March 25 in the Whole History of the world

Let all the evolutionary philosophers* whose brains must evidently still be only in process (ever “evolving” towards some esoteric terminus of theirs) keep silent with their opinions. The Catholic Tradition, confirmed by the Saints, tells us March 25 is the Greatest of All Days in the whole History of the World, after the Resurrection. God’s liturgical… Read More March 25 in the Whole History of the world

Jean-Jacques Rosseau and the Antinomian Principle

“… the political fantasies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau have a great deal to answer for. For two centuries, his sentimentalizing utopian rhetoric has provided despots of all description with a means of pursuing conformity while praising freedom. It is a neat trick. Words like “freedom” and “virtue” were ever on Rousseau’s lips. But freedom for him… Read More Jean-Jacques Rosseau and the Antinomian Principle

Immanuel Kant, Philosopher of the New Light

Immanuel Kant wrote, “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed nonage. [‘Nonage’ is the immature inability to use one’s own understanding without another’s guidance]. He continues: “This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one’s own mind without another’s guidance. Dare to know!… Read More Immanuel Kant, Philosopher of the New Light

America: “Not the Most Desirable” Form of Government. But in Principle Not the Worst.

“Pope Leo XIII to the Archbishops and Bishops of the United States, and dated Jan. 6, 1895. “For the Church amongst you, unopposed by the Constitution and government of your nation, fettered by no hostile legislation, protected against violence by the common laws and the impartiality of the tribunals, is free to live and act… Read More America: “Not the Most Desirable” Form of Government. But in Principle Not the Worst.

Keeping Out the Jacobins

“The French Jacobins selected France as savior of the world. The new Jacobins have anointed the United States.” Pedro L. Gonzalez.Aug 25. “I’ve been reading The New Jacobinism: America as Revolutionary State by Claes G. Ryn, first published in 1991. It’s a short but insightful polemic about the pernicious influence of neoconservatism—the “New Jacobinism”—on American… Read More Keeping Out the Jacobins

Why Former Village Voice Leftist & Atheist Writer Nat Hentoff Opposed Abortion

…Staunch liberal, Anti-abortion … and why he so appreciated Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for The Village Voice from 1958 to 2009. Following his departure from The Village Voice, Hentoff became a senior fellow at the Cato… Read More Why Former Village Voice Leftist & Atheist Writer Nat Hentoff Opposed Abortion

A Pipe Dream

Originally published as (curiously enough) In Defense of Cigarettes. by Matt Labash, National Correspondent  | The Weekly Standard, August 08, 2017 Dear Matt, I had this thought that America was more civil when everyone smoked. You learned from an early age that people will do something you don’t like but there wasn’t much you could… Read More A Pipe Dream

George Weigel on The Last Laugh of Alfredo Ottaviani

First Things. Despite his humble origins as a baker’s son from Trastevere, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, longtime curial head of the Holy Office (“successor to the Inquisition,” in journalese) and scourge of the nouvelle théologie of the 1950s, was a formidable figure in pre-conciliar Catholicism. Ottaviani’s approach to theology was neatly summarized in the Latin motto of his… Read More George Weigel on The Last Laugh of Alfredo Ottaviani