Café Philos: an internet café

The net was full of good articles last week. Here are a few you might not want to miss:

Ed Brayton analyzes the threat of the Religious Right to pull its support of the Republican Party if the Republicans fail to nominate a candidate who is socially conservative enough for them here.

Dan Harlow discusses the history of nudes in art here as a way of explaining why he believes Spencer Tunick is the most important living artist. (Thanks to DOF for alerting me to this fascinating article).

Chanson vividly discusses the morality of the Judeo-Christian God here and finds it wanting. Her essay is sharp, illustrative and damning.

AOS writes about the quite disturbing fact that life feeds on life in his essay aptly titled, "I Exist, Therefore I Destroy", which is here.

Mystic Wing writes a beautifully styled essay on the passage of all things here.

Loren has put up a series of insightful posts on the poetry of Howard Nemerov which begin here, and continue here, here, and here. Loren's introductions to poets are beautiful in their simple intimacy -- like a good conversation.

The worse epidemic of rape in the world is currently taking place in the Congo -- unknown to most people. Captive Diaries has the story here.

McCullagh creates a new law of politics and convincingly explains how it works here. (Thanks to Mahendra for alerting me to this great article.)

Eric has somehow managed to combine two seemingly unrelated topics -- evolution and erotic lap dancing -- in a way that could shake up your preconceptions of female sexuality. His article is here.

What strengths should a writer have? That's a meme currently making its way around the net. In separate posts, four remarkable writers share their insights and wisdom: Nita, Mahendra, Ordinary Girl, and Rambodoc.

Ed has put up a post on the evolution of verbs in the English language here. Interestingly, there is now a way to predict how verbs will change in the future!

Decrepit Old Fool posts on the astounding story of Curt Herzstark, who was captured by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp to die -- He not only survived but thrived. Article here.

Eolake briefly reports the next new horror in bad taste here.

I absolutely cannot resist mentioning the poignant beauty of this photograph by Steve.

Gary writes engagingly about the remarkably beautiful working relationship he has with his co-teacher, Lauren, here.