Articles Archive
Modernity, Fecundity, and Being a Competent Geek
Wichita, KS. Not too long ago, I asked my readers at my main blog just what sort of geek I should be. (The answer, in case it wasn't apparent at…
Tea Party
Last week's motley collection of protests against taxation, centralization and the Government are now old news, but their spirit remains perennially relevant. Invoked in the name of the original "Boston…
Price, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS.* In 1947, two titans of 20th-century economic theory, Ludwig von Mises and Wilhelm Röpke, met in Röpke's home of Geneva, Switzerland. During the war, the Genevan fathers coped…
The Crappiest Generation
I've been recommending this clip from the Conan O'Brien show to anyone willing to listen (many simply back away, slowly...). It's side-splittingly funny, and about as true as anything I've…
To Hell with Earth Day; Long Live Arbor Day!
Once upon a time in America, schoolchildren celebrated a lovely little holiday called Arbor Day. The young scholars would sing songs about Johnny Appleseed, recite Joyce Kilmer into the ground,…
Feed Fish to the Leviathan
Devon, PA. Stanley Fish has taken up a lot of public space during his career, but never has he darkened the depths in such monstrous fashion as he does in…
Money Talks, But It Can’t Sing and Dance and It Can’t Walk
George Will, who once upon a time long ago was capable of making truly thoughtful and important contributions to discussions over liberalism and conservatism in America, but who has, unfortunately,…
The Thee-ater of the Bozarts
Louisville, Ky. “Rural dwellers may have boundless tolerance for exaltations of the wonders and mysteries of the natural world, but the urban spirit begins to rebel. By the time this…
April 15
Princeton, NJ I have to admit, I have been finding it difficult to write much of anything of late. This is a fairly unusual condition - usually I find no…
Peggy Noonan on the End of Affluence
Peggy Noonan has a piece in the WSJ titled "Goodby Bland Affluence." Seems even NYC is slowing down and, for the first time in its long history, being forced to…
Ain’t No Anglos at the Park
PHOENIX, AZ. If you know me, and if you are not my insurance agent, you may also know that I occasionally enjoy a good cigar. On major holidays (and, let…
The Dismal Science vs. Community
RINGOES, NJ. In 1944 two very different but related books were published. The first was F.A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom. In a world that seemed to be succumbing…
The Wise Old Œconomist
Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. Before it became a science of supply and demand and the circulation of commodities, economics was originally understood as the wisdom of household management. The Greek word…
Life Amid the Suicide Machines
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS. In small town America, business owners get to sponsor everything from the high school wrestling team to the "pride committee" chili cook off. One of the events…
Homesteading with Mother Earth
USAToday has a piece on folks who are simplifying their lives as a response to the economic troubles here. For those interested in some concrete advice, see this piece on…
Does the Way of Improvement Lead Home?
First, let me extend my greetings to the readers of the Front Porch Republic. I have been following conversations here at FPR since it launched earlier this year and find…
Sex, Eschatology, and Everyday Life
Devon, PA. I have contended that the two most vocal sources of outrage at Pope Benedict XVI's remark about the deleterious role of condoms in Africa did not in fact…
TAC Counter-Programming on Tea-Party Day
FPR readers should certainly check out the American Conservative today. First, they have a new essay up by Dermot Quinn on the relationship of Wilhelm Ropke's ideas to the current…
How To Tie a Tie
Claremont, CA - I don't know how to tie a tie. But now I know that I am not alone. Do this: On Google, type "how to" - or even…
The Cincinnatus of Thrift
Russell Arben Fox remembers well his thrifty grandmother, and so do I, and so do you, perhaps. For the rest of the nation there is Amy Dacyczyn of Leeds, Maine,…
The Real History of Carter’s “Malaise” Speech
A couple of young, progressive liberals (Kevin Mattson and Ezra Klein) note what too many mainstream American politicians and pundits have conveniently forgotten: that President Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech--his thoughtful,…
The Ad-Man Cometh (for your Children)
RINGOES, NJ. March Madness is finally over. And for the first time in years, I actively participated in the madness. For most of our married life, my wife and I…
G.K. Gets Real
I recently received a handsome, newly published copy of the book America Through European Eyes, published by Penn State University Press and edited by Jeffrey Isaac and Aurelian Craiutu. …
The Greatest Forgotten Player
PHOENIX, ARIZONA. Today is opening day, and how sweet it is. But nine days from now comes the most annoying day on the Major League Baseball schedule, when the league…