July 31, 2015

Suspending the Blog - A Final List

Dear Readers:

This week, I have been taking stock of the blog, and realized that I do not think I have much to offer on it. My reasoning is that, for the most part, I feature the same other blogs, posts from those blogs, etc. Were a reader to simply add the blogs I read to their feeder, they would find the same articles I do. In short, I do not have much of a "value-add." This is particularly true as I do not have time (or inclination, at this point) to attempt much original writing, which was part of the purpose of this blog in the first place. For the time being, therefore, I am suspending the blog. Thank you for your interest and occasional comments.

Below, I am going to list below the blogs I regularly follow, so that you may add them to your own feeder. These are in no particular order of importance.

The Imaginative Conservative - http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/

The Weekly Standard - http://www.weeklystandard.com/

National Review - http://www.nationalreview.com/

What's Wrong with the World - http://whatswrongwiththeworld.net/

American Catholic - http://the-american-catholic.com/

Brain Pickings - http://www.brainpickings.org/

Dean Clancy - https://deanclancy21.wordpress.com/

The Catholic Thing - http://www.thecatholicthing.org/

Mises Institute Daily - https://mises.org/library/mises-daily

AEI Ideas - http://www.aei.org/publication/blog/

Mirror of Justice - http://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/

NRO PoMoCon - http://www.nationalreview.com/postmodern-conservatism

Library of Law and Liberty Blog - http://www.libertylawsite.org/blog/

The American Conservative: Dreher - http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/

Cato@Liberty - http://www.cato.org/blog

New Geography - http://www.newgeography.com/

University Bookman - http://www.kirkcenter.org/index.php/bookman/

The Federalist - http://thefederalist.com/

The Volokh Conspiracy - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/

Acton Powerblog - http://blog.acton.org/

The City Journal - http://www.city-journal.org/index.html

Intercollegiate Review - http://www.intercollegiatereview.com/

Nomocracy in Politics - http://nomocracyinpolitics.com/

Heritage Reports - http://www.heritage.org/research/reports

The Daily Signal - http://dailysignal.com/

NYT Ross Douthat - http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/

Hoover Institute: Defining Ideas - http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas

Human Events - http://humanevents.com/

First Things: Web Exclusives - http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives

July 30, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/30/2015

Freedom has appeared in the world at different times and under various forms; it has not been exclusively bound to any social condition, and it is not confined to democracies. Freedom cannot, therefore, form the distinguishing characteristic of democratic ages. The peculiar and preponderating fact which marks those ages as its own is the equality of conditions; the ruling passion of men in those periods is the love of this equality. - Alexis de Tocqueville

Conservatives and Transgenderism - Gregory Brown, Public Discourse

Why Yankees Won’t...Leave the South Alone - Forrest McDonald, Imaginative Conservative

What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Movie Like This? - Eve Tushnet, American Conservative

Segregated Sunday Mornings - Patrick Brown, First Things

Rich Corporate Elites and Gay Marriage - Ryan T. Anderson, Daily Signal

After Planned Parenthood...? - Editors, National Review

The Right Time To Marry Is… - Rachel Lu, The Federalist

10 Quick, Important Developments On P.P. - Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist

A Reply to Zmirak and Cooke - Daniel Klein, Intercollegiate Review

The Pope’s Wisest Warning - Chad Pecknold, Pope in D.C.


July 29, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/29/2015 (Extra)

A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly against the city. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears no traitor; he speaks in the accents familiar to his victim, and he wears their face and their garments and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared. The traitor is the plague. —Marcus Tullius Cicero

Illegal, Unsafe, and All Too Common - Dominic Bouck, First Things

Dodd Frank’s Frankenstein Creeps Forward - Michael Greve, Liberty Law Blog

Pollard: He is Not the Victim his Supporters Portray - Allan Brownfeld, Human Events

Tocqueville Predicted the Tyranny of the Majority - Arthur Milikh, Daily Signal

Of Lions and the Limbs of Babies - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Racists Return to the Mainstream - Jim Harper, Cato

In Praise of the Peer-to-Peer Economy - James Pethokoukis, AEI

Women and Men Share Why They Oppose Planned Parenthood - Samantha Reinis, Daily Signal



CathCon Daily - 7/29/2015

Governed by Zealots - John Stossel, Human Events

Toleration Is Postmodern-Speak For Bigotry - Richard Samuelson, The Federalist

School Voucher ‘Got Me My Son Back’ - Kelsey Harkness, Daily Signal

How I Realized I’m A Conservative - Dana R. Casey, The Federalist

Martyrdom Then and Now - Randall Smith, The Catholic Thing

The Pride of Harvard Law - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

Cure for Racial Dishonesty - Walter Williams, Human Events

4 Reasons The GOP Needs Donald Trump - Nicole Russell, The Federalist

It’s Time For Conservatives To Reject Donald Trump - Patrick Hedger, The Federalist

Response from Pew to Wuthnow - Cooperman & Smith, First Things

Wuthnow Replies - Robert Wuthnow, First Things

Only the Beginning of the PP Protests - Kate Scanlon, Daily Signal

Telling Lies - Eva Brann, Imaginative Conservative

The War On Cash: Why Now? - Charles Hugh Smith, Mises

The Party Can’t Comb Over Its Problems - Richard Samuelson, Liberty Law Blog

Paglia on Trump, Stewart, Etc. - David Daley, Salon

Do Families in Red or Blue States Have Greater Stability? - Diana Stancy, Daily Signal

Code Fetishists and Normolaters - Alan Jacobs, American Conservative

On Not Stealing Linguistic Scraps - Charles C.W. Cooke, Imaginative Conservative

The Great Teen Sex Decline? - Kay Hymowitz, City Journal

Memphis City Council Tries to Dig Up the Past - Will Brewbaker, Weekly Standard


July 28, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/28/2015

Phony GOP Conservatism Worn Out - David Limbaugh, Human Events

Questions For Libertarians Who Support Privatizing Marriage - Stella Morabito, The Federalist

Why Read Christopher Lasch? - Matthew Harwood, American Conservative

New Economy vs. Old Politics - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

Why Are So Many College Students Depressed? - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Could Trump Win? - Patrick Buchanan, American Conservative

Dr. Krauthammer's Passionate Muddle - Matthew J. Franck, First Things

Is “Paradise Lost” a Christian Poem? - Michael Davis, Imaginative Conservative

The Death of Satire - Ted Gioia, Daily Beast

The Recovery of Human Nature - James Kalb, Crisis

Science Contra Hubris - Edward R. Dougherty, Public Discourse

How Close Was Donald Trump To The Mob? - David Marcus, The Federalist

Why the Church Can't Change Her Teaching - Fulton Sheen, Catholic Gentleman

Atticus Finch and American Aristocracy - Peter Lawler, The Federalist

You Can’t Wash the Taint Off “Liberalism” - John Zmirak, Intercollegiate Review

Why a Flat Tax Is the Right Way to Go on Taxes - Stephen Moore, Human Events

Why is Religious Freedom at Risk? - Ryan T. Anderson, First Things

Catholic Social Work and Religious Freedom - Frances Robinson, First Things

Fetal Heartbeat and the Judicial Imagination - Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing

Satanic Group Playing with Fire - James J. Martin, S.J., America

Enforcing Outcome Equality Makes Everyone Miserable - Georgi Boorman, The Federalist



July 27, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/27/2015 (Extra)

A Plea Regarding “Liberal” - Daniel B. Klein, Intercollegiate Review

Lukewarmers, Consensus, and Personal Attacks - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

Kids...Need a Mom and Dad - Ryan Anderson, Daily Signal

Fleeting American Public Support for Murky Wars - Ted Galen Carpenter, Cato

Recent Trends in Teen Sexual Activity - Valerie Huber, Daily Signal

A Victim of our Cultural Politics - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

If We Boost Minimum Wage, What Happens? - James Pethokoukis, AEI

Corporate Welfare Over Defunding Planned Parenthood - Jim DeMint, Daily Signal

Increased Rate of Teenage Girls Use Morning-After Pill - Diana Stancy, Daily Signal


CathCon Daily - 7/27/2015

What Militarism Means - William Lind, American Conservative

The Errors of Liberation Theology - William Doino, Jr., First Things

Contracting for Sex - Bruce Frohnen, Imaginative Conservative

The Contemporary Quest for Immortality - Joseph Simmons, Public Discourse

The Memification of Planned Parenthood - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

Why Immigrants Vote for Democrats - Luma Simms, The Federalist

Local Governments Are The Source Of Housing Inequality - Chuck DeVore, The Federalist

The State GOP Wave - Stephen Malanga, City Journal

Zoning Out the Poor - Ilya Somin, Volokh

Good Boys v. Nice Boys in “Tom Sawyer” - Mitchell Kalpakgian, Imaginative Conservative

Terry Castle: The Anti-Paglia - Helen Andrews, University Bookman

Our Potemkin Life - Brandon McGinley, First Things

Reflections on the Revolution in America - Brad Miner, The Catholic Thing

The 4 Most Embarrassing Things Cecile Richards Said - Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist



July 26, 2015

7/26/2015 - Weekend Extra

God, Good, and Good-Enough Fathers - Ellen Wilson Fielding, The Catholic Thing

Is There a Patron Saint of Teachers? - James V. Schall, Imaginative Conservative

School Vouchers are a Victory for Liberty - John O. McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

Are We an Evil Empire? - John O. McCloskey, The Catholic Thing

Looking Away from Abortion - Ross Douthat, NYT


July 24, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/24/2015

They’re Not Baby Parts, They’re ‘Products Of Conception’ - D.C. McAllister, The Federalist

The Equality Act: Bad Policy that Poses Great Harms - Andrew Walker, Public Discourse

The Big Gay Marriage Lie - Daniel Payne, The Federalist

Why Are We Having a Culture War Right Now? - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

A Medieval Cure for Road Rage - Dwight Longenecker, Imaginative Conservative

Cities Leading a U.S. Manufacturing Revival - Kotkin & Shires, New Geography

Increasingly Divided Democrats - Michael Barone, Human Events

Could the Sleeping Giant Be Awakening? - David Limbaugh, Human Events

Owen Chadwick - David Warren, The Catholic Thing

What is the Role of Leo Strauss in Conservative Thought? - Peter Lawler, Imaginative Conservative

Planned Parenthood Pulls Names of Corporate Donors - Chelsea Scism, Daily Signal

NYT Moves Cruz Behind Jimmy Carter - Daniel Halper, Weekly Standard

We Asked Companies About Their Donations to Planned Parenthood - Kate Scanlon, Daily Signal

Gap Between Worker Pay and Productivity a Myth? - James Pethokoukis, AEI

The Unconstitutionality of Social Security and Medicare - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

Ditching Drug Prohibition: A Dissent - Theodore Dalrymple, Liberty Law Blog

The Empty Bromide of Religious Neutrality - Marc DeGirolami, Liberty Law Blog

How Drones Encourage Dumb Wars - Benjamin Friedman, Cato

Tesla Gets $295M in Green Subsidy Credits - Tori Richards, Human Events

Preventing Another Chattanooga - Greg Archetto, Human Events

Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep - Jim Harper, Cato

The Dominican Option and the Common Good - C.C. Pecknold, Ethika Politica


July 23, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/23/2015

Christ Came Into Our Common Home - Chad Pecknold, Pope In DC

Even Mother Nature Has an Agent - Philip Bess, First Things

Antitrust versus Market Dynamism - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

Planned Parenthood and Redefining Marriage - Ryan T. Anderson, Daily Signal

NYT Officially Running Interference For Planned Parenthood - Sean Davis, The Federalist

Are Pro-Lifers Gloating About The Planned Parenthood Sting? - Rachel Lu, The Federalist

The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom - Jonathan Last, Weekly Standard

‘Trainwreck’ Makes the Case for Monogamy - Katrina Trinko, Daily Signal

Taking Away Guns from Social Security Recipients - Joe Carter, Acton

Rick Perry Just Went Nuclear Against Donald Trump - Sean Davis, The Federalist

An Unnecessary Indictment of Dylann Roof - Jonathan Blanks, Cato

The New Normal Gets Down and Dirty . . . - George Weigel, NRO

How Can Conservatives Be Happy? - Dwight Longenecker, Imaginative Conservative

Disability...Trust Fund Set to Run Dry Next Year - Romina Boccia, Daily Signal

The Left Versus The Internet - Mytheos Holt, The Federalist

The End of Single-Sex Higher Ed - Kelsey Paff, The Federalist

The Different Social Visions of Liberals and Conservatives - Yuval Levin, Daily Signal

The Fact-Free Left: Part II - Thomas Sowell, Human Events

2015 Index of Culture and Opportunity - Editors, Heritage

The Coming of the Age of Gibberish - Carl Trueman, First Things



July 22, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/22/2015

J.R.R. Tolkien & The Fall of Arthur - Bradley Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

13 Things...about Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger - Kate Scanlon, Daily Signal

Nagel’s Cosmos: Teleology Without Intention? - James Bruce, Nomocracy in Politics

Webb An Old-Time Democrat - Joel Kotkin, OC Register

Faith in Diplomacy - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Disciplinary Bulverism - Alan Jacobs, American Conservative

New Defenses of Religious Liberty - Gerald Russello, The Catholic Thing

Flannery O'Connor and Catholic Realism - George Weigel, First Things

Thanking God for a Daughter's "Premoition" - Greg Sisk, Mirror of Justice

Amazon Pulls Negative Reviews of New Marriage Book - Marguerite Bowling, Daily Signal

Some Correspondence with an Atheist - Albert Alschuler, First Things

Surrogacy and Same-Sex Marriage: A Tale of Two Countries - Christopher White, Public Discourse

Was Father Really a Bad Catholic? - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Keeping Their Promises - Nicole Kaeding, Cato

41 Companies That Donate Directly to Planned Parenthood - Melissa Quinn, Daily Signal

Liberals Discover that Bernie Sanders Isn't Awesome - Damien Thompson, Spectator

Don’t Let Planned Parenthood Use ‘Medical Research’ - Amy Otto, The Federalist

Sodomy and the Bible - Peter J. Leithart, First Things

Time to Defund Planned Parenthood - Carter Snead, Fox


July 21, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/21/2015 (Extra)

Atticus Finch’s American Stoicism - Peter Augustine Lawler, Liberty Law Blog

Civil Commitment Under Attack - David Post, Volokh

Second Planned Parenthood Video - John McCormack, Weekly Standard

Revolutionary Guard Signals Rejection - Michael Rubin, AEI

Is System Tilted In Favor of Prosecutors? - Steven Greenhut, Human Events

Kasich’s Fiscal Record - Nicole Kaeding, Cato

Tax Reform Can Reward Those Who Save - Diana Stancy, Daily Signal

Baker to His ‘Fellow’ Gays and Lesbians - Kate Scanlon, Daily Signal




CathCon Daily - 7/21/2015

Bain of the Union - Larry Sand, City Journal

After Obergefell - Peter Leithard, First Things

Is It Racism To Say ‘All Lives Matter’? - Peter Johnson, The Federalist

Wielding the Sword of the Spirit - Bradley Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

On the Boys in the Boat - James V. Schall, The Catholic Thing

Pray for Those Who Persecute You - James D. Conley, First Things

T.S. Eliot, American - Randy Boyogada, American Conservative

Homosexual Marriage & the Modern Corporation - John Willson, Imaginative Conservative

Popular Culture and the Male Body: A New Challenge - Joseph Prud'homme, Public Discourse

The Media Used To Do Abortion Stings - D.C. McAllister, The Federalist


July 20, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/20/2015 (Extra)

The Amazon Smear - Mark Bauerlein, First Things

Did America Invent Religious Tolerance? - Joe Carter, Acton

Feminism for Fools - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Purity and Danger - Joel Robbins, Books and Culture

No, Ellen Pao, The Trolls Are Not Winning - Bre Payton, The Federalist

Hayek and Free Banking - George Selgin, Cato

Christianity=History=Transhumanism? - Peter Lawler, NRO

The Simple Truth about J.S. Mill’s Simple Truth - Theodore Dalrymple, Liberty Law Blog

Thank you, Mark Oppenheimer - Andrew Walker, First Things




CathCon Daily - 7/20/2015

Purchase of the Western Everyman - Eamon Moynihan, University Bookman

Same-Sex and Interracial Marriage: Not the Same Thing - Carson Holloway, Public Discourse

The Science of Stress - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

Utilitarian Arguments for the Family - Bruce Frohnen, Imaginative Conservative

Trump, Illegal Immigrants, John McCain - Paul Dykewicz, Human Events

Cardinal Pell and Laudato Si' - Damien Thompson, Spectator

"An Obvious Moral Horror" - Greg Sisk, Mirror of Justice

A Radically Toxic Combination - Christopher Jackson, First Things

Justice and the Whacky World of Legal Sex - Tony M., What's Wrong With the World

The Bob Jones Battle - Dwight Longenecker, Imaginative Conservative

Manhattan Project Failure - Donald McClarey, American Catholic

Washington Post Misleads On Arizona Teacher Exodus - Patrick Hedger, The Federalist

Fear And Loathing At Netroots Nation - David Marcus, The Federalist

Changing the World Through Guilt - Sean Fitzpatrick, Imaginative Conservative

Microaggression, Macro-Crazy - Heather Mac Donald, City Journal

Why Christopher Dawson Loved the Church - Bradley Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

The Kitchen of Second Chances - Madaline Donnelly, Daily Signal


July 18, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/18/2015

How to Parent: A Department of Education Guide - Lindsey Burke, Daily Signal

Why School Choice Matters - Justin Haskins, Human Events

Let Us Imagineer ENDA For You - Walter Olson, Cato

Looking at Porn’s Effects - Diana Stancy, Daily Signal

The Metaphysics of Caitlyn & Planned Parenthood - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Intellectual Intolerance Behind “Check Your Privilege" - Gary Galles, Mises

Reese on Laycock on Religious Liberty - Rick Garnett, Mirror of Justice

Get[ting] Around the Earmark Ban - Jim DeMint, Daily Signal

Obamacare’s Not-So-Hidden Tax - Aaron Yelowitz, Cato

The Minimum Wage Won’t Miraculously Cure Poverty - Diana Furtchgott-Roth, The Federalist

Sex and Religion - Howard Kainz, The Catholic Thing

Dancing With Words - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Heinlein’s Lessons for Boys - Adam Fuller, Imaginative Conservative

Will Gay Marriage Dissidents Be Treated Like Racists? - Ryan Anderson, Daily Signal

Oregon’s War on the Christian Bakers’ Free Speech - Hans von Spakovsky, Daily Signal


July 17, 2015

July 16, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/16/2015

What to Expect When You are Expecting Pope Francis - Chad Pecknold, Pope in D.C.

How Student Loans Create Demand for Degree Programs - Josh Grossman, Mises

Dignity Has Never Been Photographed - Francis J. Beckwith, The Catholic Thing

Creating a More Decentralized and Market Driven Democracy - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

Jewish Learning, Human Liberty - David Conway, Nomocracy in Politics

Pope Francis and the Surrender of the Church - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

Is American Government in Decay? - Adam White, City Journal

A Foreigner’s Perspective on the Confederate Flag - Nikita Chirkov, Intercollegiate Review

Why Aren’t Democratic Candidates Proud Of Planned Parenthood? - Bre Payton, The Federalist

Every Pro-Immigration Claim is a Lie - Ann Coulter, Human Events

What Was Irving Babbitt’s Philosophy of Man? - Claes Ryn, Imaginative Conservative

Same-Sex Marriage and Heresy - Ryan T. Anderson, First Things

Catholicism Unriddled - Russell Saltzman, First Things

Sherlock Holmes’s Politics - Christopher Sandford, American Conservative

Top Ten Conspiracy Theories We Can Believe - Stephen Masty, Imaginative Conservative

Why Can Ta-Nehisi Coates Get Away With Racial Slurs? - Daniel Payne, The Federalist

Defining Marriage - Christopher Wolfe, Public Discourse


July 15, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/15/2015

Still Legally Free To Traffic Baby Body Parts - D.C. McAllister, The Federalist

Schools to Become Bastions of Anti-Intellectualism - William Jeynes, Public Discourse

Caitlyn Jenner Needs Therapy, Not Awards - Walt Heyer, The Federalist

The Donald´s Popularity in Perspective - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

Love Is a Losing Game - Eve Tushnet, American Conservative

Historical Ignorance - Walter Williams, Human Events

The Little Stories We Tell Ourselves - Randall Smith, The Catholic Thing

Capitalism and Reduction of Poverty - Mark J. Perry, AEI

The Broken Window Fallacy - Matt Palumbo, Mises

Agents of Modern American Tyranny - Mark Meckler, Daily Signal

No Victims of 'Mass Incarceration' in Federal Prisons - John Walters, Weekly Standard

How We Can Protect Freedom for Everyone - Ryan T. Anderson, Daily Signal

Cleansing History By Applying Today’s Standards - Allen Brownfeld, Human Events

The French Revolution and Modern Liberty - David Boaz, Cato


July 14, 2015

Desecration of the Dead

While we wait for more evidence (other than the rather damning video) that Planned Parenthood has engaged in trafficking of human organs harvested from aborted babies, we should pause for a moment and say a prayer for the souls of these babies, and we should pray for the souls of anyone who could countenance such an action.

Not content with trampling one ancient prohibition as a means of earning a livelihood - the murder of innocents - Planned Parenthood now takes it upon itself to cavalierly dispose of these bodies not in any way which seems to indicate some respect for the dead (burial, cremation) but as yet another commodity.

This should not be surprising, I suppose. After all, if the rationale for abortion is some hideous combination of reasoning giving a "right to kill" the unborn, how could the dead body be anything other than disposable in any way seen fit? What line could be drawn between the ancient taboos of murder of the innocent and respect for the dead? Upon what reasoning would some advocate for freely available abortion now claim an infusion of moral meaning in the corpse?

The answer is, such an advocate could not, unless upon purely utilitarian terms ("don't use the lungs from this one - it's mother was an alcoholic").

And so we should not be surprised that this sort of thing, that Gosnells, that other gruesome and horrifying practices come to light. If the child has no moral meaning at the beginning, if it has no inherent dignity, then the only dignity which can be given is that given by others; if the mother gives the baby no dignity, then it is beyond the pale for Planned Parenthood doctors to do so.


CathCon Daily - 7/14/2015

Of Course Atticus Finch Was a Racist - David Marcus, The Federalist

Institution of Family Being Eroded - Joel Kotkin, New Geography

The Paths of Resistance - Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing

Which Mass Murderers Came From A Fatherless Home - Peter Hasson, The Federalist

Is Capitalism Diabolic? - Patrick Buchanan, Human Events

Courage: The Mother of the Virtues - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

Is the Civil War Over? - Thomas Sowell, Human Events

How Gay Marriage Came to Ireland - Catherine Kavanaugh, First Things

How the Steamroller Will Hit the Church - Darwin Catholic, American Catholic

Documents Implicate...in IRS Conservative-Targeting Scandal - Hans von Spakovsky, Daily Signal

Gender Identity - Christopher Tollefsen, Public Discourse


July 13, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/13/2015 (Extra)

Scott Walker’s Fiscal Record - Nicole Kaeding, Cato

Muslims Betray Non-Muslim Friends and Neighbors - Raymond Ibrahim, Human Events

Hate Crimes and Free Speech - John Bowman, Nomocracy in Politics

Dangerous Dignity - Ben Peterson, Intercollegiate Review

Positive Studies of the EITC - Mark Perry, AEI

Slate Discovers Rising ObamaCare Premiums - Michael Cannon, Cato

New book on “The State of the American Mind” - Ilya Somin, Volokh

The Fight Against Ebola Isn’t Over - Joshua Meservey, Daily Signal

NYT Leaves Ted Cruz’s Book Off Bestseller List - Kate Scanlon, Daily Signal


CathCon Daily - 7/13/2015

Mandating Egalitarian Education Funding (III) - Mark Pulliam, Liberty Law Blog

More Parents Finally Get That College Is A Scam - Joy Pullmann, The Federalist

5 Ways To Ensure Safe Sex - Rachel Lu, The Federalist

The Contexts of Individual Liberty - James Bruce, Liberty Law Blog

How Christian Colleges Will Be Dhimmified - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Sex Identity - Christopher Tollefsen, Public Discourse

What is an Opportunity Society? - Bruce Frohnen, Imaginative Conservative

A World of Cities - Alan Pell Crawford, American Conservative

David McCullough, The Art of Biography No. 2 - Gaffney & Howe, The Paris Review

Debt Collector is Now Following You - Whitney Mallet, Fast Company

'Left-Wing Privilege' on College Campuses - Mark Perry, AEI

Screwtape on "Discrimination" - Rick Garnett, Mirror of Justice

Chicago’s Financial Fire - Aaron Renn, City Journal




July 11, 2015

Flags and Fences

Both the Left and the Right have had their opportunities to jump on their favorite emotional hobby horses these past weeks. With the Charleston massacre by Dylann Roof, himself a racist and a bearer of the Confederate flag (among others), progressives were quick to leap to cries to remove the Confederate flag flying on public ground in South Carolina, for more gun control (and lately, for digging up bodies of Confederate soldiers), etc.

Similarly, conservatives have had the opportunity to re-open debates about illegal immigrants and the de facto open border with Mexico after a Mexican national, who had apparently been deported five times, shot and killed Kathryn Steinle. He had been released in accordance with "sanctuary city" policies, whereby certain cities choose to release illegal immigrants rather than transfer them to federal control when arrested. Conservatives were quick to leap to cries regarding open borders, the tepid White House response to this killing compared with Freddie Gray and Trayvon Martin, and so forth.

What seems to be true in both cases is that the evil choices of a given individual are being used to focus attention on things only loosely related, if at all, to those choices. In the first instance, it may well have been time to move the Confederate flag to a museum (though I have serious doubts about how far that particular idea has now transferred into a hysteria to wipe out all symbolic memory of the Confederacy). However, what seems to be in front of the minds of many is that, somehow, Roof was inspired or motivated by the Confederate flag, rather than the other way around - that is, adoption of a symbol by Roof. There seems to be a certain materialism at work here, a certain claim that, but for the existence of the flag in South Carolina, Roof would not have committed a massacre. Aside from the problem that, even had the flag been removed a generation ago, Roof would still be able to possess one now, it is not what goes into a man which defiles him, but what comes out. That single-minded ideology is at work can hardly be debated - progressive opponents of the flag have been quick to argue that anyone  displaying the flag, honoring the memory of a Confederate soldier, etc., must ipso facto support the slavery and racism characteristic of the South for many years, whatever claims or evidence to the contrary.

Despite more complexity in response, many of the conservative's reaction to the Steinle murder has been to paint illegal immigrants as a whole as more crime-ridden due to the fact of their lawlessness in illegally entering the country. Other conservatives have decried the White House for its tepid response to the crime as compared to slayings of minorities by whites. As to the first, while in that crime, this is true, illegal immigrants are no more likely to commit crimes than other groups, and may, in fact, be less likely to do so. Crimes, such as murder, committed by illegal immigrants, are crimes committed in greater percentages by citizens; they are not made more or less heinous by the immigration status of the perpetrator. While those who are victims or know victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants have a strong emotional case that "this should not have happened," I am not sure that counterfactual argument is a good way to proceed. While it may be high time to secure our border for any number of reasons, as well as be concerned about assimilation of immigrants and respect for the law, any evil act committed by an illegal immigrant should be treated in and of itself, rather than as a symbol of some greater problem. As for the tepid White House response, I think that should, unfortunately, be expected from a President who makes race relations his hallmark, and seems only truly concerned with using tragedy for his own political ends. I am sympathetic with those who call the White House out for its lack of response.

In either case, an evil occurrence has been overlain and stamped with layers of emotional concern that have been fomenting for years, and the subject of constant debate, and the pro / con sides of each debate are eager to impress any occurrence that bears relation, however tenuous, with great meaning to their side of the debate. However, we would do better, in either case, not to use tenuous connection with occurrence as ammunition for causes, especially for removal of the flag and for painting illegal immigrants as crime-ridden beyond the bare fact of illegal status itself. We should have debates about symbols and their use in society, and debates about the flow of immigrants into our country, but we should not be opportunistic and flatten evil occurrences into tools to forward the debates. We risk over-broad strokes and alienation of potential allies. We would find more allies in debates about the meaning of the Confederate flag if we didn't choose to invest a symbol with unified meaning, and paint all those bearing the symbol, whatever they may say, as invested with the same racism as motivated Dylann Roof. We would do better, in debating about immigration, if we did not argue that immigrants are more likely to commit evil than other members of society. Both are demonstrably not true, and both fail to engage the range of arguments and meanings fairly.

CathCon Daily - 7/11/2015 (Weekend Edition)

Idleness is the enemy of the soul; and therefore the brethren ought to be employed in manual labor at certain times, at others, in devout reading. - St. Benedict of Nursia

Undercover Jew - Siegel & Stern, City Journal

A Coming Era of Civil Disobedience? - Patrick Buchanan, Human Events

“A Republic, If You Can Keep It.” - David Limbaugh, Human Events

Wedding Bells at Fordham - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

"Equal Treatment for All" - Rick Garnett, Mirror of Justice

Complicity, Dignity, and Demeaning - Rick Garnett, Mirror of Justice

Scott Walker's Fiscal Record - Nicole Kaeding, Cato

White People Will Always Be Racists - D.C. McAllister, The Federalist

Countering Progressives' Assault on Suburbia - Joel Kotkin, New Geography

D.C. Council Debates Legalizing Assisted Suicide - Diana Stancy, Daily Signal

Dawson On Our Cultural Mess - George Martin, The Catholic Thing

When Will They Believe in Hell? - Dwight Longenecker, The Imaginative Conservative


July 10, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/10/2015

But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint. - Edmund Burke

Fighting Federalism: Damon Root’s Overruled (Part One) - Kurt Lash, Liberty Law Blog

A Tale of Two Clauses: Damon Root’s Overruled (Part Two) - Kurt Lash, Liberty Law Blog

Obergefell and "Religious Reasons for Lawmaking" - Rick Garnett, Mirror of Justice

Stop Treating Kids Like Sex Objects - Bethany Mandel, The Federalist

School Finance Farce: Part I - Mark Pulliam, Liberty Law Blog

Impeachment of the IRS Commissioner - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

Catholics and the Administered Society - James Kalb, Catholic World Report

“No Evidence for School Choice” Canard - Jason Bedrick, Cato

Conservatives, White House Upset With Education Law - Natalie Johnson, Daily Signal

The Value of Disagreement - Alan Jacobs, American Conservative

Science Revives “The Hiatus” - Michaels & Knappenberger, Cato

Congresswomen Seek to Allow Taxpayer-Funded Abortions - Kate Scanlon, Daily Signal

Democrats Move to Fund Universal Pre-Kindergarten - Kate Scanlon, Daily Signal

Remove Lew, Not Hamilton - Steve Hanke, Cato

What Clarence Thomas Meant - Wesley Hill, First Things

Civil Disobedience in the Disunited States of America - Patrick Buchanan, American Conservative

Literature, Empathy and American Prosperity - Ann Marie Jakubowski, Acton

Seinfeld Won’t Come To The Campus...Will Come To Him - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

How to Justify Spending $8M on Something Nobody Wants - Nathaniel Hood, New Geography

Sanctuary Cities and Liberal Lawlessness - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

Thirsty Californians Tithe To High-Speed Rail - Georgi Boorman, The Federalist

Boyhood: A Profoundly Human Story - Daniel Ross Goodman, Public Discourse


July 9, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/10/2015

In the matter of fact, for the greater part, these authors appear to be in the right; perhaps not always; but if the lawyers mistake in some particulars, it proves my position still the more strongly; because it demonstrates the powerful prepossession towards antiquity, with which the minds of all our lawyers and legislators, and of all the people whom they wish to influence, have been always filled; and the stationary policy of this kingdom in considering their most sacred rights and franchises as an inheritance. - Edmund Burke

Reclaiming the Rule of Law after Obergefell - Bradley C.S. Watson, NRO

Faith and Feeling - Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing

Save the Print Library - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

The Revenge Of The Lost Boys - Tom Nichols, The Federalist

A Campaign Lost Every Day - Pete Spiliakos, First Things

Re-Styling Tradition - Greg Bucher, First Things

Getting It Write - John R. Coyne, Jr., American Conservative

Rand Paul, Don’t Swallow The Bait - Stella Morabito, The Federalist

A Tale of Two Entrepreneurs - David Williams, Human Events

O’Connor on Art, Integrity, and the Writer’s Responsibility - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

Andy Biggs’s ‘Con of the Con Con’ - Kevin Gutzman, Nomocracy in Politics

Kennedy and the Lonely Promethean Man - David Azerrad, Public Discourse

Russell Wilson’s Decision to Delay Sex Until After Marriage - Samantha Reinis, Daily Signal

The Hidden Risks of Government Loan Programs - Amber Athey, Daily Signal

Another One Bites the Dust - Lydia McGrew, What's Wrong with the World

Thought Control’s Lingua Franca - Flagg Taylor, Liberty Law Blog

On Demography and Marriage - Michael J. New, Public Discourse

Fanaticism, Pragmatism And Organic Agriculture - Miller & Kershen, Forbes

Lenin and Marx: Sound Money Advocates? - Louis Rouanet, Mises

Which Same-Sex Marriage Supporter Is Correct? - Jennifer Johnson, The Federalist


July 8, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/8/2015

Applied to the family, the argument suggests that affection and personality cultivation can somehow exist in a social vacuum, unsupported by the determining goals and ideals of economic and political society. - Robert Nisbet

Why We Need Criminal-Justice Reform - Jon Basil Utley, American Conservative

If Not Retreat, Then What? - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

The Tragedy of Blaise Pascal - Mark Malvasi, Imaginative Conservative

Wealth Gap - John Stossel, Human Events

The Diversity Canard - Wolfgang Grassl, The Catholic Thing

Minority View III - Walter Williams, Human Events

A “Royal” Rip-off? - Eric Peters, Human Events

Case for Not ‘Expressing’ Support of Same-Sex Marriage - Ken McIntyre, Daily Signal

The Left Wants To End the Separation of Church and State - Ben Domenech, The Federalist

Heat Turned Up Against Sex Offender Statutes - David Post, Volokh

South Carolina Should Move the Confederate Flag - David Boaz, Cato

America Isn’t That Racist - Greg Jones, The Federalist

How Choice And Emotion Can Influence Sexual Orientation - Ronald Pisaturo, The Federalist

A Modest Proposal For Handling Offensive Place Names - Joseph Knippenberg, The Federalist


July 7, 2015

A Co-Dependent Gay Culture?

If homosexual couples who bring civil rights suits against those who refuse to serve in gay weddings or related ceremonies are not simply vengeful, then their expressions of feeling seem to me to indicate the existence of codependent enablers - that is:
Codependent enablers often lack in self-worth and define their worth through another's eyes, thoughts, or views of them. They need other people to validate them to feel okay about themselves and without this, they are unable to find their own worth or identity.
Gay couples who have been refused service by individuals such as florists, cake bakers, photographers, etc., say things like:
  • We were hurt and saddened when we were denied service by Arlene’s Flowers after doing business with them for so many years...[link]
  • Phillips...informed them that he wouldn't take their business because it violated his religious beliefs. "We were all very upset, but I was angry and I felt dehumanized and mortified," Mullins told the Associated Press. [link]
  • "Something not easily described. It’s like a nagging shadow, a feeling that I am still different; less somehow. A Yes vote will help gay people let go of this shame. It will mean we can go about daily life knowing that the de facto position of those around us is not one of disapproval but one of support, kindness and respect...." [link]
  • Rachel and Laurel submitted a long list of alleged physical, emotional and mental damages they claim to have experienced as a result of the Kleins’ unlawful conduct...Examples of symptoms included “acute loss of confidence,” “doubt,” “excessive sleep,” “felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful,” “high blood pressure,” “impaired digestion,” “loss of appetite,” “migraine headaches,” “pale and sick at home after work,” “resumption of smoking habit,” “shock,” “stunned,” “surprise,” “uncertainty,” “weight gain” and “worry.” [link]
It is yet early in the post-Obergefell world, and there will be more opportunity to study reactions of homosexuals to being denied services based on the religious beliefs of the offeror. With that said...

Perhaps it's the entire cult of the victim in our society that requires people who dislike what another says or does to act like a victim in some way. But I must ask - why does finding out some person does not like who you are or what actions you take cause one to feel less about oneself, absent some form of codependency or dependent personality disorder?

CathCon Daily - 7/7/2015

The wise determine from the gravity of the case; the irritable, from sensibility to oppression; the high minded, from disdain and indignation at abusive power in unworthy hands. - Edmund Burke

Is the World Becoming Fed Up? - VD Hanson, Pajamas Media

The ’70s Again, with a Transgender Bonus - Roger Kimball, Quadrant Online

Employee Theft - David Henderson, EconoLib

Russia's Leaders: Thieves versus Policemen - Mark Harrison, Blog

How Sexy Was Kant? - Alan Jacobs, American Conservative

Religion and the Republic - David Forte, Public Discourse

The Business Book Every Serious Student Should Read - John Inzero, Intercollegiate Review

The Wrinkle in the Affordable Care Act Decision - George Will, Human Events

Obergefell and Future Challenges to Religious Liberty - John Breen, Mirror of Justice

Dawson and the Dynamics of History - Jack Shannon, Acton

Paul Exposes $25,000 Federal Grant For Oscars Museum - Natalie Johnson, Daily Signal

Is the Civil War Long Gone and Far Away? - Patrick Stoner, Imaginative Conservative

The Unsoundness of Judicial Supremacy - Paul R. DeHart, Public Discourse

Iceland and the Essentials of Government - Bruce Frohnen, Imaginative Conservative

Unlikely Working Class Warriors - Patrick Buchanan, American Conservative

Justice Thomas, Marriage, and the Question of Dignity - Mark Brumley, Catholic World Report

False Enlightenment at the Court - Joshua Schulz, First Things

Oregon Did Put a ‘Gag Order’ on Those Christian Bakers - Hans von Spakovsky, Daily Signal

Waging the War of Ideas - Lauren Weiner, Liberty Law Blog

Are We Losing Millennials? - Joan Desmond, NCR

On Skepticism - James V. Schall, The Catholic Thing


July 6, 2015

CathCon Daily - 7/6/2015

Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right to do what we ought. - Lord Acton

Atlanta Fire Chief...‘Absolutely’ Wants His Job Back - Kelsey Harkness, Daily Signal

Culture War 4.0: The Coming Overreach - Domenech & Tracinski, The Federalist

The New Totalitarians Are Here - Tom Nichols, The Federalist

Civil Resistance vs. Civil Aggression - Fr. Mark Pilon, Catholic Thing

Eastern Orthodox Perspective on Laudato Si' - John Chryssavgis, First Things

The Declaration of Independence and God - Eugene Volokh, Volokh

Greek Taxpayers Facing a Future of Debt Slavery - Ian Daily, Mises

Shut up! They Said - Mark Pulliam, Liberty Law Blog