The Editors
Articles by The Editors
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Iowa… Place of the Drowsy Ones
OWEN TOWNSHIP, WINNEBAGO COUNTY, ILLINOIS: According to one legend, the word Iowa means "Place of the Drowsy Ones" in some extinct Indian tongue. This came to mind yesterday when the…
No Going Back…So Where Are We Going?
The idealism of the paleoconservative cause is simply too burdened by the idealism of its vision. Politics is not a time machine and we are not ever going to travel…
Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without
Wichita, Kansas. I have a blogging (and occasional real world, actual face-to-face) friend by the name of Laura McKenna. She is funny, smart, occasionally profane, often wise, and very much…
I Did Taste!
Under consideration: Michael Pollan, The Omnivor's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Penguin (2006), 464 pages; and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, Penguin (2008), 256 pages.* JEFFERSON…
Sex, Technocrats, and Technobrats
Devon, PA. During the last few weeks, Patrick Deneen's posts on Front Porch Republic have drawn our attention to the near identity of the deadly vices of greed and lust. …
An Elegy for Tobacco
Henry County, Kentucky. What holds a community together? Or rather, what holds my community together, as I'll have to leave you to worry about yours? I think about it some because…
Entropy Made Visible
Since Stewart posted a terrific video about the death of bee colonies from "TED," I thought I'd post my own favorite from that site - a devastating and hilarious jeremiad…
The Places of Teen Pop Culture
It's not only that the richest people are getting richer; it's the richest places, too. And even within regions -- southern California, say -- rich suburbs have become wealthier and…