What I’ve Learned, and David Brooks (Perhaps) Still Hasn’t
Among all the major right-wing voices of America's mainstream journalistic establishment, David Brooks is perhaps the most difficult to pin down. Ross Douthat is...
Two Plus Cheers For Small Houses
In the past two generations, the average house size has nearly doubled, while family sizes have decreased. Chris Wiley, a frequent contributor here, tells...
The Deep and Discomforting Point of Populism (and Socialism, and Certain...
Over the weekend, a friend of mine shared an article which had joined in the Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders fight, a fight which may come...
In the Pilsen Snow
My wife and I were married at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, on the near west side of South Bend, Indiana. I’ve written about her...
Sustainability in Cities that Hold Steady
Wichita, KS, is a large city, a regional center for manufacturing, medicine, finance, and the arts. It's also a politically conservative place, which means...
If I Were a Carpenter/And You Lived in Cadiz….
From the New Oxford Review, Will Hoyt on his move from Berkeley to eastern Ohio.
From the Distant Liberal Consensus, a Defiant Conservative Yelp
As I write this review, I keep hearing about Jeb Bush, campaigning for president, talking about how the invasion of Iraq and the removal...
Palmyra, Centurions, and Fighting ISIS from the Bottom Up
The fact that the chattering classes outraged by ISIS’s atrocities would unleash the latter-day centurions of the air so eagerly, while leashing ordinary people so cavalierly, should give pause to those of us suspicious of the modern state and jealous of society’s spaces.
Hanging Out with, and Learning from, Some Thoroughly Material Benedictines
A few weeks ago I was able to, once again, do something that I enjoy doing immensely--take a group of students out on a...