According to CNN, some Nevada Republicans are accusing Senate Majority leader Harry Reid of campaign trickery in his effort to retain his seat. They claim he has entered his own dummy “Tea Party” candidate into the race, hoping to pull votes away from the eventual GOP nominee. “No doubt about it,” says Danny Tarkanian, one … Read more
Here’s an attention-grabbing headline for you, courtesy of the UK’s Telegraph: Nail from Christ’s crucifixion found? Not to be outdone, USA Today ran with: Archaeologists find crucifixion-style nail from the time of Jesus Sounds like quite a find, right? Here’s the story, as reported: A group of unidentified “archaeologists” were excavating an alleged Crusades-era … Read more
A fresh embarrassment in Rome: The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict’s household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old … Read more
It was bound to happen: A survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project has revealed that more Americans now get their news online than they do from any other source. Not only that, but close to 75% say they learn of a news item first from either email or one of the social … Read more
In 1901, archaeologists outside of York, England, discovered a series of graves dating from 4th century Roman Britain. One skeleton of a wealthy young woman of 18 or 19 was particularly intriguing: She was buried with several expensive items of jewelry, including an unusual pair of intertwined bracelets — one made from white African ivory, … Read more
Now this is interesting: American foreign policy is handicapped by a narrow, ill-informed and “uncompromising Western secularism” that feeds religious extremism, threatens traditional cultures and fails to encourage religious groups that promote peace and human rights, according to a two-year study by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The council’s 32-member task force, which included … Read more
If you followed CPAC news at all, you know the big story of the conference was that Congressman Ron Paul improbably won the presidential straw poll. While I don’t think Paul has a chance at the 2012 nomination (sadly), the poll was revealing in other ways. 2395 attendees voted — the highest number in the … Read more
Here’s an instant classic from British television on Wednesday. Two news anchors were covering Joe Biden’s press conference when they noticed the smudge on his forehead. It begins at .27… Â
Canadian Dahlia Lithwick has an enjoyable piece at Slate defending “Own the Podium,” her nation’s $118 billion dollar effort to dominate the medal race in Vancouver. Someday, someone is going to explain to me why it is that journalists so frequently speak about Canadians as though we are all about 2 feet tall and 7 … Read more
Our favorite Vatican newspaper is at it again with another odd article. On Sunday, L’Osservatore Romano published a “semiserious guide” to the ten best rock albums of all time. “Some songs seem to have been written yesterday…. while others still send shivers down the spine for their illuminating simplicity and musical thrust” the writers of … Read more
Somehow, this story slipped under the radar last week: The Obama administration is arguing before a federal appeals court that the government has the right to use a citizen’s cell phone signal to track his location, without a warrant. [T]he Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no “reasonable expectation … Read more
As if Mad Men were not enough to persuade you that everything was cooler in 1961, here’s yet more proof: I understand they also make Shirley Temple toothpaste for the kids.
Last June, Margaret told you about video game giant Electronic Arts’ newest action title — a loose adaptation of Dante’s Inferno. Very. Loose. Dante, the one in the game, is no poet. Instead, he’s a war-ravaged crusader with serious post-traumatic stress disorder. But he has his domestic side, too. In fact, the game opens with … Read more
Damian Thompson has a few words for traditional Anglicans still agitating for concessions from Canterbury: The Anglican Church will eventually ordain women. Either accept that, or leave. I am not saying that if you are an Anglo-Catholic who opposes women’s ordination then you must now seek to join the Ordinariate that Pope Benedict has set … Read more
Apologies for my long blog silence. I spent most of last week serving on a jury, and the remainder battling off a life threatening Man Cold. But now I’m done with both, and ready to get back at it. Lucky you. First, here’s a little good news for Christians in the Middle East: The world’s … Read more
Barney Frank, former chief booster of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now conveniently says they should be disbanded. Â “I believe the remedy is abolishing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their present form and coming up with a whole new system of housing finance,” Frank said. Furthermore, he told Big Think that the poor … Read more
I have sad news to report: The great Catholic philosopher and writer Ralph McInerny passed away this morning. He was just shy of his 81st birthday. While Ralph may be best remembered in general circles as the author of the popular Father Dowling mystery series, he has a special significance to the staff and friends … Read more
This is absolutely fantastic: BBC journalist and humorist Charlie Brooker pulls back the curtain on television journalism, revealing the pattern all network reporters follow in their own recorded segments. Have a look and you’ll never watch a news broadcast the same way again. (There is a small bit of profanity.) Â
This has not been a good week for the University of Chicago. One of its prize manuscripts — the Archaic Mark, a magnificent copy of Mark’s Gospel thought to have been from the 14th century — was just proven a forgery.  The ongoing debate as to the codex’s authenticity re-ignited in 2006 with its … Read more
This has not been a good week for the University of Chicago. One of its prize manuscripts — the Archaic Mark, a magnificent copy of Mark’s Gospel thought to have been from the 14th century — was just proven a forgery.  The ongoing debate as to the codex’s authenticity re-ignited in 2006 with its … Read more