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Irish Deserters and the Mexican-American War

I'd heard from Steve Sailer that Mexicans in general are more likely than Americans to have strong feelings about the Mexican-American War of 1846. I had never been too surprised about this, after all, I live in a state that was part of the spoils of that war.

How Many Divisions does the Pope have?

A fun piece of history, and an interesting artifact, is the M1868 Pontifico, the only modern rifle ever manufactured specifically for the Vatican. An extremely rare military rifle, the M1868 was manufactured for the Zuavi Pontifici, the international brigade that defended the Papal States. There were a mere 5,000

The 50 Worst and 50 Best Books of the XXth Century

I have often pored over the list of the 50 worst and 50 best books of the twentieth century by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. I'm sure that many people could find a favorite book on the worst list, but I maintain that the list is fundamentally sound because

Science Fiction and Philosophy

Mark Shea wrote a brief note at Catholic Exchange about the philosophical outlook of science fiction and fantasy works that mentions three of my favorite authors, Tim Powers, Michael Flynn, and John C. Wright. I think I have a fondness for authors who are historically grounded, because it makes their

Thomism and Intelligent Design

Thomist philosophy is not compatible with Intelligent Design, as some ID proponents have discovered the hard way. This may come as a surprise to some, since Thomists do tend to be religious conservatives, but Thomism really cannot abide ID, or to put it more clearly, Thomism clearly exposes the rotten,