Month: July 2005

July 25, 2005

We must kill religion to save it

There are so many things wrong with this news item from Canada, I hardly know where to begin. But I’ll make perhaps the most obvious point of contradiction. This guy is “worried that the separation between church and state is under threat,” so he wants to initiate state control over religion, especially “given the inertia of the Catholic Church.” Continue Reading...
July 25, 2005

Labor (dis)union

The New York Times reports this morning that “leaders of four of the country’s largest labor unions announced on Sunday that they would boycott this week’s A.F.L.-C.I.O. convention, and officials from two of those unions, the service employees and the Teamsters, said the action was a prelude to their full withdrawal from the federation on Monday.” Continue Reading...
July 22, 2005

CAFTA vs. ‘Distributive Justice’

The Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment, a Washington-based amalgam of left-liberal religious activists, has asked the U.S. Congress to reject ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Here’s a representative statement: “Religious leaders boldly stood with impoverished people and called today for sustainable development in Central America and respect for the integrity of Creation.” Continue Reading...
July 22, 2005

Roadmap out of poverty

The last of many gems here: “Here’s Williams’ roadmap out of poverty: Complete high school; get a job, any kind of a job; get married before having children; and be a law-abiding citizen. Continue Reading...
July 22, 2005

Mendel’s seeds

Gregor Mendel, a monk and Abbot of Brünn, was born on this date in 1822. Mendel’s work opened up the promising and troubling field of genetics. He is often called “the father of genetics” for his study of the inheritance of traits in pea plants. Continue Reading...
July 22, 2005

Drunk pilots going to prison

Thomas Cloyd, 47, of Peoria, Ariz., and co-pilot Christopher Hughes, 44, of Leander, Texas, have been sentenced after a June 8 conviction for being drunk when they settled into the cockpit of a Phoenix-bound America West jetliner in 2002. Continue Reading...
July 21, 2005

On the passing of an instrument of God’s peace

Hard as it is for me to believe, we are quickly approaching the first anniversary of my father’s death. He had struggled with kidney cancer for a number of years, and had in fact lived a relatively healthy and active life well beyond medical expectations. Continue Reading...
July 21, 2005

CAFTA vs. Bishops?

Have you noticed the most recent television ad against CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement? In it, detractors very wittily capitalize on the rhyme with NAFTA and present it as another ‘sucking sound’ of jobs leaving America. Continue Reading...
July 21, 2005

Movie review: ‘The Debt of the Dictators’

“The Debt of the Dictators” is a product of INSIGHT, a Norwegian production company. This documentary is aimed at examining the current debt burden of developing countries. Journalist Erling Borgen directs the INSIGHT team, and the 46 minute DVD examines the situation in Argentina, South Africa, and the Philippines, with a brief reference to the DR Congo. Continue Reading...
July 20, 2005

‘We choose to go to the moon.’

“a magnificent desolation” On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke these words in a speech at Rice University: There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Continue Reading...