Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

SINGLE YOUNG MEN (SYM) IN THEIR 20's -- STILL ADOLESCENTS

Update 2/2/08 - Kathryn Jean Lopez reviews the movie Juno and thereby underscores Hymowitz's insights below.  See also a reader comment on Lopez's review posted above.  It deals with the unintended consequences of feminism's effect on men.

**
This is an eye-opening "investigation" (is that the right word?) of single American men, 18-34 years old. Kay S. Hymowitz titles her latest City Journal article, "Child-Man in the Promised Land."  The article makes discouraging reading, and to my mind registers another signal of a culture in slow-motion collapse.

For whatever reason, adolescence appears to be the young man’s default state, proving what anthropologists have discovered in cultures everywhere: it is marriage and children that turn boys into men. Now that the SYM can put off family into the hazily distant future, he can—and will—try to stay a child-man.

Read the article to discover the ins and outs of a child-man.

P.S. Note Hymowitz's earlier article, "The New Girl Order: Single Young Females (SYF)," on which I blogged here, which is also worth reading. I concluded that post saying, "This is one of those articles that alters the way you view the world."

BEETHOVEN AS RAPIST

If one wants to keep up with the craziness taking place on university campuses, you'll want to peruse the Phi Beta Cons blog  from time to time.  (See below).  But there is also much that is very insightful.

This post appeared Friday, Jan. 25.

         Beethoven as Rapist   [Candace de Russy]

Even the great composer's incomparable Ninth Symphony can be the object of mad feminist ravings in academe. In the Wall Street Journal, Stuart Isacoff describes:

a new breed of musicologist who sees the organizing principle of Western art music — its reliance on the gravitational pull of tonal centers, and the artful control of musical tension and resolution — as a direct reflection of the male libido and its primal urge toward domination. One of the leading figures of this school of thought, Susan McClary, found in the opening movement of Beethoven's masterpiece the "murderous rage of a rapist incapable of attaining release" . . . this sociological approach to musical analysis . . . thrives today on many college campuses, where scholarly rigor often takes a back seat to freakish conjecture — especially when this serves the ideological goal of reducing great works to the mere tinkerings of "dead white men." (The irony, of course, is that cultures producing music free of those tonal principles — the presumptive ideal — generally turn out to be the most historically oppressive to women.)

But not to fret; as Isacoff writes, "Beethoven will survive."

ANTHONY FLEW'S BOOK TELLS WHY HE ABANDONED ATHEISM

I have appreciated reading a review of Anthony Flew's There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind.   Flew wrote:

I must stress that my discovery of the Divine has proceeded on a purely natural level, without any reference to supernatural phenomena. It has been an exercise in what is traditionally called natural theology. It has had no connection with any of the revealed religions. Nor do I claim to have had any personal experience of God or any experience that may be called supernatural or miraculous. In short, my discovery of the Divine has been a pilgrimage of reason and not of faith (93).

The reviewer noted:

There are three dimensions of nature that Flew sees as pointing towards God: natural laws, the teleological organization of life, and the very existence of the universe.

The reviewer noted further:

The existence of a God which flew has come to believe in is not the God of Scripture…but it is a step in the right direction. What is interesting about his posture is how open he is to understanding more about Christianity. I must agree with Scot McKnight’s review of this book in that the Appendix with Flew’s questions about Jesus answered by N. T. Wright is absolutely

"EMERGING CHURCH" - INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTATION

DJ Chuang offers a helpful post offering links to oft-quoted articles on the "emerging church." Various perspectives are offered. I found this collection of articles invaluable, the more so since I am not in the "thick of things."  I have blogged previously on the "emerging church" here and here.

MONA CHAREN - THE CHAVEZ REGIME HAS STEPPED UP ITS ANTI-SEMITIC CRUSADE

Click here

AL QUIE: GOVERNOR, STATE SENATOR, CONGRESSMAN, CHRISTIAN

I read this tribute to Al Quie, winner of the Wilberforce award, and thought the following incident breathtaking:

. . . Seven months into my [Chuck Colson] prison term, I was facing a pair of family crises. Al called and said he was going to go see the president to ask Gerald Ford if he, Al, could serve the rest of my prison sentence. I was overwhelmed. His willingness to lay down his life for me was a turning point: I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ was real.

SHOULD AN EMBRYO BE CONSIDERED A HUMAN BEING?

** Update 2/14/08 - George and Tollefsen respond to William Salatan's review in the New York Times.

- Robert George and Christopher Tollefsen have written a new book, Embryo: A Defense of Human Life, about which Charles Colson makes some powerful comments.

USES FOR WD-40

This is really good and very practical.  Click here.

MSM YAWNS AS THOUSANDS OF PRO-LIFERS MARCH IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Michele Malkin puts the non-coverage of the pro-life march on Washington in perspective.

If they were illegal alien activists, they’d get front-page coverage, multimedia packages, and prime time on TV airwaves.

If they were anti-war activists, they’d get front-page coverage, multimedia packages, and prime time on TV airwaves.

They are pro-life activists who marched today to mark the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

. . . Commenter Raging Republican notes: “You forgot to mention the attention it would have gotten if it had been the race hustlers.”   True that.

HOW IS THE UNITED NATIONS DOING UNDER KOFI ANAN'S SUCCESSOR, SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON?

Not very well, it turns out, as this excellent survey by Joseph Klein makes clear.

. . . in terms of the institution, the change at the top has made little difference. The United Nations continues to spiral downward.    (more . . .)

AFGHAN STUDENT SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DOWNLOADING PAPER AGAINST ISLAM

AP story here.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS NOW MEETING IN DAVOS, SWITZERLAND

Wow.  What a collection of Bigwigs!  The World Economic Forum is meeting in Davos, Switzerland for its annual meeting.  Jay Nordlinger of National Review has begun his annual coverage, and he includes a beginning list of notables:

EUROPE'S ABORTION RULES - MORE STRINGENT THAN USA'S

This BBC survey offers a country-by-country rundown of European countries and their abortion regulations.  Yuval Levin points out that

European abortion laws are significantly more restrictive than our Roe regime . . . All the European countries have at least an upper limit on the point in the pregnancy at which an abortion may be performed (generally 12 weeks), which we do not. Several also forbid public funds from supporting abortions, and/or require parental consent, waiting periods, counseling etc. None are as permissive as the U.S.

J.S. BACH, CHRISTIAN EVANGELIST TO ASIA

Uwe Siemon-Netto has published a fascinating article on Asia's extraordinary interest in Bach.  Concerning Japan:

... a  veritable Bach boom has been sweeping that country for the past 16 years. Its driving force is organist Masaaki Suzuki, founder and conductor of the Bach Collegium Japan that has spawned hundreds of similar societies throughout the country.

During Advent or Holy Week, respectively, Suzuki’s performances of the “Christmas Oratorio” or the “St. Matthew Passion” are always sold out, even though tickets cost more than $600. After each concert, members of the audience crowd Suzuki on the podium asking him about the Christian concept of hope and about death, a topic normally taboo in polite Japanese society. “I am spreading Bach’s message, which is a biblical one,” Suzuki said.  (more . . .)

RESOURCES ON NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS

Andrew Jackson of Smart Christian has prepared useful bibliographies and resources on the following topics:

Religions
Christian "Cults"
Buddhism
Bahai
Hinduism
Sikhism
Judaism
Christian Science
Church of Scientology
Mormonism
New Age

TURKEY BECOMING MORE OVERTLY ISLAMIST

Update:  Turkey’s Protestant Churches are facing constant harassment, intimidation, and physical harm.   (HT: Andrew Jackson)

** Michael Rubin reports on Turkey's Islamist turn:

MICHAEL GERSON DISPLAYS INEPTITUDE IN CRITICIZING FRED THOMPSON

Michael Gerson wrote some wonderful speeches for President Bush, but as a columnist and author he seems to have lost his way.  His taking Fred Thompson to task so misrepresents Thompson that it makes Gerson himself look inept, unreliable and unserious.  Jonathan Adler clears up the misrepresentation.

ISRAEL FLIRTS WITH SELF-DESTRUCTION

"Among the Israeli intellectual elite, the instinct for national self-destruction reaches near-hallucinatory levels."

How can this be?  Melanie Phillips offers observations.   Antidote: Dore Gold's book The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City.   See also the article, Israel's History and "Right to Exist"

CONTRASTING SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS TERRORISM

This article by Jonathan Fine published in Middle East Quarterly, offers substantive analysis of terrorism and the various writings that supply the ideological underpinnings for various terrorist groups.  Author Fine takes issue with those who suggest that overthrowing an occupying force is a more motivating force than religion.  On terrorist texts, both secular and Islamic, note the following:

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: BROTHERHOOD OF HATE

Check this entry posted by Discover the Networks to become familiar with the history and goals of the Muslim Brotherhood.  Excerpt:

BARACK OBAMA'S PASTOR

Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. last month honored Louis Farrakhan for lifetime achievement.  For more on Rev. Wright and Obama's relationship to him, read Ronald Kessler's article published today.

** Update 2/4/08 - See also this major  article by John Perazzo

** Update 1/16/08 - Investor's Business Daily issued a hard-hitting editorial:

. . . In 1991, when Obama joined the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, he pledged allegiance to something called the Black Value System, which is a code of non-Biblical ethics written by blacks, for blacks.

It encourages blacks to group together and separate from the larger American society by pooling their money, patronizing black-only businesses and

REPRODUCTIVE EXPLOITATION: WOMBS FOR RENT -- AMERICAN WOMEN USE INDIAN WOMEN AS SURROGATE MOTHERS

Chuck Colson offers wise and sensitive comments on a practice highlighted by Judith Warner in her New York Times article, "Outsourced Wombs."

SHOULD ISRAEL GIVE UP TERRITORY WON IN THE 1967 WAR?

Only if someone can give a powerful, rational response to David Horowitz's recent post:

In Ramallah yesterday President Bush declared there “should be an end to the [Israeli] occupation that began in 1967.” The Israeli military entered the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 to defeat the five Arab states that had conducted not one but two wars of aggression against the state of Israel -- the first in 1948 and the second in 1967. The purpose of both wars as stated by the Arab dictators was "to push the Jews into the sea."

According to international law, aggressors are to pay for their crimes. Israel had every right to annex the West Bank and Gaza (which had in fact been annexed by Jordan and Egypt after the 1948 war with no complaint from the so-called "Palestinians" or from any of the Arab states. Israel should have done just that and 

ISLAMIC JESUS HITS IRANIAN MOVIE SCREENS

Click here.  Unfortunately, I don't have time to comment at present but will do so in due course.   (HT: Drudge)

HOW LONG SHOULD ONE KEEP UP A CHRISTMAS TREE?

This is January 13th.  A moment ago I read a fascinating bit of trivia that answers the question (at least for Swedes -- of which I am not one).  But I still like the suggestion:

King Knut, Sweden's king from 1080 to 1086, decreed that the Christmas season should be celebrated for 20 days -- December 25 to January 13.  In Sweden, it is still traditional to wait until January 13, known as St. Knut's Day, to discard the Christmas tree.

Another bit of trivia about January 13th:  It is traditionally the coldest day of the year. 

(Source: Ben Franklin's Almanac of Wit, Wisdom, and Practical Advice)

PAUL MARSHALL- THE MIXING OF RELIGION AND POLITICS IS HERE TO STAY

Paul Marshall:

The problem with our contemporary talk of faith and politics is not that it exists but that it is so often so very shallow. We live in an increasingly religious world in which faith and belief affect every dimension of our existence, so our politicians better talk about it.  . . .

I have enormous respect for anything Paul Marshall writes. Yesterday he published an article in the Washington Post titled "Religion and Politics Do Mix." In it he pays special attention to the relationship of religion (and freedom of religion) to economic growth and development, a relationship too seldom discussed.

SELWYN DUKE - "THE RACE FOR THE AMERICAN MIND"

Selwyn Duke eloquently describes the threats to free speech which continue to grow in the U.S.  His article is definitely worth a read. After citing examples of censorship and the continuing threats, he concludes:

Education isn't easy when people aren't listening.  A great victory for the left is that it has dumbed-down civilization, making people lovers of frivolity and vice, comfortably numb.  It has created legions of disengaged, apathetic hedonists who wouldn't read a piece of commentary if it was pasted to a stripper.  Such people can be led by the nose and, when they occasionally notice the goings-on in their midst, will welcome the silencing of the "haters."

(HT: Michelle Malkin)

FREE SPEECH UNDER ASSAULT IN CANADA: THE CASE OF EZRA LEVANT

I don't have time right now to review the case of Mark Steyn, but will do so in due course.  Right now I want to post his comment on, and the link he provides to another case: the grilling that the Alberta Human Rights Commission gave to Ezra Levant, the man who published the Danish cartoons in Canada in the  Western Standard magazine.  Levant is utilizing video documentation of the interrogation to alert the world to what is happening.  Check that link!   As one news source reported:

"A secular government bureaucracy has essentially been hijacked by a radical Muslim imam," [Levant] said. "It's being used to further his fatwa against these cartoons."

Update 1/13/08 - Mark Steyn has more.

Update 1/14/08 - Stanley Kurtz notes absence of MSM coverage:

The electrifying Ezra Levant story has lit up the blogosphere. In the mainstream media it is nowhere to be seen. This is what the blogosphere is for. Will MSM even bother to show up? With how brief a story, how many days late?

(Later) - Kurtz also alerts us to Levant's opening statement to the Alberta Human Rights Commission today which he says serves as a "free speech document."

Thompson-Romney 2008

Kathryn Lopez over at The Corner posts an intriguing e-mail from New Hampshire on a best case scenario for Republicans.  Here it is:

I have a crazy idea I'd like to float by you.

The two candidates most acceptable to conservatives, Thompson and Romney, are in not so good shape. The three least acceptable, Huckabee, McCain, and Giuliani, are in relatively good shape. It's entirely possible that the two conservatives will be knocked out early and the eventual nominee will be unacceptable to a large segment of the base.

Fred has chances to win SC; Mitt has chances to win MI. I want both to win and I think there is a way to make it happen.

Two months ago, in a WSJ interview, Mitt opined that the federal government should have a Chief Operating Officer. He himself would be the perfect choice. He "loves data" - he loves working with details.

My crazy idea is that Thompson and Romney join forces now. Thompson would be the President and CEO, Romney would be the COO.  Each would play to his strengths. Fred would work on broad principles and

For Those Who Remember "Burma Shave" Highway Commercials . . .

and want a little stroll down memory lane, click here for a neat video.   - For a fascinating history of the Burma Shave company (complete with the cute rhymes), click here.

John McCain's Real Record (Negatives) via Mark R. Levin

Update 10/26/08 - Mark R. Levin now fears for the nation if Obama is elected President. Before deciding between Obama and McCain, do read Levin's article. Remember he is the one who initially had reservations about McCain. Now he considers those reservations trivial compared to electing Obama. Update 10/24/08 - Anyone wavering between McCain and Obama, should read Charles Krauthammer's article today. It is genuinely must reading. I implore you to read it. Krauthammer outlines why it would be the height of folly to vote for Obama. Yes, McCain has negatives, but they are almost microscopic versus the alternative of voting for Obama. Update 9/4/08 - I need to update this post. Over recent months many people have googled "McCain's negatives" and have come to this post. While I disagree with McCain on many of his positions as outlined below in my original posts, in my mind there is no contest between him and Barack Obama. For Obama's negatives, click here (and especially here for a list of all my posts dealing with Obama and his positions). With the addition of Gov. Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket, I am soundly convinced that the two of them would be infinitely better for America than Obama and Biden. - Mark Levin has also come out in support of McCain/Palin. Click here.

Subtitled Obstacles in the Way of Conservative Support.   I earlier blogged on McCain's negatives here.

Update 1/14/08 - Andy McCarthy takes a look at McCain's foreign policy mentality (apart from the Iraq war, where he is right).  Hugh Hewitt posts his own list of McCain's negatives.

Update 1/23/08 - Michelle Malkin -Americans Should Remember John McCain's Open -Borders Demagoguery

Will Colson's New Book "The Faith" Be His Best?

Chuck Colson has written a new book, The Faith.  The book's subtitle is "What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters."  The first chapter is available on the internet and is excellent.  Colson himself reads from the text here. I will be ordering a copy of this book. (Colson is offering it for only $13 postage paid; the same price as Amazon). Christian leaders enthusiastically endorse the book including the following:

J.I.Packer:

œColson and Fickett are in cracking form as they hit the high spots of Christian belief, behavior, and blessedness against the black background of our runaway decadence. Thank God for such men and for such a book.

J. P. Moreland:

œHis best book yet. It is just the right length and strikes a great balance of being engaging and accessible yet thoughtful and informative.

Keeping Up with Persecution of Christians Around the World

Chuck Colson has an article on persecution of Christians in Indonesia and India.  He offers a helpful list of recent articles (with links) to keep informed of the attacks.  (Click "continue reading" below)

The Bathtub Test (Humor)

A friend earlier today passed on to me the following:

The Bathtub Test

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director, “How do you determine whether a patient should be institutionalized?”

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. " A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

Liberal Obama is the Most Pro-Abortion Candidate Ever

Terence  Jeffrey writes:

He is so pro-abortion he refused as an Illinois state senator to support legislation to protect babies who survived late-term abortions because he did not want to concede -- as he explained in a cold-blooded speech on the Illinois Senate floor -- that these babies, fully outside their mothers' wombs, with their hearts beating and lungs heaving, were in fact "persons."   (more)

I quoted Larry Kudlow on Obama's liberal voting record over a year ago.

** Update: 4/28/08 - Nat Hentoff, after initially supporting Obama, now registers dissent after learning of Obama's extremist views on abortion.

But on abortion, Mr. Obama is an extremist. He has opposed the Supreme Court decision that finally upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act against that form of infanticide. Most startlingly, for a professed humanist, Mr. Obama in the Illinois Senate also voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. I have reported on several of those cases, when, before the abortion was completed, an alive infant was suddenly in the room. It was disposed of as a horrified nurse who was not necessarily pro-life followed the doctors' orders to put the baby in a pail or otherwise get rid of the child.

As a longtime columnist, John Leo, has written of this form of fatal discrimination, these "mistakes" during an abortion, once born, cannot be "killed or allowed to die simply because they are unwanted." Furthermore, as National Right to Life News" in its April issue included in its account of Mr. Obama's actual votes on abortion, he "voted to kill a bill that would have required an abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state." These are conspiracies (and that's the word) by pro-abortion extremists to transport a minor girl across state lines from where she lives, unbeknownst to her parents. This assumes that a minor fully understands the consequences of that irredeemable act.

As I was researching this presidential candidate's views on the unilateral "choice" that takes another's life, I heard on the radio what Mr. Obama said during a Johnstown, Pa., town-hall meeting on March 29 as he was discussing the continuing dangers of exposure to HIV/AIDS infections: "When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include abstinence education and teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual. But it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals.

"But if they make a mistake," Mr. Obama continued, "I don't want them punished with a baby." Among my children and grandchildren are two daughters and three granddaughters; and when I hear anyone, including a presidential candidate, equate having a baby as punishment, I realize with particular force the impact that the millions of legal abortions in this country have had on respect for human life.

On Feb. 27, testifying before the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, were a number of young witnesses from a pro-life organization, among them 15-year-old Mariah Smet: "Whenever we talk about abortion, suddenly it's not an unborn child anymore. Instead, people use words like 'fetus' or 'embryo' or 'blob of tissue.'... After an abortion, there is nothing except death... 22 percent of all pregnancies end in abortion, and 47 percent of women having abortions have had more than one."

Complications Associated with New Reproductive Technologies

Chuck Colson spotlights Liza Mundy's new book, Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Reproduction Is Changing Men, Women, and the World. Colson says he "cannot recommend this book strong enough, especially for would-be parents who may face difficult decisions about childbearing in the near future."  He writes:

Mundy is not writing from a Christian viewpoint or even from a pro-life viewpoint, but she covers the murky field of reproductive technology, and its effects on families, thoroughly and unflinchingly. And she takes seriously the ethical dilemmas that arise in a largely unregulated field where

Sitting With No Electrical Power

Last night our home (and neighborhood) lost electrical power for 4 and a half hours, from 4:45 until 9:15 PM.  Our home relies on cable for phones, television, and computer, so we were effectively shut off from all communication -- not to mention lights -- for all that period of time. 

We got out our flashlights and our candles and wondered how we should spend the evening.  We had no idea when the power would come back on.  As we sat in the candlelight (and I certainly don't want any one to think us super-spiritual), it was suggested that we spend some time in prayer together.  That was good.  Afterwards we  decided we would see

David Horowitz responds to Naomi Wolf

Horowitz says:

Few tasks can be as thankless as correcting the fabrications of the hysterical left, but doing so is necessary all the same. Naomi Wolf's absurd new book, "The End of America," has been praised by the founder of MoveOn.org, as an "alarm for all American patriots" (he should know) and already suitably reviewed by Jacob Laksin in these pages. I will confine my remarks to the two paragraphs in which she deals with the fascist threat that my work represents.   (Read on . . . )

An "Apostate" from Islam Speaks

This interview exposes the reality of Islam from its founding documents and explains why Abul Kasem, left Islam.  Kasem is the author of hundreds of articles and several books on Islam including, Women in Islam. He was a contributor to the book Leaving Islam – Apostates Speak Out as well as to Beyond Jihad: Critical Views From Inside Islam.   Read the interview for one of the best, detailed discussions of Islam's problems you can find.

Mike Huckabee's Church in Little Rock

Drudge linked to an article on Huckabee's preaching in a New Hampshire church last weekend.  That article mentioned that Huckabee attends The Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock.  I looked at his church's website and learned that it holds a Monday night service with a Q&A afterwards. The church has grown from 25 people in 1995 to over 5,000 today. Check the church's website.

On another matter, Bill Kristol wrote an extraordinarily respectful piece on Mike Huckabee in today's New York Times.  From the last  three paragraphs:

. . . His campaigning in New Hampshire has been impressive. At a Friday night event at New England College in Henniker, he played bass with a local rock band, Mama Kicks. One secular New Hampshire Republican’s reaction: “Gee, he’s not some kind of crazy Christian. He’s an ordinary American.”

In general, here in New Hampshire he’s emphasized social issues far less than in Iowa (though he doesn’t waffle when asked about them). Instead he’s stressed

The Left's Refusal to Report Muslim Killing of Women

Robert Spencer covers the sad facts.

Islamist Subversion in the Pentagon? The Case the Firing of Major Stephen Coughlin

This is really disturbing.  Our military brass apparently don't know the first thing about  radical Islam.  And then the one man who could help them, gets fired!  Courtesy of Jihad Watch , LTC Joseph C. Myers, Army Advisor to the Air Command and Staff College, has spoken out about the firing of Stephen Coughlin (my emphases follow): 

MAJ (USAR) Stephen Coughlin is to my knowledge the only Islamic Law scholar on the Joint Staff...

I have long argued and wondered why our military from senior leaders down to tactical level are so unread and unstudied on Islam, jihad in Islam, even the topic of terrorism. I have often contrasted this unconscionable wartime state of affairs, with

ADULT STEM CELL SUCCESS STORIES--2007 UPDATE

The Family Resource Council issued the report.

Turbulence in Kenya

Travis Kavulla reports "After a rigged election, Kenya slides into tribal violence."

A terrible blow has been dealt to what seemed to be one of Africa’s most sophisticated democracies.

Is Huckabee More Religious Left Than Right?

I think we'll be hearing more about this in the future.  Meanwhile, Arkansas political columnist David J. Sanders argues in the WSJ that very point:  that Huck is more religious left than religious right.  (HT: Mark Hemingway)

Jonah Goldberg's New book: "Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning"

Note Updates at the end of the post

-- Jonah Goldberg, of the National Review, has written a major historical study:  Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning.  Ron Radosh has written a New York Sun review  that's worth reading.  Here is an excerpt:

Turning to what he calls liberal racism, Mr. Goldberg offers readers his finest chapter. It is a devastating picture of how liberals adopted eugenics — a basic part of Nazi doctrine — which was not, as some liberal intellectuals have argued, an outgrowth of conservative thought. Fans of Margaret Sanger, perhaps the single most important feminist hero of the 20th century, will never be able to think of her in the same way. Mr. Goldberg dissects her hidden views of eugenics. A socialist and birth-control martyr, she favored banning reproduction of the "unfit" and regulation of everyone else's

Why Huckabee is Garnering Attention and Votes

Did you see Mike Huckabee on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"?  I didn't either.  But I looked at his appearance a few moments ago on YouTube.  Peter Robinson over at the Corner wrote the following which motivated me to have a look.  Robinson wrote:

Even if you watch these clips in the same frame of mind I was in when I watched them—I did not want to like Huck—I think you'll find the former governor almost preternaturally hard to resist.  Relaxed, funny, persuasive, and just so darned likeable. To spend ten minutes with the likely winner of tonight's GOP caucuses, click below.

Part One

Part Two

Me:  I agree with Robinson.  Huckabee's charm, humor and verbal gifts set him apart in a class all his own.  I am glad he won the Iowa Republican caucus tonight over Mitt Romney, but I retain reservations.  I look forward to a debate between him and Fred Thompson on their substantial policy differences some time in the future.

Tips for Avoiding Colds and Flu

This is an article from Reader's Digest.  Some tips are quite interesting.  Some verge close to the nutty.  Your thoughts?

I write this with a Niagara Falls-type runny nose.  I caught my cold via a chill.  One could add warm clothes and a hat to the Reader's Digest tips!

Hugh Hewitt interviews George Weigle, Author of "Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism"

I regard anything that George Weigle writes as worthy of ultra-serious reflection.  He has written a new book, Faith, Reason and the War Against Jihadism.  Hugh Hewitt offers a transcript of his interview with him yesterday. As Hewitt says in introducing him, Weigle is the distinguished senior fellow of Washington’s Ethics and Public Policy Center. He’s a Catholic theologian, one of America’s foremost commentators on issues of religion in public life, as well as the biographer of both John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Read on: (my underlining)

The UN Doesn't Like Any Criticism of Islam

Robert Spencer is on top of the story.  (Underlining in what follows is my own)