Articles Archive
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.
They Were Expendable
JL Strickland, former Alabama mill worker and self-proclaimed "Linthead Emeritus," on a boy and a town: two more casualties of the deeply anti-American American Empire: www.ComeHomeAmerica.us.
Stoic Sex in Evanston
Tucson, AZ. One of the pleasing genres of contemporary journalism is the coverage of bizarre happenings in academe that shock the sensibility of the middle classes. You know the types:…
Alito Gets it Right about Free Speech
As I predicted last October, the Supreme Court has made short work of the argument that the odious, bigoted, hateful, ridiculous Westboro Baptist Church ought to be subject to lawsuits…
FPR Conference
FPR, in conjunction with Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, MD, will be hosting a conference titled "Human Scale and the Human Good: Creating Healthy Communities in a Global Age." …
Eating for Another Fifty (Centuries)
Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson would like you to think of the Farm Bill as an Eating Bill.
Wendell Berry Receives Humanities Medal
On March 1, Wendell Berry was awarded one of the nation's Humanities Medals in a ceremony at the White House. This article relates his charming and ever-humble response to the…
Civility and Democracy
Alexandria, VA In the wake of the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, a chorus of voices – mainly, if not exclusively on the political Left – arose in denunciation of…
FPR Turns Two
On March 2, 2009, FPR was born. We've been going for two years now and our mission remains clear: to advance human flourishing through the promotion of political decentralism, economic…