A Postmodern Orthodoxy

Or, a more specific way to describe where we’re going with this: this is how our energy policy in the immediate future can impact our national security in the distant future: i.e., environmentalism may be more important we typically think it is, but for reasons that we don’t typically associate with it.

(more…)

Palin-tology, of course, being the study of all things having to do with Sarah Palin.

Picking a VP is one of the single most important decisions that a presidential candidate can make – while he’s still a candidate, anyway – so figuring out why McCain picked who he picked can give us some insights into the way he makes decisions and where his priorities actually are. At least, that’s the theory. Our conclusions are (alas) only as accurate as our speculation, so as always, you’re welcome to use your own judgement to determine how productive this exercise actually is, or (even better) to contribute speculation of your own. Maybe by the end of the discussion we’ll come up with something coherent.

(more…)

I suspect that September 11 will always be a melancholy day for most of us. It certainly will be for me, judging by this one, in any case. The happiness of seeing so many flags flying is more than offset by the fact that so many of them are flying at half-staff, and each one serves as a reminder of what happened seven years ago, now.

(more…)

Most of the blog posts that I churn out here are sparked by either books that I’ve read or discussions that I’ve been involved with in some way. This one that you’re reading now was sparked by both of these things – in this particular case the book was Ron Paul’s A Foreign Policy of Freedom. The discussions, such as they were, involved getting email in my inbox from people that I know that support the continuation of the war in Iraq and also wish, for reasons that are frankly unclear to me, to integrate their position regarding this war with the Christian worldview, and implying that I should do the same thing, and vote accordingly.

(more…)

This is actually a slightly reworked version of a post over on the Sojourn blogs a month or so . . . discussion about this didn’t really get off the ground there, we’ll see if it does any better over here.

These ruminations have been triggered by my (among other things) keeping what can only be charitably called a loose eye on the upcoming Republican and Democratic primaries. As I’ve watched the candidates, I’ve noticed people on both sides of the aisle who have no trouble invoking religious language to explain why voting for them is a good idea.

(more…)