CathCon Daily - 6/30/2016

Religious Freedom Bill Creeps Forward in Congress - Kelsey Harkness, Daily Signal

Pro-Abortion Activists Oppose Free Car Seats For Needy Babies - Jay Hobbs, The Federalist

The Road to Rationalia - Kevin D. Williamson, NRO

The Supreme Court vs. Women’s Health - Dierdre Cooper, Public Discourse

The Rise of Moral Environmentalism - Camille Pecastaing, American Interest

Presidential Projections - V.D. Hanson, NRO

The Smartphone and the Virgin - Mark Movesesian, First Things

Whatever Happened to High Culture? - Joseph Epstein, Weekly Standard

Minimum Wages And Trade Barriers Can’t Manufacture Dignity - Rachel Lu, The Federalist

Link Between Language and Cognition? - Frans de Waal, Aeon

Anti-Brexit Elites Don't Suffer - V.D. Hanson, NRO

Sacramento Sends Jobs (and People) to Nashville - Wendell Cox, New Geography

The Rump Supreme Court Speaks - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

Pro-Lifers Discover Again the Perils of Indirection - Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing

Black Lives Matter Torches Justin Timberlake - Kira Davis, The Federalist

Teleology in the Digital Age - Jordan Zajac, First Things

The Migrating Power of the Purse - Michael S. Greve, Liberty Law Blog

CathCon Daily - 6/29/2016

Kids May Learn More from Fantasy - Deena Skolnick Weisberg, Aeon

Desperate America - Timothy D. Lusch, Crisis

A Cinematic Lesson in Hope - George Weigel, First Things

Women-Only Swimming Hours - Rosenbaum & Ouachtouki, First Things

Orlando: Shrines in the Urban Space - Richard Reep, First Things

Fighting the Pro-Choice Narrative - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Aziz Ansari Should Protest Sharia, Not Trump - John Gibbs, The Federalist

Americans are Losing Confidence in the Supreme Court - John Davidson, The Federalist

Graduation Day: Do You Want to Change the World? - Eva Brann, Imaginative Conservative

Bipartisan Statism - Jonah Goldberg, NRO

Snead on the Court - Yuval Levin, NRO

Data on Children in Same-Sex Households Get More Depressing - Mark Regnerus, Public Discourse

A New Sextortion Report - Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare

Dysfunctional Constitutional Reform - Donald Devine, Liberty Law Blog

Polls Are Telling Donald Trump the Truth - Byron York, Human Events

How to Love Your Ordinary, Daily Work - John Senior, Imaginative Conservative

Cosmic Teleology in Big History? - Larry Arnhart, Darwinian Conservatism

CathCon Daily - 6/28/2016

An Inquisition is Not a Witch Hunt - David P. Goldman, First Things

The Media's Disgraceful Brexit Meltdown - Charles C.W. Cooke, NRO

Eberstadt’s Analysis of the Dangerous Religion of...Progressivism - Luma Simms, Public Discourse

Revisiting Subsidiarity: Temptations and Limits - Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing

Unity and Independence - David Koyzis, First Things

A Long Trump Summer - V.D. Hanson, NRO

Rape Culture And Hookup Culture Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin - Joseph Turner, The Federalist

The Imaginarium of Harry Blackmun - Kevin D. Williamson, NRO

The Jurisprudence of Multiculturalism - John O. McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

Obergefell and the New Gnosticism - Sherif Gergis, First Things

The Fraud Goes On - Thomas Sowell, Creators.Com

Abortion Is Not A Jewish Value - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

CathCon Update - 6/27/2016

Brexit Shattered Progressive's Illusions - Damon Linker, The Week

Court Strikes Down...Abortion Clinic Safety Standards - Elizabeth Slattery, Daily Signal

McDonnell Ruling is a Victory for Constitutional Due Process - Tim Lynch, Cato

The Uncomfortable Truth About Daycare - Lukas & Rhoads, National Affairs

The Brexit Hysterics - Ramesh Ponnuru, NRO

Brexit was Sparked by Rape and Crime - Ben Stein, American Spectator

CathCon Daily - 6/27/2016

Brexit Reaction: Damn the People - John Fund, NRO

How Jon Stewart Killed Late-Night Comedy - Hans Fiene, The Federalist

Magna Carta 2.0 - Lawrence Kudlow, Human Events

Sickening Parts Of Trump’s Meeting With Evangelical Leaders - Rebecca Cusey, The Federalist

A Model of Spiritual Courage for Our Time - Regis Martin, Crisis

A Brexit Symposium - Richard Samuelson, Liberty Law Blog

Americans Are As Deluded As Our Elites - Warren Henry, The Federalist

Whopping Salary Disparities in Maine - Jan Shaw, NRO

Brexit: Why Britain Voted Leave - Nathan Pinkoski, Public Discourse

Francis Fatigue - Brad Miner, The Catholic Thing

Why Progressivism Will Win - Alexander Salter, Imaginative Conservative

Why Is Transgender An Identity But Anorexia A Disorder? - Moira Fleming, The Federalist

The Myth of the Global City-State - Aaron Renn, New Geography

Americans Shouldn’t Freak Out About Brexit - James Poulos, The Federalist

Free Condoms — What Could Go Wrong? - David Limbaugh, Human Events

Dear Gay Rights Advocates: You're Welcome. Signed, Christians - Dean Esmay, New Reform Club

Journalist Who Called For Murder...Concerned About Rhetoric - Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist

An Illegitimate Act - Kevin D. Williamson, NRO

Brexit, Matthew McConaughey, and Huddle House - Peter A Lawler, NRO

Restrooms at National Parks ‘Align’ With Gender Identity - Fred Lucas, Daily Signal

CathCon Weekend - 6/26/2016

Pope Francis and the Armenian Church - Filip Mazurczak, The Catholic Thing

Self-Defeating Claims - Ed Feser

One Year after Obergefell - Ryan T. Anderson, NRO

What if the Orlando Shooter Wasn't Gay? - Dan McLaughlin, NRO

Sommers & Paglia Discussion - AEI

The Gun and I: My Backstory - Mike LaBossiere, Talking Philosophy

Adventures in the Old Atheism, Part I: Nietzsche - Ed Feser

The Devil, You Say? - Fr. Paul Scalia, The Catholic Thing

Aggrandizes Judicial Power - John O. McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

The Death of the Humanities? - Chad Wellmon, Imaginative Conservative

Two Kings and “The Lord of the Rings” - Dwight Longenecker, Imaginative Conservative

CathCon Daily - 6/24/2016

Junk Food: Penalties and Subsidies - Chris Edwards, Cato

S.C. Upholds Race-Based Discrimination in College Admissions - Elizabeth Slattery, Daily Signal

The New Know-Nothings - Benjamin  Weingarten, City Journal

Obama’s Amnesty Plan Effectively Struck Down - Slattery & Spakovsky, Daily Signal

Sickening Parts Of Trump’s Meeting With Evangelical Leaders - Rebecca Cusey, The Federalist

Freddie Grey Acquittal - Andrew C. McCarthy, NRO

How My Friends and I Wrecked Pomona College - Harry Stein, City Journal

Rights First, Government Second - Adam Freedman, City Journal

Pioneering Gay Communist, Former Catholic - Paul Kengor, Crisis

The California Abortion-Mandate Case - Thomas Berg, Mirror of Justice

Brexit Marks the Beginning of the End for the European Union - Marian L. Tupy, Cato

Dartmouth Ruminations - Paul Schwennesen, Liberty Law Blog

A Philosopher’s Defense of the Reasoning Believer - Matthew J. Franck, Public Discourse

The Roman Way - Remi Brague, Sp!ked

How Equality Destroyed the Carnegie Family - Ted McAllister, Imaginative Conservative

The Brexit Vote was Just the Beginning - Charles C.W. Cooke, NRO

Ecumenical Consequences of the Peace - Carl Trueman, First Things

CathCon Daily - 6/23/2016

A response to Michael P. and "Religious Liberty in the Culture Wars" - Rick Garnett, MoJ

The Chilling Effect of Fear at America's Colleges - Jonathan P. Cole, The Atlantic

Democrats: We Shall Overcome The Constitution - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

What Francis Forgets About Marriage - Edward Peters, First Things

England Has a Soul, if She Can Keep It - Francesca Aran Murphy, First Things

Men Did Greater Things When It Was Harder To See Boobs - Amy Otto, The Federalist

The Sad Tale Of Judge Ruth Neely - Michael Avramovich, Mere Comments

Sins of the Elite Don't Excuse the Sins of the People - David French, NRO

What Is It Like To Fire An AR-15? - Krystle Schoonveld, The Federalist

Why They Hate Us - Derek Hunter, Townhall

Trump and the Idolatry of Safety - Rob Vischer, MoJ

Federal Policies on Transgender Students - W. Justin Dyer, Public Discourse

The Abolition of the Labor Market - Theodore Dalrymple, Liberty Law Blog

There Will Be An Independent Candidate For President - Mandel & Marcus, The Federalist

CathCon Daily - 6/22/2016

Why Has America Become a Fractured Republic? - Genevieve Wood, Daily Signal

The Assassination of Jo Cox - R.R. Reno, First Things

America Is Awash In Guns, And Crime Is At Record Lows - Andrew Cline, The Federalist

Confessions of an "Elitist" - George Weigel, First Things

Obama Suppresses Information to Promote Propaganda - David Limbaugh, Human Events

Constitutions and the Greek Problem - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

Originalism and the Second Amendment - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

Empathy Bursts the Bounds of Proper Procedure - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

The Loss of the Contemplative Self - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Habits of Mind in an Age of Distraction - Alan Jacobs, Comment

West Bowing to Radical Islam - Tarek Fatah, The Sun

Rule Requires Doctors To Treat Trans Patients As Their Pretend Sex - Maria Servold, The Federalist

CathCon Daily - 6/21/2016

An Unsettling Comment About Marriage - Rachel Lu, Crisis

Defending the Pope, Defending Marriage - C.C. Pecknold, NRO

Orlando Was Not a Tragedy - R.R. Reno, First Things

Naked in the Public Square - Bruce Frohnen, Imaginative Conservative

The Irrelevant Crusade - Rich Lowry, NRO

Tall Tales Gun Grabbers Tell - Sen. Mike Lee, Daily Signal

Taking Away Constitutional Rights - Hans von Spakovsky, Daily Signal

On the Future - James V. Schall, S.J., The Catholic Thing

Unilateral Executive Authority and the Decline of Democracy - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

On #NeverTrump (and #NeverHillary) - Stephen J. Heaney, Public Discourse

On Guns, Democrats Have Lost Their Minds - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

The Unraveling Con - Jonah Goldberg, NRO

I Wish Someone Else In That Club Had A Gun - Bre Payton, The Federalist

College Students Don't Learn Critical Thinking - NRO

Yale's Inquisitor - George Leef, NRO

The Da Vinci Code All Over Again - Grant Kaplan, First Things

CathCon Daily - 6/20/2016

Handshakes, Islam, and Religious Tolerance in the West - Jennifer Bryson, Public Discourse

Burke in Full - Ian Crowe, University Bookman

A Jurisprudence of Empathy Undermines the Rule of Law - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

What Do Crime Researchers Say about Gun Laws? - Thomas Firey, Cato

The Republican Party Needs Truth and Reconciliation - Peter Spiliakos, NRO

The Rise Of Cultural Parasites - Hans Fiene, The Federalist

How to Dump Trump - Peter Augustine Lawler, NRO

Undercover CBS Reporter Breaks Gun Law - Fr. Z's Blog

Persecution and the Art of Voting - Geoffrey Vaughan, Liberty Law Blog

A President in Denial - William Doino, Jr., First Things

Marguerite de Angeli’s The Black Fox of Lorne - Elizabeth Anderson, Crisis

Is Violent Crime Rising or Falling? - Sean Kennedy, AEI

Blaming Christianity for Islamic Terrorism - Anne Hendershott, Crisis

Dark Night, Black Hopes - R. Kenton Craven, University Bookman

Obama Administration Edits Reality - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Come Study What Jesus Didn’t Do (Even if the Bible Says He Did) - Randall Smith, Catholic Thing

“The Lord of the Rings”: Read It & Weep - Dwight Longenecker, Imaginative Conservative

Violence In Cleveland Will Solve Nothing - David Marcus, The Federalist

CathCon Update - 6/17/2016

Seven Deadly Progressive Education Myths - Jane Robbins, The Federalist

FIRE Takes Government to Court Over Sexual Misconduct Guidelines - American Interest

Bizarro Morality of Gun Control Debate - David French, NRO

What Liberals Get Wrong About the Family - Scott Yenor, Daily Signal

Investing in Kids - Chris DeMuth, Jr., Medium

CathCon Daily - 6/17/2016

The Great Majority of Christian Marriages are Valid - Ed Peters, In the Light of the Law

Gay And Lesbian Interest In Gun Training Skyrockets - Bre Payton, The Federalist

Books in Little: Modern Culture - Karl C. Schaffenberg, University Bookman

The Dangerous Lie of Sex Change Surgery’s Success - Walt Heyer, Public Discourse

Orlando And The Slow Death Of Liberal Society - Ben Domenech, The Federalist

America in Free Fall - V.D. Hanson, Hoover

Ordinary vs. Extraordinary Gun Violence - Dave Carlin, The Catholic Thing

Groans Wrapped in Mathematics - Roger Scruton, Imaginative Conservative

Malloy in the Middle - Stephen Malanga, City Journal

Author Says a New Religion Persecutes Christians- Austin Ruse, Crisis

Another Anti-Israel Water Libel - Mirian Elman, Legal Insurrection

Net Loss: D.C. Circuit Upholds FCC “Net Neutrality” Rule - Michael Greve, Liberty Law Blog

The History of LGBT Gun-Rights Litigation - Dave Kopel, Volokh

CathCon Daily - 6/16/2016

A Response to Fr. James Martin - Elliot Milco, First Things

No...Americans Don't Need to Examine Themselves - David Limbaugh, Human Events

Don't Tell Me What Gun I Need for Self-Defense - David French, NRO

A Sanctuary After Orlando - Matthew Schmitz, First Things

The Case For A Pro-Life Third Party - Ben Domenech, The Federalist

Christians Didn't Commit the Orlando Massacre - David French, NRO

The Eyes of Wendell Berry - John Murdock, First Things

Nation Needs Purdue's President - George Will, Human Events

Yuval Levin’s Prescription for American Culture - Jacob Reses, Public Discourse

Why Guns and Christians are Responsible - Stephen Turley, Imaginative Conservative

Preventing Collusion between Plaintiff and Defense Lawyers - Ilya Shapiro, Cato

Slate Lies About the Second Amendment - Charles C.W. Cooke, NRO

They’re Into Masochism - Greg Weiner, Liberty Law Blog

Looks Like Evidence for the Mismatch Theory - George Leef, NRO

The Most Important Person in America - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

The Pan-Orthodox Council Must and Will Succeed - Chryssavgis and Gavrilyuk, First Things

CathCon Daily - 6/15/2016

The Day Rick Monday Saved the American Flag - Stephen Klugewicz, Imaginative Conservative

On the Relationship Between Catholicism and Science - Brian Jones, Crisis

Two Catholics and the Catholic Game - George Weigel, First Things

Charles Carroll of Carrollton - Bradley Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

Health and Class - Kenneth Thompson, New Geography

Paul Ryan’s Regulatory Reform Agenda - Various, Daily Signal

Understanding the Bohemian Conservative - Ted McAllister, Imaginative Conservative

Is Catechesis Possible in a Narcissistic Age? - Jonathan B. Coe, Crisis

The Deep Roots of American Federalism - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

Is Compromising Religious Beliefs "The Price of Citizenship"? - Gerry V. Bradley, Public Discourse

The Ben Op As Light Fiction - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

How the Media Treats Trump, Guns, Romney, and Deceptive Editing - Federalist Staff

CathCon Update - 6/14/2016

The Great Question - Andrew Klavan, City Journal

Terrorism is Not Hate - R.R. Reno, First Things

Assessing the Great Libertarian Lacuna - Hans Eicholz, Liberty Law Blog

Orlando: The Reichstag Fire - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Common Core Does Not Prepare Students for College - Mary Clare Reim, Daily Signal

What If Mateen Wasn’t Targeting Gay People At All? - John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist

Left or Right, No One is Happy - R.R. Reno, First Things

Why The Left Has Not Won The Culture War - Glenn T. Stanton, The Federalist

Bad History is Killing Us - Stanley Kurtz, NRO

CathCon Daily - 6/14/2016

The Abiding Influence of John Rawls, Part Two - Randall Smith, Public Discourse

Sex and the Single Co-Ed - Bernie Reeves, NRO

What the Hook-up Culture Has Done to Women - Anne Maloney, Crisis

Scapegoating Of Christians Begins - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

People Under FBI Investigation Should Lose Constitutional Rights - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

The Lure of Subsidiarity - Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing

Omar Mateen Confidential - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

David Perdue...Warns of America’s Coming Debt Crisis - Philip Wegmann, Daily Signal

ISIS and Domestic Terrorism - Victor Davis Hanson, NRO

What Happens When Nobody's Left to Move to the City? - Aaron Renn, New Geography

Latest Assault on Religious Freedom - Hans von Spakovsky, Daily Signal

Trump's Shock Treatment - Jim Geraghty, NRO

Will Orlando Change Anything? - Thomas Sowell, Human Events

CathCon Update - 6/13/2016

Can High-Quality Teachers Be Made? - James Pethokoukis, AEI

Sex and the Single Co-Ed - Bernie Reeves, NRO

The Hows and Whys of the Social Cost of Carbon - Matthews and Knappenberger, Cato

The FBI and the Mass Murderer - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

A Stupid Idea Pushed By Stupid People - Sean Davis, The Federalist

Left Blames Christianity for the Orlando Shooting - Heather Mac Donald, NRO

This is How Democracy Dies - Bruce Thornton, Front Page Mag

Obergefell's Absurd Take - Rich Lowry, NRO

CathCon Daily - 6/13/2016

A Thought and a Prayer for Fellow Christians - Robert George, Mirror of Justice

The Price We Pay For Not Destroying ISIS - John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist

Islamic Terrorism in the U.S. May Get Worse - Dr. Andrew Holt, College Fix

Trump a Poor Vessel for Popular Revulsion with Political Class - Joel Kotkin, New Geography

John Paul II, Porn, and the Stanford Rapist - Matthew Sewell, Crisis

Does John Oliver Know Anything About Debt Collection? - Christopher Miller, The Federalist

The Abiding Influence of John Rawls, Part One - Randall Smith, Public Discourse

We Need Sentencing Reform And This Bill Is A Good Start - Rachel Lu, The Federalist

Exploiting Orlando - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Can Climate Alchemy Save the Planet? - American Interest

The Way Ahead - Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing

Humility in Public Life - Brittany Baldwin, Imaginative Conservative

Making Myths about “Money Makers” - Paul Loreno, Liberty Law Blog

Emotional Reactions are a Poor Guide to Policy - Ilya Somin, Volokh

Sound Money in Theory and Practice - Gerald P. O'Driscoll, Cato

CathCon Sunday - 6/12/2016

Poverty Hits Boys Hardest - American Interest

How Whispering Historians Distort the Story of Jesus - Brad Miner, The Catholic Thing

Capitalism, Socialism, and Culture - Michael Potemra, NRO

Campus Drunk Confidential - Rod Dreher, NRO

Anything but Bland Conformity - Thomas Bertonneau, University Bookman

More on "The Only Vote Worth Casting" - Rick Garnett, Mirror of Justice

What Is the Cause of Angry Politics? - John Horvat, Imaginative Conservative

The Enduring Wisdom of Bryce - Gerald Russello, University Bookman

CathCon Saturday - 6/11/2016

Surprising Stability of American's Moral Attitudes - Michael J. New, First Things

The Bad Social Consequences of Substantive Equality - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

The Rich Hippie Paradox - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

What the Best Writers Have in Common - Matthew J. Schmitz, First Things

The End of Job Growth - Aaron M. Renn, New Geography

Gawker Is Bankrupt - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

Determinism: Science Commits Suicide - George Stanciu, Imaginative Conservative

Freddie Gray Prosecutions Continue to Unravel - David French, NRO

Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered - George Panichas, Imaginative Conservative

Epic Classical

For one of my "lighter" posts, I have decided to post some epic pieces of classical music (obviously, I cannot post all, or even a decent number - there are too many and tastes will vary). Generally, these will be pulled from the Romantic era and after, though there are some choral pieces mixed in here too. I should note that, as I do not like Opera (generally), I will be avoiding it. Commentators are welcome to add their own favorites, including operatic, at their whim. For the purposes of this post, I am also excluding movie scores / soundtracks. While there are many, many, epic pieces among them, they really deserve their own post. Now, on to the list (in no particular order)...

While I have mentioned it before, Tallis' Spem in Alium deserves highlighting. Composed for 8 choirs of 5 parts each (40 parts) in 1570, it was said to have won Tallis a gift of gold from a duke at its performance. The text is here, in English and Latin.

There are many other beautiful choral pieces which could be considered "epic," such as Sicut Cervus or Deo Gratias, and I encourage you to investigate them.

There are many Russians known for epic music - Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture being a famous example. One which I particularly enjoy is Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, a suite based on pictures drawn by a friend. Originally composed for piano, it has been orchestrated by several different composers, including Ravel, Henry Wood, Leonidas Leonardi, Stokowski, and Askenazy, among others. Below, I have placed two videos - the first with Evgeny Kissin on piano (Hut of Baba Yaga and Great Gate of Kiev), and the second, by Theodore Kuchar and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.

Another epic piece of music is found in Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome. A tone poem comprised of four different sections, Respighi composed this in 1924. The fourth movement, the Pines of the Appian Way, is intended to represent:

[A] portrait of the pine tree-lined Appian Way, the military road of the Roman Republic. The Roman legions emerge from the mists, and the orchestra mirrors their approach, growing louder as the soldiers get closer to the Capitoline Hill. As the movement closes, the victorious warriors, led by the Republican Consul, arrive at the Capitol with the rising sun behind them, their glory reflected in the work’s jubilant closing pages.

Without further ado or dissembling or blather:

Gorgeous. Did I mentioned that I am not going to discuss Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner's Die Walkure? It's from an opera. Enough said. 

Another piece I have mentioned before, but is worth posting again is Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. It was originally performed in Gloucester Cathedral in 1910 originally (as is the below, by Andrew Davis), and included Herbert Howells (among others) in its audience.

Aaron Copland is a moderately well-known American composer, friends with Leonard Bernstein, who is remembered for a distinctly "American" sound. I have two pieces for your perusal - Appalachian Spring, which has a "short" and "long" version. I have included the "short" below, and an excerpt from his Third Symphony (itself a lengthened use of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man).

What else..what else...let's see...

The finale to The Firebird by Stravinsky merits consideration (esp. after 7:40 or so)....

Alexander Nevsky by Prokofiev deserves a listen (excerpt below):

I know I have skipped over many here - what are some of your favorites?

CathCon Update - 6/10/2016

Mod and Man at Yale - Jay Nordlinger, NRO

Piecing America's Fractured Republic Back Together - Mark Hemingway, The Federalist

New College Offers Real Education - George Leef, NRO

Anti-Christian California - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Is Google Manipulating Search Results To Help Hillary Clinton? - Bre Payton, The Federalist

Abandoning Tenure to Save My Soul - Roberto Oscar Lopez, Daily Caller

I'm Gay - Help Me Kill Myself - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Elton John Inflates the Big Gay Marriage Lie - Daniel Payne, The Federalist

Taming the Greenland Melting Global Warming Hype - Michaels & Knappenberger, Cato

Left's Denial of Marxism's Failures... - Robert Curry, The Federalist

CathCon Daily - 6/10/2016

Charlie Chaplin and the Ghosts of London - K.V. Turley, Imaginative Conservative

The Evolving Urban Form: Detroit - Wendell Cox, New Geography

What’s Wrong with Me Before You - Jennifer Lahl, Public Discourse

Summer Is For Reading - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Sanity Sets In On Stanford Sexual Assault Case - American Interest

Law & Order - David Warren, The Catholic Thing

On Self-Deception - J. Budziszewski, The Catholic Thing

Senators Ready...to Stop DOJ From Bankrolling Liberal Groups - Philip Wegmann, Daily Signal

The Agony of the Trump Endorsers - Rich Lowry, NRO

Wrong for Peter Thiel to Fund Suit Against Gawker? - David Harsanyi, NRO

For the Untenured Conservative Humanist - Mark Bauerlein, First Things

Shakespeare on Law and Liberty - Lee Oser, Liberty Law Blog

CathCon Update - 6/9/2016

Protecting the Nation’s Environment From the EPA - Ned Mamula, Cato

I Wish I Had Been Told About These Risks - Walt Heyer, Daily Signal

LGBT Bill Threatens California’s Religious Schools - Andrew Egger, Daily Signal

Released Gitmo Detainees Killed Americans - David French, NRO

Approved for All Americans - Andrew Klavan, City Journal

What the Stanford Rape Case Reveals - Mona Charen, NRO

One of the Most Humiliating Academic Mistakes Ever - David French, NRO

Judge Hanen Sets Aside Lawless Order - Andrew McCarthy, NRO

A Thirst for Victims - Theodore Dalrymple, City Journal

CathCon Daily - 6/9/2016

Despair of Hillary vs. Trump - Michael Brendan Dougherty, The Week

Lessons from the Ring—Then and Now - Gordon Marino, Hedgehog Review

Gender Preferences in Earnings and Flexibility - Mark Perry, AEI

The Death of Harambe: Comedy or Tragedy? - Sean Fitzpatrick, Crisis

The Meaning of Ali - R.R. Reno, First Things

The Dangerous Rise of Scientism - Bruce Thornton, Hoover

Remembering Our Founding… Slaveowners? - Suzanne Sherman, Imaginative Conservative

Reframing the Debates in our Culture Wars - Christopher White, Public Discourse

Conservatism at the Crossroads - Francis J. Beckwith, The Catholic Thing

Conservatism and Catholicism - John Caiazza, The Catholic Thing

Axis America - David Randall, First Things

A Moral Disability - Kevin D. Williamson, NRO

School Board Facing Lawsuit by Transgender Student... - Kelsey Harkness, Daily Signal

CathCon Update - 6/8/2016

Two Cultures, At Least - B.D. McClay, Hedgehog Review

Muhammad Ali and the Sometimes Champions of Conscience - John M. Breen, Mirror of Justice

The Current State of 'Never Trump' - Peter Lawler, NRO

Political Correctness Promotes Political Violence - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

A More Modern Constitution? - Richard Epstein, The Federalist

Yes, Clinton's $12,000 Makes Her a Hypocrite - Dan McLaughlin, NRO

Anscombe's Moral Reasoning

I have received several extensive, intelligent, and interesting comments on my prior post on "The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," partaking of the reasoning of Fr. Miscamble and GEM Anscombe, who (I think it is safe to say) have opposite views of the use of the "Bomb."

Perhaps the most difficult part of any dialogue, but also the most necessary, is attempting to truly understand what one's interlocutor is arguing.  This is what I attempted in my first post, when compiling a (hopefully accurate) summation of both Miscamble and Anscombe. I shall attempt to do the same herein.

However, before I do so, I would like to outline my concern with why I am undertaking these discussions. My point is, (a close) secondarily, to deal with the question of whether or not the Bomb should have been used. However, primarily, I am now about the question of whether we can formulate any principles of future action, and upon what grounds. In other words, faced with a situation similar to that of that facing the Allies, what morals would guide our action?

Commentator TomD has provided the most extensive discussion. TomD seems sensitive to the issues Anscombe raises. To sum up Tom's various arguments, as I understand them (and I hope he will visit, and correct, if I misunderstand any part):

The use of the atomic bomb was the least evil of the alternatives open to the Allies in the Pacific War. Given the predations of the Japanese upon other Asian countries (which might not have ceased with anything other than unconditional surrender, and the many lives (estimated to be between 1 million and 10 million combined deaths) an invasion would cost, the Bomb was the least evil means to end the Pacific War. In terms of  a utilitarian calculus (purely descriptive, in this instance), the Bomb would cost the fewest lives and bring the war to the fastest end. In this case, the Allies had no moral options open, so while use of the Bomb was immoral, it was the least evil option for the Allies.

My concern, as stated above, is to consider the matter from the time of the decision, rather than the after effects. It seems to me that stating that the bomb was the least evil of all the options presumes, of course, that one could predict that the Bomb would indeed end the war. In other words, post hoc consideration of all of the options can view the Bomb as the least evil because it apparently worked. And yet, I submit that the Bomb was far from guaranteed to end the war.

And therein lies my problem with end-means justifications - where the end achieved justifies the means used to reach it. Saying the Bomb was the least evil depends on taking into effect what happened after it was used (Aside: I intend "the Bomb" to refer to here to both bombs used). At the time the Bomb was dropped, however, the United States had already been engaged in a lengthier bombing campaign of other cities in Japan, particularly using incendiary bombs.

For instance, in March 9-10, 1945, the United States firebombed Tokyo, with over 300 B-29s, destroying 16 square miles of the city, and estimating 100,000 people killed and 100,000 more injured, or higher. On March 12, the US did the same with Nagoya, destroying 1 square mile. In Osaka, 8 square miles on March 13. If the numbers here are accurate, over 300,000 people died (counting 120,000 from the Bomb) - and other sources think the numbers were higher. If nearly 180,000 people or more were killed in horrific incendiary raids, after which Japan was determined to continue, there was certainly no guarantee that the Bomb would produce any different results.

The point here is not to argue that the utilitarian calculus in this instance was unjustified. Current opponents of the decision to use the Bomb are, in many cases, engaged in arguing using utilitarian reasoning to argue that the decision was unjustified. Rather, it is to illustrate the dangers of attempting to predict the rightness of an action based upon predicted consequences, over which no human has control, rather than judgment by the inherent question of the action itself.

As a thought experiment, let us posit that we are faced with a similar decision - whether to continue a difficult (endless?) war, or to end it more quickly. In order to attempt to bring about the end of the war through total victory / the enemy's unconditional surrender, we have the option of deploying a terrifying weapon against noncombatants, which may force the end of the war (or may not). What decisions must be made in order to justify the use of the weapon? It seems to me that some or all of the following must be applicable:

• In War, the lives of noncombatants in the enemy country are forfeit, and may be treated instrumentally, either absolutely, or if the stakes are high enough.
• If one or more of the following is true, the stakes are high enough:
• War by other means would prove much more costly in lives lost;
• War by other means would take too long;
• The Enemy deserves to be destroyed due to its own actions;

Are there any other arguments which could or should be considered at the time we are deciding to use the Bomb or not? If not, I am curious what reasoning would underlie one or all of these. I am particularly interested in the question of the status of the lives of noncombatants. I suppose this question falls under that of the theory of war in some fashion. When war is declared against a country, is it against the government? Against the populace? Against parts of the populace?

I think we can stipulate that destroying the other country's ability to aggress (military bases, military vehicles, factories) is a legitimate goal of war. Similarly, targeting non-surrendering troops (as well as surrendering, under very limited circumstances) is acceptable. Where the question comes in is whether civilians may be targeted deliberately to achieve some end. And if so, when? 

CathCon Daily - 6/8/2016

Harlow Giles Unger on Patrick Henry - Mark D., The New Reform Club

There Aren't Two Popes - George Weigel, First Things

Trump's Identity Politics - R.R. Reno, First Things

How to Tell a Myth - Eva Brann, Imaginative Conservative

Trump, Identity Politics, American Exceptionalism - Peter Spiliakos, NRO

The Hitler Canard - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Republican Party - Josiah Leinbach, The Federalist

Evangelicals Go Wobbly - Micah Watson, Public Discourse

There’s Still Hope For Millennials - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Trans Theory Is A War Against Reality - David Sorrell, The Federalist

Begging for Our Freedom - Rev. Jerry Pokorsky, The Catholic Thing

Vatican II and Eastern Orthodoxy’s Approaching Council - Dr. Adam A.J. DeVille, CWR

Sen. Mike Lee Trying to Keep Women Out of the Draft - Josh Siegel, Daily Signal

Ryan Gives Up His Stand - Jonah Goldberg, NRO

Being A Stanford Athlete Is No Excuse For Rape - Holly Scheer, The Federalist

CathCon Update - 6/7/2016

Disability and the Face of Mercy - Elizabeth Schiltz, Mirror of Justice

A Serious Threat to St. John's College - George Leef, NRO

Trump, Vicious Cycles, and the Possibility of Reform - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

Jessica Valenti Confirms Feminism Is Now Just About Whining - Nicole Russell, The Federalist

The Trump Non Sequitur - Jonah Goldberg, NRO

The Decisions of Judge Curiel - Jim Geraghty, NRO

Trump's Attack Undermines a Key Case for His Presidency - Charles C.W. Cooke, NRO

The Benedict Option as Culture War - Greg Forster, First Things

What Sentence Should the Former Stanford Swimmer Have Gotten? - Paul Cassell, Volokh

Trump and the Powers of the American Presidency (Part II) - Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare

CathCon Daily - 6/7/2016

Trump and the Future of the Courts - Ilya Somin, Volokh

Clinton is a Greater Threat to Constitutional Jurisprudence - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

The Conservative Divide on Trump - Orin Kerr, Volokh

The Lie of the Open Society - John P. East, Imaginative Conservative

Better Than Our Corrupt Welfare System - John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist

Are Americans Living on $2 a Day? - Robert Doar, AEI

On Revealing God to Man - James V. Schall, The Catholic Thing

Elitist Arrogance, Part II - Walter Williams, Human Events

Is Personal Responsibility Obsolete? (& Part II) - Thomas Sowell, Human Events

Why Legislators Must Stop Justifying Surrogacy - Richard Newman, Public Discourse

Judge Rules Against NCSU - Faith Vander Voort, Daily Signal

CathCon Daily - 6/6/2016

Luxury Urban Housing About to Take a Hit - Kotkin & Cox, New Geography

More Thoughts on a Pastoral Church - James Kalb, Crisis

Can We Make Ourselves More Moral? - Richard Weikart, Public Discourse

The Trans-formation Of Women’s Sports - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

My Declaration Of Independence From The Republican Party - Steve Johnston, The Federalist

I'm Not Running for President - David French, NRO

The LGBT Movement Will Not Self Destruct - Jennifer Roback Morse, The Federalist

Bernie’s Avengers - Greg Weiner, Liberty Law Blog

6 Steps To Demagoguing Your Way Into The Presidency - Kelly Scott Franklin, The Federalist

Trump’s Outrageous Attack on Judge Curiel - Ian Tuttle, NRO

Dead White Dudes - The Scrapbook, Weekly Standard

CathCon Sunday - 6/5/2016

Against Whig History - Julia Yost, First Things

CA’s “First of its Kind” Bill to Prosecute Climate Change Deniers Sidelined - Leslie Eastman, L.I.

How Scientists Neglect God and Man - George Stanciu, Imaginative Conservative

The End of Socialism - Bradley Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

The Benedict Option and its Key Weakness - Mark D., The New Reform Club

Intoxicated Air of the Modernist Movement - Marion Montgomery, Imaginative Conservative

Why All The Hippies Morphed Into Campus Fascists - J.C. Bourque, The Federalist

Trump & The Left’s Identity Politics - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Why I Believe - A.N. Wilson, New Statesman

The Empty Brain - Robert Epstein, Aeon

No Nobel for Relativity - Jimena Canales, Nautilus

CathCon Daily - 6/4/2016

Can a Southerner Ever Escape the South? - Ted McAllister, Imaginative Conservative

Why Republicans Should Be Worried - Matthew Continetti, NRO

Students Sue NCSU for Regulating Religious Speech - Faith Vander Voort, Daily Signal

What Farmers Know About The Humane Treatment Of Animals - Adriane Heins, The Federalist

Will Regulators Continue to Get Away with Murder? - Henry I. Miller, NRO

The Trump-Rally ‘Protest’ in San Jose Was a Riot and Indefensible - NRO, The Editors

Anti-Trump Riots and the War Over Liberalism - Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer

CathCon Daily - 6/3/2016

Adult Stem Cell Breakthrough? - Wesley Smith, NRO

Elevated CO2 and Temperature Enhance...Rice - Craig Idso, Cato

Caesar on Presidential Selection - Peter Augustine Lawler, NRO

The End of Conservative Ideology? - Donald Devine, Liberty Law Blog

Sex Education and the Seduction of Selective Science - Valerie Huber, Public Discourse

Even Elephants Know Humans Exceptional - Wesley Smith, NRO

Nothing to See Here? - Neil Gross, Heterodox Academy

An Insightful New History of the Pro-Life Movement - Monica Migliorino Miller, Crisis

A Response to Modern Liberalism - Scott Yenor, Heritage

CathCon Update - 6/2/2016

The Left’s Retreat into First World Problems - Newt Gingrich, Human Events

Uber Reduces Drunk Driving, Increases Vehicle Theft - Matthew Feeney, Cato

On "Star Wars" and More - Cass Sunstein, Volokh

Political Correctness and The Mob: It Didn’t Just Start - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

Three Cheers for Litigation Finance and Peter Thiel - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

CathCon Daily - 6/2/2016

Is Liberal Democracy a ‘Must’? - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

Our Corrupt Navy - Chris Edwards, Cato

Wanna Fight Superbugs? Stop Overprescribing Government - Michael F. Cannon, Cato

Transgender Teachers in Catholic Schools? - Daniel Guernsey, Crisis

The Past is a Place - Regis Martin, Crisis

Three Mistakes the Founders Made - Bradley J. Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

Last Words of a Drowning Man - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Donald Trump: An Old-fashioned Whig - Susan Hanssen, Public Discourse

Trump's Industrial Belt Appeal - Joel Kotkin, New Geography

Elitist Arrogance - Walter Williams, Human Events

Socialism for the Uninformed - Thomas Sowell, Human Events

Ticketing Children - John-Michael Seibler, Daily Signal

Failure by Design - Anthony Esolen, The Catholic Thing

Suicide by Self-Importance - Jason Willick, American Interest

‘War On Salt’ Is Bad Policy Based On Bad Science - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

Your Money is Going to Planned Parenthood - Casey Mattox, Daily Signal

CathCon Daily - 6/1/2016

The Madman as Painter - Theodore Dalrymple, City Journal

MacIntyre's "The Only Vote Worth Casting" Revisited - Rick Garnett, Mirror of Justice

No Peace for Greenpeace - Jonathan H. Adler, Volokh

Gotta Love Uber - Mark Perry, AEI

Compassion and Naïveté - Howard Husock, City Journal

Donald Trump and the 2016 Presidential Primary - Stephen H. Krason, Crisis

Aristotle, True Friendship, and the "Soulmate" View of Marriage - Angela  Knobel, Public Discourse

Give Grace to Moms - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Can Social Conservatism Survive Trump? - John McCormack, Weekly Standard

Will Social Conservatism Survive Trump? - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

A Traditional Catholic Wife? - Randall Smith, The Catholic Thing

Why This Conservative is Spurning Springsteen - Scott P. Richert, Imaginative Conservative

Transgender Public-Accommodations Agenda - Ed Whelan, NRO

Donald Trump and the 2016 Presidential Primary - Stephen Krason, Crisis

Conservatives and the English Language - Pete Spiliakos, NRO

5 Reasons Obama's Transgender Policy is Foolish - Glenn Stanton, The Federalist