A flap over religion in schools developed last week at Newark High School in Delaware. According to reports, “The principal of a public high school apologized to parents for allowing a Christian-themed assembly that featured two Philadelphia Eagles players, saying he was misled about what the presentation would cover.”

Read more on The Myth of Morality without Faith…

President Bush and Judge Alito

In a move seemingly destined to cause a massive political fight on Capitol Hill, President Bush has nominated Judge Samuel Alito, Jr. to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the United States Supreme Court. In his years on the federal bench, Alito has earned a reputation as a reliable conservative voice, even earning the nickname “Scalito” for his philosophical resemblences to current Justice Antonin Scalia. Your thoughts on the nomination are welcome in the comments section.

Read more on For Associate Justice – Samuel A. Alito, Jr….

Acton Senior Fellow Marvin Olasky in a column today on TownHall.com looks at the “important new coalition” called Kill Malarial Mosquitoes Now that is working to bring the banned pesticide DDT back into battle against malaria. The disease, he writes, kills an estimated 1 million people annually — 90 percent of them Africans.

Read more on Add DDT to the Malaria-Fighting Arsenal…

Gregory of Nazianzus, in his first theological oration, “An Introductory Sermon against the Eunomians,” makes a plea for appropriateness in the airing of theological disagreements.

He writes, “If we cannot resolve our disputes outright, let us at least make this mutual concession, to utter spiritual truths with the restraint due to them, to discuss holy things in a holy manner, and not to broadcast to profane hearing what is not to be divulged” (ੵ). His concern is that public disagreements before non-Christians will add barriers to the spread of the Gospel.

Read more on A Plea for Circumspection…

Photo courtesy www.rome.info

Reuters reports Rome’s latest laws: Fish can’t be put in fish bowls and dogs must follow a mandatory exercise schedule.

“It’s good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention,” said Monica Cirinna, the councilor behind the by-law.

Read more on From the Bureau of Goldfish Zoning and Canine Regulation…

And so the search for a replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor will continue:

Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to be a U.S. Supreme Court justice Thursday in the face of strong criticism from President Bush’s most conservative supporters, who say she doesn’t have the qualifications or experience necessary to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Read more on Miers Withdraws…

So often we are bombarded with news of businesses accusing others of unfair trade practices, intentional competition smashing, monopolization, etc. Every once in a while, its good to hear about the good business that goes on, the appreciation that one company has for another, and a customer oriented view of production. In that spirit, I offer up two companies: Adobe (the creators of the PDF and Photoshop) and Apple. Apple’s recent foray into the image-editing world with the release of Aperture has many people intrigued about the possibilities of Apple trying to take marketshare from Adobe. John Nack, the program manager for Photoshop at Adobe has this to say from the Adobe Blog:

Read more on Gracious Competition…

Real estate mogul and reality show guru Donald Trump made a guest appearance on the NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives” last week and, in a real stretch, he played himself. The brief cameo was in the context of Mr. Trump’s visit to the Horton Foundation, a charity based in the fictional town of Salem. The dialogue between Trump and Mickey Horton gives us some insight into Donald Trump’s view of economic success and the resulting responsibility:

Read more on ‘The Donald’ on Success and Responsibility…

Pork, sweet, juicy pork.

John Stossel, the icon of indignation, has a piece today decrying the spending habits and attitudes of our Republican-led Congress. I will let you read his article for the details, but for what it’s worth, here are some reasons why I think the disgust Stossel projects is an entirely proper and fitting response to pork barrel spending. Read more on Does Pork Get Your Goat?…

A lively discussion is going on over at the evangelical outpost on the idea of the “sin tax,” spurred on by Rev. Sirico’s paper on that subject.

A key point to remember: once the state gets to decide which activities are immoral (but not illegal) and has a vested financial interest in them, you’ll find more and more activities becoming “sins.” Exhibit A: eating fast food.

Read more on Taxing the Wages of Sin…