In the last few months I’ve been stumbling across statements in Orbis, The American Conservative, and in other magazines for which I’m still allowed to write to the effect that the neoconservatives are falling from power. Although this group is no longer as prominently represented in W’s collapsing administration as they once were, there is no indication that they are shrinking … [Read More]

What is the life of a 17-year-old worth? Two stories caught my eye today—one from the Rockford Register Star, the newspaper of my adopted hometown of Rockford, Illinois, and one from the Grand Haven Tribune, which I grew up reading in Spring Lake, Michigan.  Each is the story of a young man who “volunteered to serve his country.”  One, Christopher D. … [Read More]

CBS News covers the presidential contest as if it were a horse race, and here’s their take on the dark horse, Ron Paul, who is clearly gaining on the anointed “front-runners”: “Republican Ron Paul is lauded in many corners of the Internet for his libertarian views. Paul’s supporters often stuff the electronic ballot box of online polls, making sure the House … [Read More]

Here is a Youtube video of part of my speech at the Ron Paul rally in Mountain View, California, held this past weekend. The camera work is shaky, and completely collapses at the end, but just to give you the flavor: Here‘s the full text. My first crowd estimate was around 600, but this video panning the crowd clearly shows it … [Read More]

The New Republic is about the last place anyone would look for a fair reading of traditionalist conservatism. The magazine’s review pages are often outstanding, with such contributors as American historian Gordon S. Wood and classicist Peter Green, and its exposes of Republican crooks can provide almost as much satisfaction to principled conservatives as to liberals. But let’s be clear: … [Read More]

The neocons over at National Review are usually so boring that one can barely stand to read their blog, “The Corner,” but the inimitable John Derbyshire gives us a reason to peruse that otherwise brain-dead site. Here‘s his latest heresy: “HELP ME GET BACK TO THE RIGHT (with apologies to Sammi Smith and Kris Kristofferson) Take the W from my car. … [Read More]

Last week, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) released a remarkable little document that could prove nearly as important as the motu proprio liberalizing the use of the Traditional Latin Mass.  Despite some deliberately provocative reporting by the AP and others, “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church” hasn’t made much … [Read More]

By Paris, I can reveal, I mean Miss Paris Hilton, though why should so extraordinary a reminiscence visit me all of a sudden is something of a puzzle. The most likely explanation is that I have gone temporarily soft in the head as a result of reviewing Tina Brown’s biography of the Princess of Wales for Chronicles magazine. The literary editor … [Read More]

A very good friend of mine, an older woman but not old, is what you might call a Country Club Republican. She is not an "intellectual" or a rigorously logical person. On the other hand, she is not a stupid or an uncultured individual. To the contrary, she attends the Opera at Lincoln Center, a world about which I know very … [Read More]

Here is the text of a speech I just gave at a Ron Paul for President rally in Mountain View, California. A good 600 people showed up in the middle of a park next to Google headquarters. Ron was there, and he gave a great talk: the crowd was enthusiastic, it was a sunny day, and a good time was had … [Read More]