Hillary Clinton's ignominious defeat in Iowa (and for that matter Mike Huckabee's win) are signs that we still have a competitive political system. Both parties have attempted "coronations" in this, the most open election year since World War II. But neither has worked. Clinton's is especially galling since she, more than any other Democrat candidate, …
Up From Bourgeois is Trickier Than It Looks
Wilfred McClay's article on the 80th "birthday" of Elmer Gantry is an interesting study, in no small measure because of the critical view he takes of Sinclair Lewis. That critical view is hard to find; Lewis of course won a Nobel Prize in 1930, was greatly influential in shaping liberal thought about Evangelical Christianity (including …
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The Ridiculous Analysis of Global Warming and the Right
Dave Lindorff's article Global Warming Will Save America from the Right...Eventually is ridiculous on a number of counts (leaving out the whole debate of the existence and pace of global warming): One of the first victims of sea rise would be South Florida, certainly a bastion of left-wing life and politics. Perhaps it's not an …
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Benazir Bhutto: Like Father, Like Daughter
Benazir Bhutto's assassination reminds me of an earlier post on the subject: Most people don’t realise that Musharraf is one in a line of military leaders who have dominated Pakistan since Muhammad Zia-al-Haq overthrew Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977. The year before that, I had as downstairs neighbours a pair of Texas A&M students, one …
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Scientology: Germany May Be A Special Case
I am uncomfortable on general religious freedom grounds with Germany considering a ban of Scientology. But given the German's history in the last century, they may just be a special case. Problem number one is Germany's unenviable track record in handling modernity. As I note in my own commentary on modernity: Part of the problem …
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Admitting the Obvious, in a Biblical Way
In a conference call earlier this week, Pat Robertson fielded a question he gets often these days: why did he endorse Rudy Giuliani for President? He reiterated the whole business of the importance of national security (which I brought up back in February and he stated in his endorsement speech) but then he made two …
Mike Huckabee’s Ice Storm
The clean-up from the ice storm in the Midwest brings back memories of the Arkansas ice storm of 2000, when Mike Huckabee was governor and Bill Clinton was going out as President. A photo from the aftermath of that ice storm, in central Arkansas. From Delayed For My Appointment: But for me Christmastime took a …
What Our Country Has Become
The Mogambo Guru has hit the nail right on the head: Now, pick up that remote control and hit the "fast-forward" button from 1776 to the last half of the 20th century, where we see that we have finally overruled the Jeffersonian republic that made America into the world power that it became, in favor …
A Powerful Minority?
The New York Times assures us of the following concerning Mitt Romney's speech in College Station: Still, there was no escaping the reality of the moment. Mr. Romney was not there to defend freedom of religion, or to champion the indisputable notion that belief in God and religious observance are longstanding parts of American life. …
So Would You Rather Have Global Warming?
Environmentalists are up to their old tricks again, this time trying to block a wind farm south of Corpus Christi, Texas. Wind farms aren't the most efficient things out there, but the power they generate does not produce greenhouse gases. Neither did nuclear power. But environmentalists, not willing to bend on their rigid aesthetic, are …
Positive Infinity 