The Editors

[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Wichita, KS, is the home to a wonderful bookstore, Eighth Day Books. (Which isn't my favorite bookstore in Wichita, but that's partly because my wife…

Pete Davis made his debut on this blog this week, with an essay on the poisonous politics of The West Wing. But he's not just a writer or community reformer. Today he has…

The path out of childhood often feels like one of the moving walkways you see in airports; there is a single direction you are being pushed in, and you are…

[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Would I read Charlie Hebdo? (Assuming I could read French, that is.) Would I want anyone in my family to read it? Would I want…

“Ben Carson: Political Phenomenon.”  That gushing headline, at CNN.com of all virtual places, was followed by a puff piece of epic proportions.  Of course, with a Horatio Alger worthy biography…

As I'm sitting in an office on K Street, emptied for Christmas, wondering how to introduce myself to you all, it occurs to me that I owe you an explanation. It…

Recently the city council in my hometown decided we desperately needed a courthouse. Mind you, my hometown is not the state capital. It's not even the county seat. Florissant is a mid-size…

[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] With former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's announcement on Tuesday that he's "actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States"--a move which,…

Malibu, CA I understand why many wish me a “Happy Holidays” in public settings, and I am glad they wish me well at this time of year. I must confess,…

In this edition of Tales from the Kolache Belt, we celebrate community theatre. Not many rural towns of just over 2,000 souls can boast an institution like the Gaslight Theatre,…

There is one version of the history of modern media that is a story primarily about a drug, developed to make its users feel anger with delightful intensity. Refinement of…

On Friday, Caleb Stegall--lawyer, farmer, family man, rabble-rouser, and long-time Front Porcher--was appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court by Governor Sam Brownback. The criticisms of Stegall's appointment are many--he's been…

Our panel discusses immigration policy from a localist perspective.

I am ambivalent about Thanksgiving. Giving thanks is not a problem though I am sure I could show more gratitude especially when stuck behind some driver in the passing lane…

There are relatively few developments in the world's present socio-economic and cultural moment that gives me much hope--but one of them is the increased frequency in which I see people…

[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] I recently attended a conference in Nanjing, China, hosted by the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and organized our fellow Porcher, Adam Webb. You can read a short…

Malibu, CA Where does Catholic Social Thought come down on this question? Not surprisingly, Catholic thought often emphasizes solutions taken at the level of the economic and political system: government-provided…

Malibu, CA The danger in speaking after thirteen talks on Catholic Thought and Business is that there is nothing left to say. Russ Hittinger started with the observation that his…

Spring Arbor, MI (Editor's note: Like any real front porch, FPR seeks to be a place where children are valued and welcome. Much of what we do seeks the seriousness…

Manchester, CT “Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow, Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow. None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the…

Richmond, VA I do not think it outrageous, every now and then, to despair for the future of cooking in this country. Not all the time, no, for there are…

Nowhere, America Today, the subjects of the Assimilated Provinces of Megalomerica will go to the polls to vote. It's mostly a formality, since the polls have already come to them,…

What the populist campaign of Zephyr Teachout presages (maybe).

[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] This morning, I completed a series of lectures and discussions with a local civic group here in Wichita. The topic for this morning was the…