How about a little book blogging? Robert P. Kraynak’s Christian Faith and Modern Democracy looks like it’ll provide enough food for thought for several posts worth of material. Kraynak sets out to defend what he calls the dilemma of Christianity’s relation to modern liberal democracy. His thesis is that “modern liberal democracy needs God, but…

One of the most despicable smears frequently employed against opponents of wars is that they are “really” rooting for the other side. We saw this during the run-up to the Iraq war, where anti-war types were routinely characterized as being “pro-Saddam.” Fortunately, military men are often more sensible than civilian laptop bombardiers so eager to…

TomDispatch has the second part of its series of exceprts from Andrew Bacevich’s New American Militarism.

Can’t believe I forgot St. Anselm’s feast day! As penance, we can read this article from CT on why he’s as relevant as ever. The article also suggests that Pope Benedict XVI may be willing to relent on the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed, the clause which Anselm himself defended (although, the article does…

Received an email today from Melissa Rogers, who’s a Visiting Professor of Religion and Public Policy at Wake Forest University Divinity School. Prof. Rogers sent a link to an op-ed she publised in the Baltimore Sun on the preposterous attempts of Sen. Frist and other GOP senators to paint Democratic opposition to President Bush’s judicial…

This is nuts. But waitaminute! I thought Pres. Bush=Hitler? Get your story straight, guys. (via Pontifications)

When we talk about ecumenism and pray for the unity of the church, what kind of unity are we looking for? I don’t have any well-thought out ideas on the matter, but Josh left a comment outlining his idea of what unity might look like that I think merits a post of its own (edited…

Andrew J. Bacevich has impeccable conservative credentials. He’s written for First Things, The Weekly Standard, National Review, is a West Point grad and a Vietnam vet. But his new book The New American Militarism is a scathing indictment of what passes for conservatism nowadays. Tom Engelhardt’s TomDispatch is carrying an excerpt from Bacevich’s book. Bacevich…

Since I don’t think Blogger has a “categories” feature, I’ve added a section on the right for “Think Pieces,” Manifestos, etc. – longer pieces of a broader scope than the typical link-with-brief-commentary post. I more or less stand by what I said in most of them (how’s that for a hedge?).

Casey’s showing a fourteen point lead according to this. Still, we’re talking about a race that won’t begin in earnest til a year from now. Plus, one wonders how much Pennsylvanians really know about Bob Casey, Jr. Granted he was elected overwhelmingly to the post of state treasurer last year, but I expect he’s still…