“Look. I like Ronald Reagan. But defending the right wing of your civilization from Reagan on down is like appealing to the ancient lineage of Gondor — you know, way back to Denethor’s grandfather. Three stewards in a row” (Rules, p. 230).
A Crash Course in Crashes
As everything comes unraveled more rapidly than you thought it could, perhaps your thoughts have turned to the prospect of coming to a greater understanding of stuff. The airplane is nose down ten thousand feet above the ocean, and you have now begun to reflect on where, exactly, the flight attendant said the life preservers …
It Gets Creepier
On the back of this month’s Sports Illustrated, we have as fine an example of agitprop as can be imagined.
Babylonian Exceptionalism or, Insanity Explained
Over time Nebuchadnezzar drifted into a belief in Babylonian exceptionalism. “The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30). Because of his hubris, because of his conceit, he was …
On the Attempted Defenestration of Mablog Through the Overton Window
So then first, what is this Overton Window? That window, named after Joseph “Wiki” Overton — who coined the phrase — refers to the range of ideas that are palatable, thinkable, acceptable, or otherwise within the pale, when it comes to public discourse. Outside the window, you’re just a hate-filled weirdo. In the area of …
This Crimson Carnage
I begin by saying that I think of the American flag with affection, respect and sorrow. I think of what it used to represent, what it ought to represent, and what it periodically still represents. The sorrow has to do with what our ruling elites are insisting that it must come to represent, and the …
Audio Reading of Post
Tolle, Leg It
In the aftermath of the Obergefell decision by the Supreme Court, a lot of Christian parents are reeling. They know they must do something, but what can they do? The decision was so high-handed, so arbitrary, so insolently rendered, that it would be easy to assume that there is nothing we can do about it …
With Commentary by Rabshekah
I want to see if I can tie some disparate threads together. But first, a bracing dose of Chesterton. “Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the …
Why Chesterton Doesn’t Fit in Skinny Jeans
In my review of the The Truth About Organic Foods, I had occasion to quote Chesterton, and this raised an important question in the minds of some — where do I get off quoting Chesterton in the midst of a post that, for all intents and purposes, looked to some like a valiant attempt to …
An American Drubbing
I have been addressing, from time to time, the tomfool notion of American exceptionalism. The central point I have made thus far is that the genuine exceptionalism displayed by the Founders consisted of the fact that they knew that Americans were not exceptional, which was exceptional. They built a form of government that sought to …