Islam, Rome, and Beating America
Nathan Hitchen just published an article on the Center for a Just Society website on “Religious Liberty as a Moral…
Conservative Pessimism from Mark Steyn
A beautiful punchline. “As it’s happening, incremental decline is extremely seductive. Great powers aren’t Chad or Rwanda, where you’re sliding…
In Gratitude to High School Musicals
I spent around six hours of my day yesterday sitting in front of two shows. The first was the lavishly…
On Fences in Need of No Repair Whatsoever
The system is broken. So they all tell us. Obama won an election on it, but McCain’s rhetoric was similar….
Immortality or Lengthened Mortality? Phil Vassar and the Man’s Man
From Achilles to Obama, men have yearned to achieve immortality through great deeds that would outlive them. The former sought…
Angsters, Inc.
Are you post-evangelical? Are you postmodern? Are you post-caring? If so, a publication Adam just showed me may be for…
A Response to Orwell
George Orwell, Mark Falcoff, and Mark Mitchell are (or were) all of the opinion that when a person wields words…
In Praise of Heresy: Updated
I wrote the post below a few days ago. It seems my timing was prescient. Now the Republican Party is…
Locke: We Wear Him Proudly, But He Doesn’t Quite Fit
No time at present to comment at length, but Ivan Kenneally has some poignant thoughts on Thanksgiving over at The…
In Praise of Heresy
Edmund Burke warned that eliminating religion was impossible – the religious impulse was natural to mankind, and if formal religion…
Chesterton on Change
Kevin Staley-Joyce has a sober but provocative post over on First Things, addressing New York Times columnist Adam Liptak’s recent…
On Natural and Artificial Stimulation (or, Coffee as a Slow Beverage)
Recently, I discovered a new mixed-use development downtown. There were upscale-looking row houses lining intimate streets with wide sidewalks. The…
Education and “The Dead Hands of the Past”
Something interesting I read today, in “Between Past and Future” by Hannah Arendt: “The testament, telling the heir what will…
A Referendum on Nothing
Yesterday saw two Republicans win governorships in key states. The first was Virginia, a historically conservative state that has trended…
In Defense of Popularity
Anyone who has paid attention to the Academy Awards over the past few decades knows that Hollywood prides itself on…
Peter Pan is God
Is the future of American Christianity in the hands of perpetual children? Jessica Prol brought my attention to an upcoming…
Narcissism and Loyalty
President Obama was humbled twice this week. First, he sent the resounding message to the International Olympic Committee at Copenhagen…
A Provisional Human Construct: Truth and Beauty in the Thought of C. S. Lewis
In my previous post, I hinted that there was significance to the way in which we design our art and…
The Enemy, He Is Us
A painful anecdote: I recently re-watched the 2006 German film “The Lives of Others,” and I was moved yet again…
Political Religion and War
A few days ago, Andrew McCarthy wrote a commendably lengthy piece on democracy-building. A highlight: “Democracy hawks are another matter….