Nathaniel Ward » religion

Wednesday Links: European Defense, Carbon Trading, Student Lending, Church and State, and George Will

Nathaniel Ward — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:50:27 +0000

Secretary of Defense Gates criticizes European governments for failing to provide adequately for their own defense. But it’s little wonder that they don’t manage these things themselves when the United States has for so long offered a security guarantee.
There’s a major flaw in carbon-trading schemes, Jeremy Warner argues: no wealth is actually being created by these trades. “Unlike traditional commodities markets, which will eventually involve delivery to someone in physical form, the carbon market is based on lack of delivery of an invisible substance to no-one.”
The Obama administration has devised a new way to save money: stop subsidizing banks that offer student loans. Fair enough. The New York Times reports, however, that the government intends to continue funneling taxpayer money to schools and students and spend the “savings” from the subsidies elsewhere: “the savings would be used to aid early-childhood education, community colleges and needy college students.” Another way to save taxpayers money would be to, you know, not spend it.
An Ohio clergyman suggests that lawmakers shouldn’t live in housing affiliated with religious organizations. Why? The Washington Post says “he called it a matter of church-and-state separation, with this a potential example of undue church influence on government through members of Congress.” Of course, the First Amendment was crafted to keep government out of religion — “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” – not to keep religion out of government.
And last but not least, George Will offers his entertaining take on the state of the world at CPAC:

Monday Links

Nathaniel Ward — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:11:13 +0000

James Ceasar explains how the passion for Obama can be traced to radical thinking about replacing traditional religion with a “Religion of Humanity.”

What happens when science becomes politicized? The truth is sacrificed to the “greater good.”

What I’m Reading — September 14th

Nathaniel Ward — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:25:19 +0000

Class Warfare. Responding to hard times, governments around the world decide not to tighten their belts but to increase their revenues through punitive taxes.
Is This Really a Compromise? The Baucus proposal addresses superficial concerns but doesn't address the principal conservative complaint about the Left's health care plan: that it vastly increases the size and scope of the federal government.
Norman Podhoretz on Why Jews are Liberals. "[I]n virtually every instance of a clash between Jewish law and contemporary liberalism, it is the liberal creed that prevails for most American Jews. Which is to say that for them, liberalism has become more than a political outlook. It has for all practical purposes superseded Judaism and become a religion in its own right."
Tyler Cowen on Politics and the Economy. "But we are now injecting politics ever more deeply into the American economy, whether it be in finance or in sectors like health care. Not only have we failed to learn from our mistakes, but also we’re repeating them on an ever-larger scale."