Sarah Pulliam Bailey has a nice round-up of material from the web about the cause of the looming government shutdown. As you may have heard by now, one of the sticking points in the debate is federal funding for Planned Parenthood—the largest abortion provider in the United States. As far as the national deficit is concerned, the funding is a drop in the bucket. Nevertheless, Republicans want the funds eliminated, and Democrats are trying to protect them. The Tea Party is ambivalent—some of them just wishing for Republicans to quit their obsession with irrelevant “social issues.” I think it’s very unlikely that Planned Parenthood would be defunded this go round.…
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Douthat on Last Night’s Speech
Once again, I think Ross Douthat has it about right. “It would be a happy thing if a brief air campaign were sufficient to midwife both regime change and a stable aftermath in Libya. But American policy cannot be based on best-case scenarios, and going halfway to war and then stepping back and hoping for a rosy outcome is something no American president can afford to do… By choosing war in Libya, [Obama] probably committed America far more completely than last night’s speech was willing to admit.”
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What are we doing in Libya?
In case you haven’t heard, the United States has begun a third war in the Middle East. President Obama will address the nation tonight to explain why he has led the United States into the Libyan civil war. On this topic, I think Ross Douthat is on the right track in his column today for The New York Times. He poses four questions that President Obama needs to answer in his address to the nation. 1. What are our military objectives? 2. Who exactly are the rebels? 3. Can we really hand off this mission? 4. Is Libya distracting us from more pressing American interests? These aren’t pedantic questions, especially…
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Obama Administration Will Not Defend Federal Marriage Law
In 1996, Congress passed the “Defense of Marriage Act.” This law defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The law also says that no state, territory, or possession of the United States is required to treat as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state. The “Defense of Marriage Act” is an act of Congress, and it is the law of the land.
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Tim Keller on “Morning Joe”
“Morning Joe” is my favorite talking-head program, and Tim Keller is one of my favorite pastors. So I was glad to see that Keller made an appearance on the program Friday morning. Keller discussed idolatry and the sermon that he is preparing for Sunday morning. One interesting tidbit: Scarborough is a Southern Baptist by tradition (as I am), but he reveals in the clip above that he attends Keller’s Presbyterian church from time to time. I am grateful for Keller’s faithful ministry in NYC. God is using him in a difficult field. [Keller appeared at least one other time on “Morning Joe.” It was two years ago, and you can…
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Bush’s Liberal Legacy
Der Spiegel has a fascinating column about “George W. Bush’s Liberal Legacy.” In short, the column argues that liberals were wrong for excoriating President Bush for his desire to see democracy spread in the middle east. In fact, Bush’s ideals seem to be coming to reality. “It was actually former President George W. Bush who always believed in the democratization of the Muslim world and was broadly ridiculed by the Left for his convictions…
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Revolution in Egypt
NBC News (Feb 11): Crowds in Tahrir Square erupted in jubilant cheers on Friday after Vice President Suleiman, appearing briefly on Egypt state TV, announced that President Mubarak has stepped down from presidency.
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Fetal Surgery and Abortion
A moral schizophrenia afflicts our culture on the issue of abortion. There are inconsistencies both in our nation’s laws and in people’s attitudes about the moral status of the unborn. Nevertheless, too many people still seem unable to see the contradictions. A case in point appears in today’s New York Times. Pam Belluck reports on a new study appearing in the The New England Journal of Medicine. A rigorous clinical trial has shown that fetal surgery can help babies with spina bifida to walk and experience fewer neurological problems if operated on before being born rather than afterward. Here’s a summary of the study’s findings:
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Politics and Roman Catholicism
Michael Gerson has a thoughtful column in The Washington Post about Roman Catholicism’s impact on American politics. He writes: “There is certainly a distinctive Catholic teaching on politics – a highly developed and coherent tradition that has influenced many non-Catholics, myself included. Human life and dignity, in this view, are primary. The common good takes precedence over selfish interests. Local institutions – families, churches, unions, religious schools – should be respected, not undermined, by government. The justice of a society is measured by its treatment of the poor and vulnerable. “These distinctive commitments have created tensions with liberal Catholic politicians who elevate autonomy and choice as the highest political values…
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The Social Costs of Pornography
Anthony Bradley has posted a summary of a little book titled, The Social Costs of Pornography: A Statement of Findings and Recommendations. The book is a summary of a 2008 symposium sponsored by the Witherspoon Institute, and here are some of the findings highlighted by Bradley. 1. More people than ever before–children, adolescents, adults–are consuming pornography with powerful effects on them and on the entire society (p. 15).