks, Russell!). Of course, few blogs make me think quite as much as Russell’s long, substantive posts on political philosophy written through the prism of…

  • NAE vs. torture

    The National Association of Evangelicals, recently in the news due to a dust-up over their position on global warming, has endorsed a good statement on the use of torture. I think it’s salutary that the NAE is defining itself independently of certain old-guard evangelical leaders who identify the Christian agenda with the politically conservative one.…

  • They call him Dr. No

    I neglected to mention yesterday that Dr. Ron Paul, Republican congressman from Texas, has officially thrown his hat in the presidential ring. Paul is a hardcore libertarian Republican who consistently votes against anything he believes isn’t explicit authorized by the Constitution, earning him the nickname “Dr. No.” (Paul ran as the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee…

  • Stark first uncloseted “nontheist” in Congress

    According to this website, Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) is the first member of Congress to openly identify as a “nontheist.” Incidentally, Stark used to be my congressman, or, more accurately I guess, I used to be his constituent. He is, not surprisingly for the San Francisco Bay Area, a very liberal Democrat. (I’m pretty sure…

  • Wright on Lewis and some quibbles

    Readers might be interested in this critical appreciation of C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity by none other than N.T. Wright (who’s own Simply Christian has been called a Mere Christianity for the twenty-first century). Wright has much praise for Lewis of course, as well as some criticism. Some of the criticism hits the target, some of…

  • Chuck Hagel and the need for a “serious” antiwar candidate

    The latest news still has Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel delaying his decision on the possibility of a presidential bid. While it’s true that Hagel isn’t strictly anti-war or non-interventionist (and, indeed, has been a big supporter of the Bush administration on most issues), his relatively critical voice would be welcome in the primary debates, especially…

  • Big Sister

    I’m not a Barack Obama booster, but this is pretty amusing (via Andrew Sullivan and not affiliated with the Obama campaign so far as I know).

  • Jenson on Mary as the “container of the uncontainable”

    In the essay I referred to briefly yesterday (“A Space for God,” found in Mary: Mother of God, Braaten & Jenson, eds.) Robert Jenson asks why it’s important or significant to ask for Mary’s prayers specifically as Theotokos or Mater Dei rather than simply as “Saint Mary.” His intriguing response is that Mary in some…