Articles 355
The Mouse with Tusks: Speech, Power, Perversity
Earlier this week, Terry Gross interviewed Emily Anthes, author of Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts, on recent development in bioengineering, including radio controlled insects, pigs which…
On the Localism of the Spheres
I have a friend who is a cloistered Trappist monk and his current obsession is the ‘outer’ and decidedly non-sedentary goal of running a marathon (on the back forty of…
Life Under Compulsion: Music and the Itch
Like dew on the gowan lying Is the fa’ o’ her fairy feet; Like winds in summer sighing, Her voice is low and sweet. Her voice is low and sweet,…
Filibustering the Filibuster
Washington, Connecticut. As I watched Senator Rand Paul slurp his dripping candy bar, a sinking feeling set in. This does not diminish his determined stance but one should rightly be…
Catholic Education Today: Scientiam Viarum Tuarum Nolumus
About a month ago I happened upon a copy of The Concord, student newspaper of Bellarmine University. In particular my eye was caught by a letter to the editor whereby…
Something About Which Leftists, Localists, and Libertarians (But Probably Not Philosophical Liberals) Ought to Agree
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Senator Rand Paul's filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be head of the CIA--something that he did in order to "draw attention to…
What Does the Boss Really Do? Business Education and the Liberal Arts
An address given to the Ciceronian Society at Mount St. Mary's University, March 3. At the start of each semester, I ask my MBA students, “What are you here for?…
I Have a Right to be Unlimited
Hidden Springs Lane, VA. Sprint is running a new ad pushing the merits of its data plan. While it might be a mistake to make too much of an ad,…
The Journey Home
If you had told me, a happy and professionally satisfied D.C. lawyer living on Capitol Hill, just over a year ago, that I would be back someday soon living in…
Exurban Dream? What Exurbs and Suburbs Have in Common
When in 1967 my parents were the thirteenth family to move into newly minted Columbia, Maryland, I was three months old. The American dream at that time generally took the…
An Ancient Legacy of Form: Guardini on Mastery and Nearness
Our dwelling place is the state not of nature but of culture.
The Wonder of Liberal Education
Having had a day off last week in honor of the past presidents, I am loathe to disagree with former presidents (in this case, of the American Historical Association). But…
Do It For Your Country
Washington, DC. Parents are admonished to care for their children. Nature and scripture alike testify to the unique bond of filial love. Philosophers, prophets, and saints have long insisted that the…
Lives Lived Worthily: On Hunting
A little over a year ago, after hearing my bitter protests about another pathetic talk by some expert on education whose vision of life I find basically revolting but whose…
The Country That Banned Milk
What would we think of a government that banned milk? Would we think it over-reaching, even oppressive? Would we condemn it for rejecting a great gift from God? Would we…
Gay Marriage and the Right to Marry
Hidden Spring Lane. The topic of gay marriage is difficult to avoid these days, even for those who would try. Defending “traditional marriage” is seen by many as either a…
Life Under Compulsion: The Itch
Thee let old men, Thee let young men, Thee let boys in chorus sing; Matrons, virgins, little maidens, With glad voices answering: Let their guileless songs re-echo, And the heart…
The Budget Redux
So I’ve recently written about the GAO’s overview of the US Economy. The CBO has just released its own report projecting economic activity and the budget for the next ten…
The Economics of Splitting Wood by Hand
Hilaire Belloc once wrote that he never burned anything but oak in the huge fireplace of his ancient home in West Sussex. For a while I considered doing the same…
Thinking About Guns
Hidden Springs Lane. Guns have been in the news a lot recently. The dialogue, such as it is, is dominated by voices that seem ill disposed to consider the legitimacy…
The Budget: A Citizen’s Guide?
The Department of the Treasury recently released its “Citizen’s Guide to the 2012 Financial Report of the United States Government.” At 246 pages of relatively dense economic analysis I’m guessing…
Free to Share
When SueAnne Bassett learned that she had stage four cervical cancer eight years ago, her doctors gave her a 20 percent chance that she would live five years, and that…
Faith, Wonder, and the Method
In Summa Theologica 2-2.1.4, Aquinas argues that every action can be understood in two ways: according to its order of intention–the goal one has in mind when one acts, and…
Women at War
Women are now cleared for combat positions in the American armed forces, and for all the ladder-climbing that now allows. On January 24th, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the direct…
