Articles 355
Rogue Remnants: Sarah Palin continued
Here are some portions of my analysis of Sarah Palin and populism that are not included in my book review essay that appears in The American Conservative.
The Advantages of Dying Young
The listlessness of modern death is that you might not even get a chance to show courage before you forget who you are.
The Book You Should Read This Year
Claremont, CA. They call it the “Superman Syndrome.” People who use methamphetamine often believe that they are capable of doing impossible things. Like flying. Or walking through walls. Or earning…
After the Econolypse
Hamilton, Ontario. When remembering a family-owned grocery store in rural Virginia, a first image comes to mind, even though I did not actually witness it. This is my boss, a…
Against Pessimism
Alexandria, VA My last post has led some to conclude that I am a pessimist. Even Ross Douthat, among the most perceptive commentators in print and on internet, suggested that…
Schizophrenic Conservatives
Kearneysville, WV. The health care bill has passed the Senate, but it is yet to be seen if the House and the Senate can agree on a bill to send…
Ecce Homo: The Fleeting Treasure of a Mortal Life Within the Light that Envelops
Washington, CT. Puckish ad infinitum, I take it as my heathenish duty during this special time of year to preach at the choir boys and girls of ye Front Porch…
New World Order
Events of the past several years up close could be compared to individuated and discrete dots, each circumscribed by itself alone, each self-contained and even comprehensible. The housing bubble. The…
The Economic Stork
The answers we get are dictated by the questions we ask, but there was one question which always grated on my wife's nerves, no matter who frequently she was asked.…
Home by Marilynne Robinson
Kearneysville, WV. One thing I enjoy about the Christmas break is the chance to sit back and read a novel. For some months I have been intending to read Home…
The Oklahoma Abortion Law and SUVs
If my friend Ike lived in Britain they’d call him a “one-off.” An avowed anarchist who thinks that things started going downhill when humans invented agriculture (and thus the need…
It’s the Family, Stupid
Hillsdale,MI. David the King ordered the beautiful Bathsheba to come to him because he could. He also could have her husband killed, and sent the letter that condemned Uriah the…
Still.
Wichita, KS I write a Christmas post every year. I'm actually quite fond of this year's entry, with its reflections on ghosts and spirits and other things in the wintertime…
Going to Bethlehem
Henry County, Kentucky. Most families who celebrate Christmas have their own favorite Christmas traditions. We like to go to Bethlehem. Bethlehem (Kentucky, six miles from us) is a place too…
The Vast White Landscape: E.B. White’s “Great Snows” Revisited
Rock Island, IL A century ago in New England, the approach to snow was quite different. When snow began to fly, people switched to runners. Roads were not plowed out,…
Avatar: Reviewing the Reviewers
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS. I am not a film critic and what follows is not a movie review. In fact, my movie tastes run decidedly to the petite bourgeoisie, and beyond…
Distributism and Global Warming
Not a Single Cube of Ice In November of 2008, the cargo ship Camilla Desgagnés delivered supplies to the Arctic village of Kugluctuk. It did so by traversing the Northwest…
Their Time Up at State College
East Lansing, MI. Back home in the steady snows of Michigan, I came across an old poem of mine, the other day, that seems like an appropriate riposte to Jeffrey…
What Colour Is the Village Green?
Often the politics of the local turns on the “who” as much as the “where.” Switzerland showed as much very recently. The country enjoys some goodwill among the sort of…
Fat Nation
Kearneysville, WV. Tis the season to be jolly. And the jolliest fellow of all is that rotund elf in the red suit. He’s happy. He’s spry. He binges on cookies…
Stopping a Streetcar with an Umbrella
It is autumn in Amsterdam and damp. The twilight is coming. I await a streetcar to take me home through the labored-over canals, the old working-class neighborhoods on the Amstel.…
Although it’s been said many times, many ways…
BURNED-OVER DISTRICT, NY---Merry Christmas to all friends (and enemies, too) of Front Porch Republic! Don't you worry 'bout that quaffer-scoffer in the Quad Cities. Come December 24 he'll be reading…
The New Prohibitionists
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS. Something is not right on The Porch. But on my porch, things are just dandy, so smoke 'em if you got 'em boys! Puff puff puff and…
Citizens of the World, Divide!
Moorpark, CA. We are told to be careful with our words, to be aware of how our words might make other people feel or of how we might be misunderstood. …
