John Lukacs is a grouchy European-style conservative who doesn’t go in for what he deems the populist demagoguery of the American Right. Read a profile of him here.

A debate in the American Conservative between Robert Locke and Daniel McCarthy. Locke: Libertarianism’s abstract and absolutist view of freedom leads to bizarre conclusions. Like slavery, libertarianism would have to allow one to sell oneself into it. (It has been possible at certain times in history to do just that by assuming debts one could…

Thanks to some comments from Marcus and a conversation with the wife, I’m now convinced that the argument in this post doesn’t show the impermissibility of “collateral damage.” For if C (the innocent bystander) doesn’t have a duty to sacrifice himself to save A, it doesn’t seem like we can say that A has an…

Looks like pro-life Democrat Bob Casey Jr. will be running for US Senate next year. There has been a minor controversy because the Party bigwigs have been pushing for Casey and trying to get other possible candidates not to run, clearing the field for him. (Casey doesn’t want a draining and expensive primary before going…

An interview at CT. I read and liked his Answering God. This makes me want to read more of his stuff. This bit is good: Many people assume that spirituality is about becoming emotionally intimate with God. That’s a naïve view of spirituality. What we’re talking about is the Christian life. It’s following Jesus. Spirituality…

There’s been a lot of “I told you so’s” form war-hawks and even a few mea culpas from war opponents in the wake of the Iraqi elections, and now the apparently hopeful signs in Egypt and Lebanon. In a recent TCS piece, war supporter Michael Totten avoids gratuitous I-told-you-so-ism, but goes on to make this…

I really want to like Sojourners magazine. The whole radical, neither-left-nor-right, consistent-life ethic thing really appeals to me. But when I actually read it I tend to find the articles rather flimsy and insubustantial. This could have to do with their more activist stance – they’re not likely to run thick, meaty “think peices.” Nothing…

Camassia gets best blog post title of the week award with “Fear of a Liberal Planet.” Jennifer at Scandal of Particularity is back to semi-regular blogging (huzzah!) with a post on David Brooks, public life, family, and individualism. Marcus reads Thomas Woods’ book so we don’t have to! Eve Tushnet on the mystery of sin.…

The return of Just War blogging! Hosannas all around! One crucial element of modern just war theory (JWT) is the so-called doctrine of double effect (DDE). Though DDE has been applied to other areas of moral concern (such as medical ethics), its application to JWT is particularly important, since it purports to justify a great…

Spider-Man’s Greatest Bible Stories! (via Unqualified Offerings)