Uncategorized 1145
On Dreher’s Benedict Option, the Christians and Localists Who Can Live It, and the Ones Who Can’t
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Rod Dreher and I aren't close friends, but like many Front Porch Regulars, I've been blessed with the opportunity to associate with and learn from…
The Real Significance of Citizens United
Eastern Ohio Jimmy the Greek, the odds-maker and point-spread pioneer who was born and raised and trained in Steubenville, the former (thirties-era) cigar store paradise thirty miles to my east,…
So Long, Leonard Cohen
One of the pleasures of living near the Canadian border is Canuck radio, which due to local content regulations (the good protectionism) plays a steady diet (varying greatly in nutritional…
Sources of Order: Rooted Cosmopolitanism and the Origins of City Life
What follows is an expanded version of a talk originally given at the 2016 Front Porch Republic Conference at Notre Dame, where Susannah Black spoke on a panel on Promoting…
Hillary’s Communitarian Moment, and Ours
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Thirteen months ago, I wrote a blog post that provided a retrospective on a body of ideas on the 20th anniversary of the greatest level…
6th Annual FPR Meeting to be held at The University of Notre Dame: Register Now!
Join us on October 8 at the University of Notre Dame (Bond Hall) for our 6th annual meeting. The title is Populism, Power, and Place. We've got a fantastic line-up…
Ralph Nader to Host Hometown Book Festival
The tireless consumer advocate and presidential candidate will be hosting the "Booming Winsted" book festival on July 30-31 in his hometown of Winsted, Connecticut. From the press release: “This is…
Ten Theses on Our Populist Moment
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Tomorrow, with the California Democratic primary, the populist developments that so many have observed in this electoral cycle will definitively change. Either Sanders will prevail…
Regional Cities and the Curse of “Glocality”
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] One of the essential themes in my continuing study of and reflection upon the character and dilemmas of mid-sized cities is their "regional" character, and…
What I’ve Learned, and David Brooks (Perhaps) Still Hasn’t
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] 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 a…
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 us of the virtues of smaller…
The Deep and Discomforting Point of Populism (and Socialism, and Certain Sorts of Conservatism Too)
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] 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 to…
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 before, that Church, fashioned nearly two…
Sustainability in Cities that Hold Steady
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] 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 that…
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.
Dispatch from Paris
From Stephen Heiner, a Porcher in Paris: https://fleming.foundation/2015/11/paris-the-day-after/
Staying in Your Hometown
A wonderful (porchy) piece over at The Imaginative Conservative: http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2015/11/why-you-should-stay-in-your-hometown.html
Surfing into Forgetfulness
“And wicked men seek for people with whom to spend their days, and shun themselves; for they remember many a grievous deed when they are by themselves, but when they…
From St. Augustine’s Porch
Bk IV, ch. 3: But let us suppose a case of two men; for each individual man, like one letter in a language, is as it were the element of…
Jacobin Notices Anti-Capitalist Right
FPR gets a mention over in this Jacobin article by Lyle Jeremy Rubin, a PhD candidate at Rochester. He notices two things but doesn't do a very good job of distinguishing them:…
TAC Foreign Policy Conference in DC, November 4
Our friends at the American Conservative are having a conference in a few weeks in DC, about a new, less hawkish foreign policy direction for the United States. Have a look…
You, Child, are Our Bond
“And children seem to be a bond of union.” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Moved by these words of Aristotle, I write here... An Open Letter to My Child Even your father can…