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This week's news is mostly on the political front. A budget deal seems ready to go through the Senate, wrapping up the congressional conflict from earlier this year. But another…

Hillsdale, Mich. Jack Rakove reviews Yuval Levin's The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left (finder's fee to John Fea) and can't figure out…

Those long haunted by Alasdair MacIntyre's plea at the end of After Virtue - for that matter, even those who aren't - may wish to read Rod Dreher's piece on "The Benedict…

Jeremy Beer gave a brilliant presentation at the FPR Conference on the problems associated with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, or "big philanthropy" in general. Over at Mother Jones is…

Ischomachus’ wife: “My mother told me that my job was to be responsible.” Ischomachus: “Yes, my dear, of course, my father gave me the same advice.” Xenophon, The Estate Manager,…

Do Porchers travel? Well, if they do, they can hardly do better than to come to West Michigan - God's country if ever there was one. So says The Lonely…

As most everyone has heard by now, the renown South African activist and politician Nelson Mandela died last week. This brief editorial argues that Mandela deserves the near-legendary status that…

Superb essay by Dana Gioia--keynote speaker at September's Front Porch Republic conference--on the Catholic writer in America today.

In a follow-up to a previous Localist Roundup, a petition has appeared on the White House Petition website urging that the runner-up turkey from this Thanksgiving's turkey pardoning be executed:…

“There are others too…that pretend to be pleasures, such as gambling and pointless parties; as time goes on, it becomes clear even to the victims of their seduction that they…

I am reading through James Ronda's Lewis and Clark Among the Indians (first published in 1984) and was reminded of how we saw ourselves politically in the early days of…

Apparently, some people are pushing something like a local business version of Black Friday. Of course, it's a different day--the Saturday after Thanksgiving--so the committed shopper can always double-dip. The…

On the basis of this story out of Morland, KS (population 150, or thereabouts), the answer seems to me: community determination (citizens forming a local foundation to purchase and keep…

Happy Thanksgiving! In keeping with tradition, President Obama has pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey. Although, given the fact that the runner-up turkey isn't bound for a table either, the pardoned turkey…

“As the proverb says, men cannot know each other until they have eaten salt together.” –Aristotle We don’t need the latest study to show us that we are losing the…

Worries continue over the FDA implementation of new food safety regulations. Small farmers may face debilitating regulations, although the FDA claims it will be sensitive to small farm concerns. This…

I discuss frequently with my Intro to American Government classes what current redistributive policies are likely to mean for them. Along with receiving the majority of the Catholic vote in…

Every morning when I would shuffle to our refrigerator to lug out the gallon of milk for cereal, or after school when I'd stand in front of it wondering if…

The Black Friday shopping binge starts earlier still this year. On a less depressing note, these study results tell something about how women influence men. And these results list what…

These people will also discover the seemingly insignificant conventions their predecessors have destroyed. Things like this: When it is proper for the young to be silent in front of their…

Over at Urbanplains Magazine is this interesting piece on the disappearance of small, urban towns. It's one of the catastrophes of our age.

Earlier this week the first federal challenge of NSA surveillance opened. At this point in the proceedings, the main question seems to be whether any of the various challengers have…

This Monday was Veterans Day, prompting this intriguing piece, which examines flaws in the public's perception of veterans and in veteran's perception of themselves. Meanwhile, this article addresses the continuing…

Penelope (to Telemachus): “If really he is Odysseus, truly home, beyond all doubt we two shall know each other better than you or anyone. There are secret signs we know,…