Editor’s note: A version of this review first appeared at the Claremont Review of Books. Charles Leerhsen’s “Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty” may be the most important baseball book in decades. It is historically significant in two respects: First, it … Continue reading
I am a Baby Boomer who grew up with Time magazine. From before I was born it arrived at our home every week. We were subscribers, and I devoured every issue. Time was solid—carefully researched and cogently written. When I … Continue reading
In predictable economic times, it makes sense—indeed it is essential—to put money aside and save for the coming rainy day. Trouble is brewing for each and every one of us. For some, it is just two appliances failing in the … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared at The American Spectator. In his speech at the Republican convention last week, Ben Carson made a statement that raised some eyebrows. “Now, one of the things that I have … Continue reading
Many of those reading this article remember The Gong Show. It ran on NBC from June 1976 to July 1978 and briefly reprised in the 1980s. It featured amateur talent, much of it rendering absurd humor. Three judges awarded ridiculous … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at ConservativeReview.com. In my previous piece in this series, I quoted a Ronald Reagan speech to CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, from February 6, 1977, where Reagan defined conservatism. Among his crucial points … Continue reading
For millennia, the ability to interpret hieroglyphics had been lost to the ages. So when Jean-Francois Champollion decoded the Rosetta Stone it was a monumental breakthrough. Since then, a “Rosetta Stone” has come to refer to anything that offers a … Continue reading
Many Millennials are finding socialism attractive—at least as presented by Bernie Sanders. This is perplexing because there is ample and dramatic evidence of how a full-fledged socialist state fails its own citizens so miserably. Witness Venezuela. Fifteen years under socialist … Continue reading
My heart aches over the stories I hear about heroin overdoses. Local fathers post stories about their sons and daughters, fatal victims of the heroin market. Police conduct raids. The illegal marketing demand continues to fund Afghanistan poppy farmers. Other … Continue reading
Five score and two years ago, Robert Frost wrote “Mending Wall,” a poem seeking to extract wisdom from stony New England soil. It begins: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” While he didn’t have Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric in mind, … Continue reading
In M*A*S*H, one of America’s longest-running TV shows, the beloved character Max Klinger dressed as a woman. Klinger hoped to get a so-called “Section 8,” which is a mental-health discharge in the military. Everyone who watched the show when it … Continue reading
I can’t believe that I’m writing an article about using the bathroom. But then, I can’t believe that at a time when our country is faced with immense challenges such as international Islamist terrorism and fiscal and monetary insanity in … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Crisis magazine.Do you remember the name Daniel Berrigan? Berrigan was a Jesuit priest well-known for his protests of the Vietnam War. He became a household name in the 1960s, along with his brother, Philip Berrigan, also a … Continue reading
With Ted Cruz having dropped out of the 2016 presidential race, there will be a string of eulogies seeking to autopsy his campaign. At least some of those critiques may hit the mark. In particular, Cruz’s campaign strategy went awry … Continue reading
There is much talk and action right now on the issue of a minimum or “just” wage. Typically, those who favor raising the minimum wage tend to the liberal camp. However, some of those who want to raise the minimum … Continue reading
Students at Indiana University-Bloomington recently went into panic mode at the sight of a Dominican friar, who they mistook for a Ku Klux Klan member. Funny? Yes, but also sad. It is a further sign of the state of our universities, and … Continue reading
“The mob is the mother of tyrants.” –Diogenes of Sinope In late August 1968, two months after an assassin killed presidential candidate Senator Robert Kennedy and shortly after Republicans nominated Richard Nixon for president, the Democrats gathered in Chicago to pick … Continue reading
With Donald Trump now such a prominent voice, many of us are confronted with the necessity of explaining him and his behavior to our children. I recently wrote of one such moment. I was watching a Republican presidential debate as … Continue reading
HGTV has captured the attention of millions of devoted followers with its widely popular, “Fixer Upper,” a show about Chip and Joanna Gaines, a cowboy carpenter and his naturally beautiful designer wife in Waco, Texas. Chip and Joanna turn their … Continue reading
I was watching a Republican presidential debate as my eight-year-old, John, sat next to me. Donald Trump, the front-runner, looked left and ripped Ted Cruz as a “liar” before seamlessly pivoting right and skewering Marco Rubio as a “sweating choke … Continue reading
