Barack Obama 19

Part of the pushback against the notion that groups can make decisions comes from the fear that we already use groups to absolve ourselves of individual responsibility. James Buchanan made…

I suppose we have the Constitution we deserve--but we could fight for the one we had.

If this is feminism, then pass me the patriarchy, please.

The blogosphere is filled with opinions on last night's debate between the president and the challenger. The chattering classes has gotten a whole lot larger. Unless you are a historian…

If you think you may legitimately enjoy the physical benefits of a place while dwelling in the airy regions of judgment above it, you’d better think again.

[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Wichita, KS Let me make two things clear: first, all things considered, I still think Barack Obama has been, and remains, a pretty decent president--certainly…

A revised foreign policy true to the principles of the Porch should turn the present one upside down.

Here is your opportunity to name the worst-ever occupant of the White House.

It is characteristic of the tyrant, however, that he thinks he can get away with lies in the sense that no one will contradict them even when his statements are…

This leak at the bottom of the sea is a mirror held up to our uncomprehending selves.

American Liberalism:  An Interpretation for Our Time by John McGowan.  (Chapel Hill:  The University of North Carolina Press, 2007). Moorpark, CA. If the current administration is liberal, it matters what kind…

Devon, PA.  This is my son.  As you see him here, he has been alive for just about one-hundred-forty days and has, this and other ultrasound images suggest, my nose…

RINGOES, NJ. The world is hunkered down. For some months now we have been holding our collective breath, waiting to see if the financial meltdown is going to stabilize or…

Devon, PA.  Upon reading an essay of Patrick Deneen's, a close and dear relative recently wrote me, protesting the uselessness of the terms "liberal" and "conservative."  They are simplifying terms, and inadequate…

Devon, PA.  Stanley Fish has taken up a lot of public space during his career, but never has he darkened the depths in such monstrous fashion as he does in…

ITEM: President Obama Calls for Longer School Day, Public Education for Toddlers, & the Abolition of Summer Vacation RESPONSE: The fire captain in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: “Heredity and environment…

SOUTH BEND, IN. Edmund Burke's reputation has suffered much among conservatives during the past few years. Russell Kirk, of course, held him up as an exemplary genius of the conservative…

RINGOES, NJ. In the fall of 2008, Americans were confronted with frightening news. The financial world was, the experts warned, teetering on the brink of disaster. Politicians from both parties…

ALEXANDRIA, VA. Names are important, and few can be more significant than what a new publication calls itself. Perhaps at first greeting the name will give pause, causing the new…