libido dominandi
The Totalitarianism of Equality
Even though I have differed in some conclusions from the late Fr. John Courtney Murray, S.J. in discussing the life of the Church in the context of the United States, I have always agreed with his proper framing of the question: The question is sometimes raised, whether Catholicism is compatible with American democracy. The question is…
From Under the Rubble…Whistling Past the Graveyard of Empires
“1, 2, 3, 4, what’re we fightin’ for?” Old antiwar song. Afghanistan is an old war. Does anyone remember why we’re there? Hamid Karzai knows: we’re there to make him rich, powerful, and – oh yes, we forgot: the leader of a robust, American-imposed Afghan democracy. Are we there yet? Well, it’s a long, hard…
From Under the Rubble…Why Can’t We Just Leave?
“The problem our nation faces is very much like a marriage in which one partner has an established pattern of ignoring and breaking the marital vows.” So writes Walter Williams, one of the world’s most sensible economists. But don’t hold that against him: he’s also a realist. When the offending partner will not reform, he…
From Under the Rubble…Cardinals, Ducks, and Quacks
It’s that time of year again, and the Secular City is raising Hell. But Hell doesn’t exist, remember? Well, it does when it comes in handy. Now the Thought Police want to throw the New Testament into the Saint Stephen’s Day bonfire of outmoded inanities. Last summer, the party bosses in Secular City branded “Who…
From Under the Rubble…Dynasty–The Rerun
Statesmen come and go, but dying dynasties always long for an encore. After the Kennedy males of the younger generation thoroughly disgraced themselves, the task of Kennedy Compound rehab fell to Caroline. It was a rocky road. In 2010, when she figured she could walk into Hillary’s New York Senate seat, she discovered that inherited…
From Under the Rubble…Progress and Hatred of the Past
C.S. Lewis, in his introduction to The Great Divorce, recalls a science fiction story featuring a man who is able to return to the past. There he encounters a startling world: the past is so concretely real that the very blades of grass he walks on are stiff and unbending. Like sharp nails, they cut into…
From Under the Rubble…Lapdogs of the Carnal Kennels
Lapdogs of the Carnal Kennels There abides a certain disequilibrium these days in the way that current events are translated by the media into the “news” stories of the day. Everyone knows it. But in an age where “What’s True For Me Might Not Be True For You,” it’s often met with an existential shrug….
From Under the Rubble…Hoaxes and Hokum
The sad specter of deception that is haunting my alma mater, Notre Dame, these days brings to mind another hoax, more disastrous by far than a college football hero’s “imaginary girlfriend.” The nation is about to celebrate (or not) the tenth anniversary of Colin Powell’s infamous testimony before the United Nations Security Council, delivered on…
From Under the Rubble…Scandals and the Scandalous
Here’s our laugh of the day: The Petraeus Scandal isn’t really scandalous at all. That’s according to the Washington Post, published in the city where “I Don’t Believe The Post” buttons have been a popular gift item for years. The Post not only likes to play referee in the Beltway’s Blue-Team, Red-Team game, it also…
