Articles 356
Don’t Miss This Book
Front Porcher Rob Grano has a lovely little review of John Lewis-Stempel's The Running Hare: The Secret Life of Farmland. It's over at The University Bookman. Here's a taste: "Really:…
The Politics of the Pro-Life Movement
A few years ago I wrote something of an irenic essay on the annual, January, March for Life in Washington DC. I was in the mood, then, for focusing on…
Dash, Grandpa’s Three-Legged Dog
I wasn’t there. In fact, I’m not sure who all was. And as I write this sitting in Michigan, I’m far from those who might know. My Grandma was alive…
The Real Significance of Citizens United
Eastern Ohio Jimmy the Greek, the odds-maker and point-spread pioneer who was born and raised and trained in Steubenville, the former (thirties-era) cigar store paradise thirty miles to my east,…
Does Wendell Berry Have Rose-Colored Glasses?
Given the unpopular and uncompromising stands that Wendell Berry takes, it’s only natural that many readers fiercely disagree with him. Some of these disagreements are simply matters of preference. As…
Bob Dylan: The Lyricist
Bob Dylan: The Lyrics, 1961-2012 Reviewed by Robert Dean Lurie I am one of the infected; I am a Bob Dylan fan. It wasn’t always this way. When I first…
Our Escape to Sacred Space
Utah Max Weber never visited the American Southwest, but few theories explain the mass tourism of the region better than his iron cage of disenchantment. The German sociologist saw the…
After Trump #2: Getting Populism Right
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Coming to grips with what the 2016 election means many things, especially for those of us who are hoping to find in Trump's victory a…
After Trump #1: Getting Urbanists and Localists Together
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] So at the beginning of the month, when I finally got my election reflections out of my system, I concluded by re-iterating what I said…
The Elector Defector
BURNED-OVER DISTRICT, NY -- As rumors of rogue electors spike the December air, I offer this piece from 2001, which is included in my Poetry Night at the Ballpark and…
Elections Reflections, 2016 (Part 2)
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Yes, I know the election was a month ago. What can I say; I needed time to recover from getting everything entirely wrong, didn't I?…
Trump: America’s First Black Friday President
Like many Americans I’ve struggled to put the election of 2016 in proper perspective the last few weeks, only to arrive at an unexpected conclusion: Trump may be America’s first…
Sources of Order: Rooted Cosmopolitanism and the Origins of City Life (Conclusion)
Queens, NY The city goes on. And this phenomenon, of a city continuing even as it is under threat or attacked-- of resiliency in a city-- is surely one of…
Sources of Order: Rooted Cosmopolitanism and the Origins of City Life (Part III)
Queens, NY Under ordinary circumstances, with very few exceptions, it is these crews that do the actual work of the city. And under extraordinary circumstances, it is they that bring…
Some Thoughts on Leonard Cohen – Going Home
Grand Rapids, MI Leonard Cohen has done his last show, composed his last song, and breathed his last breath. When the news popped up on the screen of my laptop…
Charles Taylor’s Front Porch Democracy
In the wake of the election, Taylor (and the New Yorker!) advocate for some of the central ideas of "Porchism." http://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/how-to-restore-your-faith-in-democracy
Sources of Order: Rooted Cosmopolitanism and the Origins of City Life, Part II
What follows is an expanded version of a talk originally given at the 2016 Front Porch Republic Conference at Notre Dame, where Susannah Black spoke on a panel on Promoting…
So Long, Leonard Cohen
One of the pleasures of living near the Canadian border is Canuck radio, which due to local content regulations (the good protectionism) plays a steady diet (varying greatly in nutritional…
Dear Millennials: We Hear You, But Can We See You?
Columbus, OH I woke up on Wednesday morning with an Election Day hangover: groggy, head pounding, despondent, a little nauseous. I stumbled out of bed and refreshed the news app…
The Triumph of “Buchananism”
Although President-Elect Donald Trump may have been insincere, when he insisted that he was only the "messenger" and not the personal cause of his sudden rise to political prominence over…
Sources of Order: Rooted Cosmopolitanism and the Origins of City Life
What follows is an expanded version of a talk originally given at the 2016 Front Porch Republic Conference at Notre Dame, where Susannah Black spoke on a panel on Promoting…
Professor-in-Chief
After the second, town hall-styled presidential debate pundits raved, and perhaps rightly so, about Hilary Clinton’s ability to handle the format. The former first lady received high rankings from observers…
Election Reflections, 2016 (Part 1)
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] With the exception of one big think piece on our almost-certainly-soon-to-be-POTUS, Hillary Clinton, I've been quiet this presidential election. I think that's because, in the…