This is one of the sillier things I’ve read in a while. From an op-ed published in the Inquirer this weekend: Physician-assisted suicide is one of the religious right’s signature issues, used mainly as a wedge in the battle against abortion rights. It lets foes of abortion claim that their commitment to life is absolute…

As long as I’m getting my anti-capitalist groove on, let me mention a couple of other problems where I think critics of capitalism and modernity make some good points. What I have in mind are the problems of consumerism and the drive for technological mastery. We might actually see them as two aspects of a…

I finally got around to reading this fairly lengthy piece on the Darfur situation from this month’s First Things. The author, Allen Hertzke, criticizes religious human rights activists for not bringing the same zeal and attention to bear on Darfur that they brought to the persecution of Christians (and animists) in southern Sudan. He also…

Lately I’ve been thinking about my economic philosophy. Not that I really have anything so grand, mind you, but certain quizzes notwithstanding, I don’t really think I adhere to what we would call economic conservatism. As I see it, is that concentrations of economic power and the accompanying inequality they foster are genuine problems. Conservatives…

Salon has an interview with Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. Cizik is on a mission to convert evangelicals to what he calls “creation care” – an environmentally-friendly agenda that takes seriously issues like global warming. I admit I’m sort of ambivalent about this kind of thing. On…

I’ve turned on the Blogger feature that requires commenters to type in a displayed line of characters before submitting their comments. Recently I’ve started getting a lot of comment spam, so hopefully that’ll help stem the tide. Folks should still be able to make anonymous comments if they wish.

An op-ed from Marilyn Golden, a disability rights activist: Today the Assembly Judiciary Committee begins hearings on AB 654, which would legalize assisted suicide in California. There is a widespread public perception that those opposed to legalization are religious conservatives, and the logical position for a liberal is in support. But the coalition that’s formed…

On the Miers nomination: The headline lately is that conservatives are stiffing the president. They’re in uproar over Ms. Miers, in rebellion over spending, critical over cronyism. But the real story continues to be that the president feels so free to stiff conservatives. The White House is not full of stupid people. They knew conservatives…

I think it was Marvin who once said you gotta give ’em positive reinforcement on those rare occasions when they do something right. So, huzzah! and kudos to the Senate for voting 90-9 to approve a rider attached to a military spending bill banning torture. Their measure would ban the use of “cruel, inhuman or…

First Things now has a blog. (via Mark Shea) Though, I have to admit, one of the things I like about First Things is that it takes the longer view on things rather than getting caught up in the ephemera of the moment. Still, this’ll no doubt be worth reading.