Richard John Neuhaus Special to The InterimThe defenders of judicial activism, properly understood as the judicial usurpation of politics, count on wearing down their critics over time. Robert H. Bork is not easily worn down. He returns to the battle with a new book, Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule of Judges (AEI, 159 pp., $25). Not only in America, but throughout the [...]
Everyday Graces: A Child's Book of Good Manners, edited, with Commentary by Karen Santorum (ISI Books, US$25, 407 pages) True politeness, says Karen Santorum, "is the mirror of a person's heart and soul - it is an outward expression of inner virtue." How can such an important virtue so often be taken for granted? We know that children learn best by example [...]
Judicial Activism: A Threat to Democracy and Religion. Edited by Fr. Alphonse de Valk (Life Ethics Information Centre, $19.95 165 pages) Reviewed by Paul Tuns The Interim It has become increasingly apparent in recent years, and impossible to ignore in recent months, that Canada is not a democracy. We are ruled by nine robed dictators on the Supreme Court and numerous miniature [...]
Judicial Activism: A Threat to Democracy and Religion. Edited by Fr. Alphonse de Valk (Life Ethics Information Centre, $19.95 165 pages) Reviewed by Paul Tuns The Interim It has become increasingly apparent in recent years, and impossible to ignore in recent months, that Canada is not a democracy. We are ruled by nine robed dictators on the Supreme Court and numerous miniature [...]
Virtue's Alphabet From Amiability to Zeal By Donald DeMarco (Central Bureau, Central Verein of America, $10, 112 pages) Donald DeMarco is a very prolific writer. In addition to all the columns and articles he writes for newspapers and journals, he has written 20 books. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, and so this book contains 26 sections - though DeMarco cannot [...]
Sue Careless is a pro-life journalist familiar to Interim readers. She is also the author of an inspiring ecumenical resource, Discovering the Book of Common Prayer: A Hands-On Approach. Volume 1: Daily Prayer. She has written this book at the behest of the Prayer Book Society of Canada to promote a renewed and deeper appreciation for the Book of Common Prayer as [...]
The Christians: Their First Two Thousand Years, Volume 1: The Veil Is Torn Edited by Ted Byfield (Christian History Project Inc, 288 pgs $49.95) Review by David Bolton The Interim A recent book by Philip Jenkins, professor of history and religious studies at Penn State University, warned us that Christendom in the post-modern Western world is destined for, if not extinction, at [...]
Life, Liberty and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics By Leon R. Kass M.D. (Encounter Books, 313 pgs $39.50) Two hundred years ago, the poet William Wordsworth assessed the human condition, asking: "Have I not reason to lament/ What man has made of man?" At the dawn of the third millennium, technology has the human condition itself within its power; [...]
Book on health effects of abortion an excellent resource Women's Health after Abortion. The Medical and Psychological Evidence By Elizabeth Ring-Cassisdy and Ian Gentles (The de Veber Institute, $24.95, 333 pages) I was working for a pro-life group in Los Angeles when I first heard about Women's Health after Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence by Elizabeth Ring-Cassisdy and Ian Gentles. My [...]
A Merciful End: The Euthanasia Movement in Modern America by Ian Dowbiggin (Oxford University Press, 272 Pages) In A Merciful End: The Euthanasia Movement in America, Dowbiggin examines the Euthanasia movement by gaining access to the files of the Euthanasia Society of America, the first Euthanasia group in the U.S. By examining the files, the meeting minutes, and the records of the [...]
Mere Christian: Stories from the Light by Michael Coren (Castle Quay Books, 172 pages, $19.95 ) Review by David BoltonWhen asked to review the latest offering by writer, TV, and radio personality Michael Coren, whose column occasionally appears in The Interim, this writer was a little wary. What if I hated this little volume of essays? Could I afford to offend the [...]
Picture this: a young single person on the look-out for a significant other. Now imagine this: a young Christian person on the look-out for a significant other. Two very different realities. Rob Eagar, author of the Power of Passion: Applying the Love of Christ to Dating Relationships (Grace Press Publishing, $12.95 U.S.), and Joshua Harris, author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye (to [...]
Review by Paul Tuns Why We Fight: Moral Clarity and the War on Terrorism William J. Bennett (Doubleday, $29.95, 170 pages)William Bennett, who was once described as the "guardian angel of the honour code through his books on virtue," released last year a book on the need to confront - militarily if necessary - the threat of terrorism. Although written from a [...]
The Chatter Box: An Insider's Account of the Increasing Irrelevance of Parliament by Roy Rempel (Dundurn Press, $24.99, 246 pages) Roy Rempel believes that Canadian politicians could campaign for the right to life until they were blue in the face, but it would not have the slightest impact. "Individual MPs' positions are irrelevant," he told The Interim, "because power in Canada is [...]
Where to Park your Broomstick: A Teen's Guide to Witchcraft by Lauren Manoy (Simon and Schuster, $21, 309 pages) "Men have lost touch with our primal selves, the part of us that ran in the wilderness. We lost our connection to the Horned God, our primal Father." This strange passage appears on page 233 of Where to Park Your Broomstick: A Teen's [...]