The Editors
Articles by The Editors
For Lack of a Hardier Knickerbocker, the Republic Goes Tilt
Washington, Ct. Classics are called such for a reason. They endure. Quite by accident frequently, for as any condemned intellectual knows, the most marketable idea prevails within the lifetime of the…
In the National Cathedral
On Sunday I was the invited speaker at the magnificent National Cathedral in a series devoted to the exploration of political themes. The subject was "The State of Political Language."…
A Burke for Our Times
Several weeks ago, at the web journal Humane Pursuits, James Banks published an article entitled “Community as We Know It, Not as We Wish It,” which was largely a response…
Egalitarian Elites and the Academic Dilemma
It doesn't take an acquaintance with Tocqueville to spot the flaws in many American claims about equality. Just go to school. You soon learn that an A paper is not…
Wes Jackson, Localism, and the Carbon-Based Community
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] A couple of days ago, I had the lucky opportunity to listen up close to Wes Jackson, founder of The Land Institute here in Kansas,…
Rob Koons: Attacking Iran Would Be Unjust
Since the first Gulf War, it has been popular among many Christian (especially but not exclusively Catholic) conservatives to justify American military interventions via just-war theory -- which conveniently always…
“You Ever Get Back There Any More?”
Down on the Square (as we East Texas natives refer to the downtown in Henderson, pop. 11,000), I make a visit to the backroom of the Strong-Hurt Pharmacy, site for…
“Freedom or Virtue?” Revisited
About this time last year, Mitch Daniels, the Republican Governor of Indiana, stirred some controversy by calling on conservatives to declare a truce on so-called “social issues” so that they…
The Insidious Logic of Liberalism
Tucson, AZ. This Arizona Daily Star paragraph greeted me as I began the annual family vacation in Tucson. Rather than offering full commentary, I shall just provide the offending remark along…
Our Libertarian Future
I was invited by the good people at "Minding the Campus" to write a response to the recently released 2011 American Freshman Survey. My brief essay is now available on…
Formal Augustinian Revenges
Devon, PA. A few years ago, Jason Peters swore Learical revenges on me for reprinting a poem of mine on the debauchery of Michigan State students. He could not understand…
Mallon Time
I was delighted to see that Thomas Mallon, a superb novelist whose subject is often American politics (my favorites are Henry and Clara and Two Moons), has just published Watergate:…
Religious Liberty?
Alexandria, VA. Vast and even incalculable quantities of ink have already been spilled over the issue of the HHS mandate that religious organizations purchase contraception as part of their compliance…
Driving Around the Panopticon
Plenty of space, I concluded with a glance at the approaching headlights in my left mirror. I let the clutch out smoothly and started what felt like a routine merge…
An Open Letter to Karen Heller
Devon, PA. Cursed with a lousy city newspaper rife with good coupons, I sat down with my coffee this morning to read Karen Heller's latest column, "What? Birth Control? Again?" …
A Day Late, and a Mint Julep Short
I had previously thought that Ground Hog Day was strictly a holiday for the residents of the virtuous commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Turns out that the day is celebrated far and…
There is No Such Thing as a Bank Loan
“Dexia” is not a word familiar to most Americans, and if told that it is a French bank in need of a fresh bailout, the knowledge would likely elicit no…
Dark Places and Dappled Things
Devon, PA. The Catholic magazine of arts and letters, Dappled Things, is no stranger to the writers of FPR, having published a debate on the free market between John Médaille and…
On Wisconsin
My friend Paul Buhle, the great historian of the American left, has edited, with his wife Mari Jo Buhle, It Started in Wisconsin: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the…
The GOP in Limbo: How Low Can You Go?
Newt Gingrich is a master of righteous indignation although he’s far better at being indignant than being righteous. What's going on with conservative Christians?
Saul Alinsky, Localist
Well no, not exactly. But as anyone who has ACTUALLY READ ALINSKY KNOWS--in contrast to those who simply parrot his name as part of rather stretched smear of anyone they…
Seen Your Video
This is the last audience to which I should announce such a thing but after fumbling an editing gig or two because I lacked a one-stop site containing my bio,…
The Closing of the Republican Mind (A Séance)
Lucky me, to be invited to try the beta version of Google’s newest and coolest app — Séance! After a quick download and install, I wasted no time in launching…