Barack Obama 19
Group Decisionmaking and Individual Responsibility
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…
The Rhetoric of War Powers
I suppose we have the Constitution we deserve--but we could fight for the one we had.
What Women Voters Want
If this is feminism, then pass me the patriarchy, please.
Historian on the Debate
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…
What’s Wrong With Iowa? (A Transplanted Professor Knows)
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.
Bradley Manning, and my Biggest Disappointment in Obama (Yet)
[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…
Of Dragons and Crescents
A revised foreign policy true to the principles of the Porch should turn the present one upside down.
Bottom of the Barrel
Here is your opportunity to name the worst-ever occupant of the White House.
Islam and America: The President’s Fictitious History
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…
Gutshot in the Gulf: The Information Age Springs a Definitive Leak
This leak at the bottom of the sea is a mirror held up to our uncomprehending selves.
Progressive Liberalism Or: How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Big Government
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…
This is My Son
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…
Nation at the Crossroads
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…
Letter from a Traditional Conservative
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…
Feed Fish to the Leviathan
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…
We’re Only Making Plans for Nigel
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…
David Brooks Does (In) Edmund Burke
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…
What our Hands Have Wrought
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…
A Republic of Front Porches
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…