I really didn’t want to spend much time on this blog talking about current affairs. But it’s becoming inescapable. And one topic that requires mention is an ongoing story that only fitfully pops up on the radar screen, but which is a BIG ongoing deal. And the Big Deal is the answer to this question: … Continue reading The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend; Etc. (Re: War With Iran?)
An example of intelligent conservatism. I wonder if anyone in charge was listening?? From an article by David Frum in the New York Times Magazine, published online Nov. 12: Even from a conservative point of view, the welfare state is not all bad. G. K. Chesterton observed that you should never take a fence down … Continue reading An Example of Intelligent Conservatism
I make it a rule not to write reviews of books I haven’t read. I also do my best to avoid pontificating about them. But I’m also a Quaker, who follows this rule about rules by the Elders of Balby, which they appended to a long list of rules for Quakers in 1656: Dearly beloved … Continue reading Bush & His Book: Some Truths In Review
Chuck Fager So. Former President Bush said “Damn right,” he’d approved the torture by waterboarding of Khaled Sheikh Muhammad, and other terror suspects. (Dick Cheney merely said he was “a big fan” of such tactics.)
Philip Gourevitch is a writer for the New Yorker, and a student of foreign affairs, including wars. In the Oct.11 issue of the magazine, he published a stunning piece, “Alms Dealers,” which demands the attention of every one who ever wanted to give money or time to help someone in distress far away, or even … Continue reading The Inhuman Side of Humanitarianism