Uncategorized 890

The following is not intended to upset our happily balanced ecumenical apple cart ... As a Scots-Presbyterian of old psalm singing austerity, I tend to enjoy observing the furor set off…

The folks at First Things have been kind enough to ignore my lame punning and respond to some of my criticisms, which has resulted in some helpful progress on examining…

Good Lord, blogging is bad for the soul.  That is a confession, not a violation of the Third Commandment, for those of you keeping track.  What am I doing in…

As Caleb has already noted here, Rusty Reno and Jody Bottum have been mixing it up over at First Things over issues of localism, a hot topic of late on…

Jody Bottum says the problem with localists is that they're all raving racists.  O goody, let's get down to brass tacks. It's bizzare how Bottom's problem with localism is traceable once again to…

Hey, JP opened the door.

I just deleted the following spam from our comment cache.  "We have just added your latest post 'Teenagers, Gratitude, and a Culture of Affluence' to our Directory of Car Insurance.  [blah…

Most of the debates within the "conservative" wing today are yawners.  They pit one brand of worn-out "conservatism" against another (often with the assistance of screeds on talk radio), with…

An interesting case of local activism. And bonus, hear me discuss the issue on the local KC talk show.

I neglected to comment on the Illich post when it was timely (funny how the internet compresses time and reduces us all to servants of what Berry called the "absolute…

A fascinating article in today's Washington Post confirms the old adage that there's always a bull market somewhere: right now, namely, in the seed selling business. The article notes that…

My (real) friend and sometimes co-conspirator Tony Woodlief of Wichita has penetrated Wall Street with some front porch wisdom this morning: "My 298 Facebook friends aren't the ones who remember…

I have been remiss in following up on some superb thinking that has been going on, partly prompted by my earlier link to his blog, but mostly prompted by the…

Quick quiz ... who said/wrote the above quote this week?  No Googling!

I learned tonight, courtesy of American Media's Marketplace, that there is a letter-writing campaign currently afoot protesting the organic garden that was planted and is tended by Mrs. Obama.  The…

IRS says they want power to decide who prepares your tax returns. H$R Block cheers.

When hipsters like the former lead singer of the band Talking Heads are coming out in favor of the "pedaling revolution", can the masses be far behind? It's a sign…

Matthew Crawford - political philosopher and motorcycle repairman - has published an important new book entitled Shop Class as Soul Craft.  The book has already been exerpted in the New…

Thanks to Brian Frizzell, Brooklyn patriot and Americana music maven, this link  http://www.reverbnation.com/manofsomebodysdreamsatributetochrisgaffney to a new album paying tribute to the late Chris Gaffney, a dolefully beautiful voice of the American…

Authors and readers of FPR should spend some time reading this extraordinary essay by Roger Scruton, from the most recent issue of Intercollegiate Review.  Scruton is that rarest of academic…

Allow me a moment to bask in some regional pride. Kavya is from just down the road, and I love her Kansan's dialect, flat midwestern accent, and plain manner of…

Someone send Sly to the VA DMV!  

Jeremy Beer has masterfully articulated the ideology of meritocracy and the destruction it wreaks upon the small towns and non-major cities of the nation.  Still, a number of sympathetic readers…

James has penned an eloquent essay on his son this morning.  I am moved again to remind us all of a central truth.  And that truth is that abortion remains…