Good news: Three Christian peace activists kidnapped last year in Iraq were freed on Thursday in a morning raid by multi-national forces in western Baghdad. Fears for the three men – two Canadians and a Briton – grew two weeks ago after a fellow hostage was found dead in a Baghdad street. Military officials said…

Via Chris, Andrew Sullivan has a link to an alarming Pew poll indicating that American Christians (well Catholics and white Protestants anyway) are actually more likely to approve of torture than their secular (atheist or agnostic) fellow citizens. Way to go, team. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t there a well-known story about Roman…

This is a good (but ultimately depressing) article on the Democrats’ reaction to Russ Feingold’s motion to censure the president for, you know, breaking the law. Based on this account it was something of a desperation move on Feingold’s part after realizing that Congress was unwilling to do anything substantive about the warrantless wire-tapping: Mr.…

Some readers may find this of interest. Here you can read the proceedings of a symposium on “pro-life progressivism” that was held last year at the law school of The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. (via the Acton Institute blog)

The Inquirer had an article this morning about poet/”memoirist” Mary Karr whose new book of poetry reflects on her recent conversion to Catholicism at age 40. What puzzles me here though is the idea of a “memoirist.” I get the idea that you might want to read the memoirs of a famous person or someone…

VI gadfly and all-around swell guy Josh has a great post about the past and future of those who call themselves liberals or progressives. The pope and Lenin both make an appearance, so you won’t want to miss it.

A rich self has a distinct attitude toward the past, the present, and the future. It surveys the past with gratitude for what it has received, not with annoyance about what it hasn’t achieved or about how little it has been given. A rich self lives in the present with contentment. Rather than never having…

One of the things I’ve noticed in writing this blog is that I have a tendency to worry about seeming inconsistent or failing to present a coherent perspective on the topics I write about. This is ironic because one of my reasons for starting the blog was as a way of thinking aloud about things…

This bit from a news account of a speech President Bush gave yesterday in Ohio on the state of the Iraq war made me chuckle: One woman asked Bush if the war in Iraq and rise in terror were “signs of the Apocalypse.” “Hmmm,” Bush replied. “I haven’t really thought of it that way. ……

Slate has an article on the “dark side” of Whole Foods and an insider’s guide to Trader Joe’s for New Yorkers who are apparently about to get their first store (can it really be that Philly is ahead of the curve for once?). The article on Whole Foods makes the point that buying organic and…