Articles Archive
Egypt, Tunisia, and the Failure of Neoclassical Economic Theory
The regime changes in Egypt and Tunisia have been hailed as victories for democracy, as proof of the liberalizing power of social networking media, as testimony to the power of…
Making Hookups Happen
Enterprising students at the University of Chicago have managed to combine two of the central interests of the contemporary student: casual sex and facebook. They've launched a new UChicago Hookups…
What Rebelled First: The Chicken or the Egg?
Reason magazine's Jesse Walker notes an outbreak of nullification, dairy-style, in Maine: http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/22/food-nullification
The No-Suicide Pact
You cannot slit your wrists. It says so, right here in your employment contract. And besides, we've installed suicide netting on all of our buildings. So if you manage to…
Critical Thinking
Frank Beckwith has an interesting little article over at "The Catholic Thing" on How Political Correctness Makes Us Dumb. Staying in the academy, if you've read Mary Vander Goot's piece…
A Tip of the Hat to Courtesy
Grand Rapids, MI. Strange things happen in the checkout lane. The elderly man at the head of the line was pausing to look at something in his hand. No, not…
Meet a Folksinger
I recently received a song from Front Porch Republic reader Michael Johnathon. Michael is a Kentucky based folksinger, songwriter and host of the national syndicated broadcast of the WoodSongs Old-Time…
Wendell Berry and the New Urbanism: Agrarian Remedies, Urban Prospects
The problem is a result of the underlying specialization—not of people but of places—for what could be more specialized than designing a town according to discrete zones designated by use?
The welfare state is a package deal
A lawyer friend who specializes in this kind of thing alerts me to this decision, handed down earlier this week in the Washington, D.C., U.S. District Court, ruling that no…
The New Lisbon?
In the wake of a series of catastrophes in the course of recent years - the financial crisis and the Great Recession; the Gulf oil "spill" as well as a…
On Competitiveness
“Competitiveness” is the new “proactive” – the word, to paraphrase The Simpsons, that dumb people are using to sound important. Or, more precisely, it’s the word that ostensibly smart people…
Between the Neo-Cons and the Libertarians
I'm a respondent in a Cato Unbound symposium devoted to a consideration of C. Bradley Thompson's recent book, Neoconservatism: An Obituary of an Idea, summarized at the Cato site in…
Bradley Manning, and my Biggest Disappointment in Obama (Yet)
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Wichita, KS Let me make two things clear: first, all things considered, I still think Barack Obama has been, and remains, a pretty decent president--certainly…
California Splitter
These days I care more about the results of local sporting events than I do national or out-of-state elections, but I was pleased that Golden Staters put Jerry Brown back…
Whom You Have Sex With is My Business
BYU’s suspension of forward Brandon Davies for having sex with his girlfriend has divided the sports blogosphere between those who applaud the University for upholding its honor code and those…
Theses on Unions, Wisconsin, and Other Things
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Wichita, KS So last night, the Republicans in the Wisconsin state senate passed the bill which Governor Scott Walker has made the cornerstone of his…
The Song of Taillefer
Somerset, NJ. Legend has it that on the field of Hastings, as the forces of the Conqueror ascended a hill to engage the exhausted army of Harold II, a certain…
Ciceronian Society Conference at University of Virginia, March 17-20th.
The first Ciceronian Society Conference will occur at the University of Virginia, March 17-20th. Our panels will examine issues related to Tradition, Place, and ‘Things Divine” within the arts, literature,…
Extra, extra!
I grew up reading newspapers that serviced large metropolitan areas--the Denver Post and Tulsa World. Strangely, it was only after moving to a suburb of Washington, D.C. that I discovered local journalism…
A Tale of One City
It was the best of times; It was the worst of times. Charles Dickens begins A Tale of Two Cities with a paradox, but one that is easily resolved because…
Shout Out
Let me recommend the latest issue - as well as really all issues - of the very fine journal "Perspectives on Political Science," edited by our friendly nemesis Peter Lawler,…
Return to Princeton
I'll be lecturing this Thursday, March 10, on the campus of Princeton University. My lecture title is entirely non-controversial: "The Conservative Case Against the Constitution." All are welcome, and I…
Are You Free?
What would Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson say if they were transported to our day?
The Signs You Don’t See
Those who benefit most from collective bargaining limits in Wisconsin can’t speak as loudly as those who oppose such legislation.