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...
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...
What Does it Declare?
The Manhattan Declaration is almost a month old and it still a statement I regard with great ambivalence. My discomfort owes partly to...
Defending Local Prohibitions
Since Caleb wants to argue about it, I will comply. This is a post that I wrote back in November; nice to see it...
President Obama’s Afghanistan Speech
Erie, PA. Presidential speeches are evaluated in two basic areas, style/delivery and substance. President Obama’s Afghanistan speech was well delivered. The president appeared serious,...
Health Subsidiarity, or Solidarity, or Socialism (Take Your Pick)
Wichita, KS
The debate over health care reform in the Senate has moved into overdrive, with one possible compromise following another in rapid succession. The...
Foreign Policy and the Gift of the World
Devon, PA. In February 2007, as the Iraq war crept to the end of its fourth year, I published this short essay, proposing a...
Words, Meaning, and Power
Kearneysville, WV. The publication of Sarah Palin’s autobiography, Going Rogue, provides an opportunity to discuss contemporary political rhetoric, especially the use of certain...
Localist Principles, Populist Words (or, The Problem Defined)
I suppose Front Porch Republic is experiencing growing pains, because all the talk lately is about "what's next?"--what cause, what platform, what principles or...
Is America Ungovernable?
Otto von Bismark, the 19th century Iron Chancellor and architect of modern Germany, once remarked that “If you like law and sausages, you shouldn't...