Articles Archive

As most everyone has heard by now, the renown South African activist and politician Nelson Mandela died last week. This brief editorial argues that Mandela deserves the near-legendary status that…

Superb essay by Dana Gioia--keynote speaker at September's Front Porch Republic conference--on the Catholic writer in America today.

THE PRESIDENT HAS AN ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU: This is what the bold text on the whitehouse.gov website tells us as it proudly heralds a new national “Student Film Contest”.   Next…

The following is the third installment of John McClaughry’s memoir, Promoting Civil Society Among the Heathen.  See the previous chapters here and here. 5. Ford and the Ethnics  Gerald Ford became…

In a follow-up to a previous Localist Roundup, a petition has appeared on the White House Petition website urging that the runner-up turkey from this Thanksgiving's turkey pardoning be executed:…

“There are others too…that pretend to be pleasures, such as gambling and pointless parties; as time goes on, it becomes clear even to the victims of their seduction that they…

I am reading through James Ronda's Lewis and Clark Among the Indians (first published in 1984) and was reminded of how we saw ourselves politically in the early days of…

Apparently, some people are pushing something like a local business version of Black Friday. Of course, it's a different day--the Saturday after Thanksgiving--so the committed shopper can always double-dip. The…

Born in 1909 to secular Jewish Parisians, at age 10 Simone Weil was memorizing Racine and marching in labor union protests.  She attended the École Normale and then briefly taught…

Every now and then we hear of a lucky homeowner who takes down a wall to make renovations on his house, and finds inside it a cache of wonders; dozens…

In a small attempt to connect political theory to actual power, last week I sent messages to some GOP members of the U.S. Senate telling them about my new book,…

On the basis of this story out of Morland, KS (population 150, or thereabouts), the answer seems to me: community determination (citizens forming a local foundation to purchase and keep…

The following is the second installment of John McClaughry's memoir, Promoting Civil Society Among the Heathen.  See the previous chapters here. 3. The Community Self Determination Act  During my year at…

[Cross-Posted to In Medias Res] Amongst those Americans who believe that the civic virtues which make both popular government and a fulfilling independence possible are themselves dependent upon, to a…

Happy Thanksgiving! In keeping with tradition, President Obama has pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey. Although, given the fact that the runner-up turkey isn't bound for a table either, the pardoned turkey…

“As the proverb says, men cannot know each other until they have eaten salt together.” –Aristotle We don’t need the latest study to show us that we are losing the…

Worries continue over the FDA implementation of new food safety regulations. Small farmers may face debilitating regulations, although the FDA claims it will be sensitive to small farm concerns. This…

As a student, I never trusted teachers who wanted to be part of student culture. You know the type, the teacher who wishes to have influence by becoming as much…

I discuss frequently with my Intro to American Government classes what current redistributive policies are likely to mean for them. Along with receiving the majority of the Catholic vote in…

Every morning when I would shuffle to our refrigerator to lug out the gallon of milk for cereal, or after school when I'd stand in front of it wondering if…

John McClaughry is one of the most misunderstood figures in modern American politics. He served several terms in the Vermont House and state senate and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S.…

The Black Friday shopping binge starts earlier still this year. On a less depressing note, these study results tell something about how women influence men. And these results list what…

As I write this, Edward Snowden is moping his way through exile in the Moscow airport. He can't leave because crossing through passport control would mean legally entering Russia, and…

These people will also discover the seemingly insignificant conventions their predecessors have destroyed. Things like this: When it is proper for the young to be silent in front of their…