Fond of beer in swarthy nooks, but happiest among his books. Change happens very quickly these days, and it has always interested me that people born in the same year as me are (more or less) the youngest ones to remember life without the Internet. The younger siblings of friends have no experience, in particular, of being computer literate while not … [Read More]

We’ve had so much grim news since Christmas past, The flourishing of Takimag is one of the few bits of tangible good news to which I can cling as winter sets in. In my capacity as the site’s designated autobiographical humor columnist—every publication has one; NR’s is Ramesh Ponnuru— I give thanks to our noble patron, Taki for his generous … [Read More]

Tough times bring out the best in us, as people like to say.  People say a lot of things.  From my personal experience, mankind responds to catastrophe very unevenly.  That can-do, community spirit that brings folks together to roll up their sleeves and solve a problem can yield a hardy band of men to raise a barn—or form an extremist political … [Read More]

Finally, someone has worked up the courage to say it. We’ve all been thinking it. It’s the soothing mantra we repeat while sitting in drive-time traffic, a petition we send up to the God of Battles with each breath like the Jesus Prayer, an invitation we whisper across the pillow as a prologue to a long night of lovin’.   Kill … [Read More]

Last week it dawned on me while listening to the two major presidential candidates talk about abortion that their topic meant about as much to them as river boat gambling. Like having gambling facilities placed on the edge of a river from whose activities the state can then draw revenues, the politics of abortion means a lot for some groups, especially … [Read More]

As someone who originally got engaged in politics because of the Life issue, it might sound strange that I am desperately eager for the issue to be rendered moot. Or at least non-partisan. I am always happy, for instance, when pro-life Democrats win—as a good one did recently in my beloved 2nd home, Louisiana. Best of all, he beat Woody Jenkins, … [Read More]