Monthly Archives: January 2015

Book Review: The Drama of Atheist Humanism

January 28, 2015 · by · in Philosophy · 6 Comments

The Drama of Atheist Humanism brings together into book form several long articles by Henri de Lubac. The articles and subsequent book were published during the Second World War under the Vichy regime in France when it was not possible to mention the Nazis by name, but when people were naturally thinking about the causes and nature of the […]

Rational Argument vs. Mob Attacks

January 28, 2015 · by · in Culture · 1 Comment

Ace of Spades has a good article on something I’ve been thinking about lately: There is a difference between rational argument and the coordinated attacks of a mob. Mobs do not “argue.” They intimidate or humiliate (or both). Mobs do not engage in an enlightened, reasonable dialogue. They shout ritualized chants. Mobs are not interested […]

American Sniper, Decadence, and Fascism.

January 19, 2015 · by · in Culture · 6 Comments

1) American Sniper and American Decadence. Some people are throwing hissy-fits over the success of Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper, a movie adaption of the autobiography of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, who was credited with 160 confirmed kills in Iraq. Hmm. I never tweeted 1word bout AmericanSniper/ChrisKyle. I said my uncle killed by sniper in WWII; only […]

Three Takes on the Charlie Hebdo Massacre

January 9, 2015 · by · in Culture · Leave a comment

One: Catholic League founder William Donahue argues that while murder and terrorism are reprehensible, Muslims ought to be offended by blasphemy; everyone ought to be offended by blasphemy. Ace of Spades’ rebuttal is 90% Ad Hominem but it contains this gem: If you’re not permitted to mock a religion, You have in fact been effectively coerced […]