Uncategorized 892
Still Too Big to Fail
Harvey Rosenblum, Director of Research for the Dallas Fed, has written an interesting if flawed report on the status of "Too Big to Fail" and the early results of the…
iGod
Erstwhile Porcher Caleb Stegall has a fine piece in The Humane Vision of Wendell Berry where he discusses the difference between convivial and instrumental uses of technology, the former where technology…
A Congressman for our Time (and Place)
See Rod Dreher's interview of Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), one of the few Congressmen who would feel right at home on the porch. Here's a snippet, but read it all.…
Review of “The Humane Vision of Wendell Berry”
Published recently in The American Conservative. The book contains essays by such writers as Allan Carlson, Patrick Deneen, Jason Peters, Caleb Stegall, Rod Dreher, and D. G. Hart. Readers of…
A Virtual Community is Not a Community
Stephen Marche has written an interesting piece in the May Atlantic on how facebook is making us lonely. There is a good deal to comment on here, and I'm not particularly inclined…
Wendell Berry in D.C. in Two Venues
On Sunday, Wendell Berry spoke at The National Cathedral. You can see that event here. On Monday, he delivered the Jefferson Lecture for the National Endowment for the Humanities. The…
2012 Academy of Philosophy and Letters Conference
The Academy of Philosophy and Letters will be holding its annual meeting in Baltimore from June 15-17. The theme this year is "Globalization and the Fragmenting of America: The Problem…
Katniss Everdeen, Localist
A mysterious author by the name of "J," a writer at the suspiciously derivatively-titled website "Back Porch Republic," has posted a thoughtful and provocative examination of "The Hunger Games" as…
Strengthening Institutions by Defending Tradition
Nowhere is this more true than in the Catholic Church, as argued in today's WSJ by Anne Hendershott and Christopher White. Renewal requires holiness, not accommodation.
FPR Annual Conference, Round 2
The place and date of Front Porch Republic's second annual conference have been set. We'll get together on Saturday, September 15, at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. We will once…
Among the Mad Farmers: Chicago Good Food Festival and Conference
“If you’ve never worked a tradeshow booth,” a business pal once remarked to me, “you’re not a real American.” True dat. At the Good Food Festival and Conference in Chicago…
Monk, He Shines
I’m delighted to note the publication of Surpassing Pleasure (Porcupine’s Quill: http://porcupinesquill.ca), a collection of poetry by John Slater, a Cistercian who is known within his order as Brother Isaac.…
That Long Black Cloud is Comin’ Down…
Putting Sam Peckinpah in his place: "Peckinpah Country" (from The American Conservative).
Mitchell at the National Cathedral
For those in the D.C. area, I will be speaking at the National Cathedral on Sunday morning at 10:10. The topic is "The State of Political Geography: Where Do We…
Birzer Against the Machine
Don't miss Brad Birzer's superbly thoughtful essay "Christian Humanists Challenge the Machine." He provides a lucid historical and philosophical roadmap tracing the anti-humanism of the modern impulse of mastery, beginning…
Interview with Edward Abbey
If you were intrigued by the song about Edward Abbey posted by Bill Kauffman, this three part interview with Abbey might be of interest. There is plenty of food for thought…
The Ballad of Edward Abbey
Tom Russell, true son of the American Southwest, sings about the Man from Home. Thanks to Brian Frizzell for the link.
Ciceronian Society Conference at UVA, March 29-31
FPR readers are invited to attend the coming Ciceronian Society Conference at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, March 29-31. All attendance to observe the panels is free of charge.…
The Government Can (Corrected)
It just makes me laugh: Government Can NOTE: MY APOLOGIES. Somehow or other the wrong link showed up on that. Thank you anymouse for correcting me. I deeply apologize to…
In the National Cathedral
On Sunday I was the invited speaker at the magnificent National Cathedral in a series devoted to the exploration of political themes. The subject was "The State of Political Language."…
Rob Koons: Attacking Iran Would Be Unjust
Since the first Gulf War, it has been popular among many Christian (especially but not exclusively Catholic) conservatives to justify American military interventions via just-war theory -- which conveniently always…
“Get” Out of Here
Rabbi Herzfeld of the National Synagogue has petitioned the House Ethics Committee to discipline a House staffer who appears to be recalcitrant as to one of the finer points of…
A Scar on the Soul
This is a powerful piece describing the consequences of some fertility techniques that involve selective reduction of embryos. I will never fully recover from what I've seen, and done. For…
Marriage…Whatever?
David Brooks weighs in on the latest data regarding marriage. The poor man. I know of no one who is more tied in knots over contemporary notions of autonomy than…