Latest Posts

Pollyanna Krugman

In my commentary on Social Security yesterday, I referred to the latest trustees’ report as evidence of the continuing need for reform. Anyone who happened to see New York Times columnist Paul Krugman’s blog a day earlier might understandably wonder whether we were looking at the same report. Continue Reading...

We Need a Menaissance

This bit in this week’s Telegraph nails something I’ve been wrangling with for a while. Maybe you men out there can relate: Many men believe the world is now dominated by women and that they have lost their role in society, fuelling feelings of depression and being undervalued. Continue Reading...

Truth and consequences

Tonight FOX’s new hit gameshow “Moment of Truth” will air its latest installment. For those not familiar with the show’s premise, the contestant submits to a lie detector test before the show is taped. Continue Reading...

Hoekstra: ‘Islam and Free Speech’

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Rep. Peter Hoekstra discusses the impending release of Fitna, a short film highly critical of Islam, by Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament. Hoekstra: Radical jihadists are prepared to use violence against individuals to stop them from exercising their free speech rights. Continue Reading...

“We must overcome fear”

In the Catholic Church, the Easter Vigil liturgy is usually the ceremony during which catechumens (non-Christians) and candidates (non-Catholic Christians) are respectively baptized and received into the Church. In Rome this Easter there was a particularly noteworthy baptism, presided over by Pope Benedict. Continue Reading...

Ben Stein takes on “big science”

Ben Stein’s new movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is creating a few waves in the Evolution vs. Intelligent Design debate. He presents it as, “a controversial, soon-to-be-released documentary that chronicles my confrontation with the widespread suppression and entrenched discrimination that is spreading in our institutions, laboratories and most importantly, in our classrooms, and that is doing irreparable harm to some of the world’s top scientists, educators, and thinkers.” Continue Reading...

Samaritan Guide – new and improved

“Private charities do demanding and heroic work for vulnerable people. We seek to reward their good work with prizes and publicity.” The Samaritan Guide Web site has been revamped and we’d love for you to stop by and check it out. Continue Reading...

How do Italian pastors address politics?

It’s election time in Italy, with voting scheduled for April 13 and 14 to select a new parliament and government. With the center of the Roman Catholic Church located within the Italian republic and historic tensions between the Church and State in Italy, it is worth asking how Italian pastors address public issues in this notoriously political country. Continue Reading...

Political labeling: What’s in a name? Not much

One of the most frustrating things about politics is the use of simplistic labels to categorize political beliefs-in particular, the terms “conservative” and “liberal.” Instead of a “left-right” political spectrum, Libertarians are quick to note that people embrace various degrees of freedom (or government) in two separate realms: economic markets and personal or social behaviors. Continue Reading...