Caleb Stegall
Caleb Stegall lives in Jefferson County, Kansas.
Articles by Caleb Stegall
Commencement Address
Take heart though, for most of your triumphs, large and small, lie in front of you as well. Which is just to say that you stand at a grand beginning,…
Blog Flu
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS.* Recently on this virtual stoop, questions have arisen about the "tone" of discussion generally, and particularly in the comment section (I refuse the neologism "combox" as an ugly stain…
The Sacrament of Death
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…
Practicing the Discipline of Place
My "Place" (Photo by AMS) JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS. If you think I'm reprinting yet another old essay because I'm too lazy or beset to keep up with my bettors on…
Larison on Decentralism
A thoughtful examination of the future of conservative decentralism from Dan Larison (and his commentors) which relates pretty closely to several of the discussion threads from today and deserves some response from…
Farm Stories: The Flag of Rough Branch
Drilling with the Pitchfork (photo by AMS) JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS. The call came from the neighbor yesterday at about four in the afternoon. Your cows are out. Damn! I was…
A Call to Arms
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS. The review below was first published in the Intercollegiate Review in the fall of 2006. Look Homeward, America was my first introduction to the work of the…
On Passing Water and other Spiritual Considerations
The Bar Jester is nearly as funny as Jeremy's limp cigar and Carrie Nation look of shocked indignation at the beverage he has just been served. And this bit By my…
Price, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS.* In 1947, two titans of 20th-century economic theory, Ludwig von Mises and Wilhelm Röpke, met in Röpke's home of Geneva, Switzerland. During the war, the Genevan fathers coped…
Life Amid the Suicide Machines
JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS. In small town America, business owners get to sponsor everything from the high school wrestling team to the "pride committee" chili cook off. One of the events…
I Did Taste!
Under consideration: Michael Pollan, The Omnivor's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Penguin (2006), 464 pages; and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, Penguin (2008), 256 pages.* JEFFERSON…