One of the surprises I've gotten is that, even in conservative American churches, there are those in positions of influence who are pacifists. How can this be, especially since their core ethnic group is the bellicose Scots-Irish? But life is an education. Although it's tempting to regard Eric Patterson's Just American Wars: Ethical Dilemmas in …
Wake From Your Sleep: The “Modern” Christmas Carol With a Traditional Sound
A favourite pastime of the #straightouttairondale crowd is to trash just about every piece of Catholic music written after 1965 (except, of course, what they put out.)Â Boosting the "Jesus Music" era is a goal of this blog, but this gem has an appeal that gets past not only their idea but Roman Catholicism …
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We Don’t Need “Secular Celebrants” for Civil Marriage
Sometimes I despair this country will ever get this right: "It can't be done by secular celebrants in a vast majority of states," said Nick Little, vice president and legal counsel for The Center for Inquiry, a secular organization that advocates for keeping religion out of public policy. The Center wants that to change. It …
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Joe “I have here in my hand” McCarthy Meets his Match at Harvard
When it's time to shove social theory down the throat of people, things get tough: Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana held what was promoted as a run-of-the-mill meeting to ensure the groups were aware of the latest school policies on alcohol and sexual assault, but the meeting quickly took another direction, according to the lawsuit …
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Andy Kessel’s Woes at the Clinton Foundation
It looks like things are catching up: Kessel told MDA "There is no controlling Bill Clinton. He does whatever he wants and runs up incredible expenses with foundation funds, according to MDA's account of the interview. "Bill Clinton mixes and matches his personal business with that of the foundation. Many people within the foundation have tried to …
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Google Employees Have Missed a Few Important Things
This is evident in their campaign after the 2016 election to block conservative media: Google employees debated whether to bury conservative media outlets in the company’s search function as a response to President Donald Trump’s election in 2016, internal Google communications obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation reveal. Some context is needed here: these …
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If You Can’t Find a Crime, Make One Happen
That, according the Alan Dershowitz, is what Robert Muller has been doing: The recent guilty plea of Michael Cohen of lying represents the dominant trend in Mueller's approach to prosecution. The vast majority of indictments and guilty pleas obtained against Americans by Mueller have not been for substantive crimes relating to his mandate: namely, to …
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A Pesky Detail the “Religious Left” Overlooks on the Mission of the Church
In an excellent piece on the divide between the Remain-supporting clergy and the Leave-leaning laity of the Church of England, Giles Fraser makes this observation: The job of the church is not to be a faintly Left-wing lobbying group for a slightly more redistributive tax policy or a more European focused Brexit deal. The job …
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My Response to Fleming Rutledge (@flemingrut) on Stewardship
In the run-up to Advent, the eminent Episcopal theologian Fleming Rutledge has posted an interesting piece entitled "Jesus’ Parable of the Money in Trust." It's an interesting and informative piece, informative not only in its Biblical exegesis but also (doubtless unintentionally) about the Episcopal Church itself, and the changes wrought from the days when multi-generational …
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It Really Isn’t a Meritocracy, Is It?
A Brit is finally "woke" to the truth: There comes a point in a New York expat’s life when you suddenly realize that the liberal elites that run this town have feet of clay. You have watched them joining anti-Trump marches, opening their beautiful homes for Democrat fundraising parties and noisily bidding ludicrous sums at …
