"Shameless Acts in Colorado: Abuse of scholarship in constitutional cases by Oxford law professor John Finnis, detailing misleading, even perjurous statements in abortion and homosexual rights cases. I linked to a cached version of this article on Fr. Johansen's blog, but Cwnews.com has posted this as well.

Also of interest: Reason, Faith and Homosexual Acts

This is a sad day for the freedom of speech. Who could have imagined that the same Court which, within the past four years, has sternly disapproved of restrictions upon such inconsequential forms of expression as virtual child pornography, Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002), tobacco advertising, Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly, 533 U.S. 525 (2001), dissemination of illegally intercepted communications, Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2001), and sexually explicit cable programming, United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc., 529 U.S. 803 (2000), would smile with favor upon a law that cuts to the heart of what the First Amendment is meant to protect: the right to criticize the government. For that is what the most offensive provisions of this legislation are all about. We are governed by Congress, and this legislation prohibits the criticism of Members of Congress by those entities most capable of giving such criticism loud voice: national political parties and corporations, both of the commercial and the not-for-profit sort. It forbids pre-election criticism of incumbents by corporations, even not-for-profit corporations, by use of their general funds; and forbids national-party use of “soft” money to fund “issue ads” that incumbents find so offensive.

-Justice Antonin Scalia, in his dissent in MCCONNELL V. FEDERAL ELECTION COMM’N

Paul Cella's Take on the ruling

Father Rob Johansen takes on the popular notion that the ancient Greeks approved of sodomy in this post.

This Claremont Review of Books piece discusses President John Quincy Adams and Islam. I think it errs at the end, when the writer says:

Perhaps Islam and the West may find common ground in the idea that all the Abrahamic faiths share, that God created all of us in his image, and for that reason no man is born a slave.

As far as I know, Islam does not teach that all men are created in the image of God. And I don't think there's an Islamic equivalent to that line in the Gospels where Christ says "You are no longer slaves, but friends."

Flannery O'Connor analysis and criticism

"On the House floor, Nick Smith was told [by GOP Whip] business interests would give his son $100,000 in return for his father's vote. "[money presumably for his son's campaign] from Hammering Fellow Republicans

I'm shocked, and not in the ironic Casablanca French officer way.

Are Just-War Principles Enough?