Introduction: Whichever apprentice angel it was who was tasked to write out the rough script for this last week or so has been warned repeatedly. Twice the script was sent back with red ink all over it, and “too contrived” scribbled in the margin, but then finally the decision was made to just go with …
Donald Trump, the March for Life, and Your 2020 Vote
Introduction: In many ways, the ground appears to be shifting beneath our feet. We are not only alive in tumultuous times, we are alive in very strange times. Given how bizarre things have become, ...
Assemblin’, Carryin’, n’ Sayin’ Stuff
Introduction: So last Monday there was a huge rally in Virginia to protest the declared intentions of Gov. Ralph “Blackie” Northam regarding guns. The rally was supposed to erupt into World War III, or maybe that was Iran, but anyway really bad stuff was going to happen. We were promised that really bad stuff was …
Safeguards Schmafeguards
Introduction: I just finished reading Ball of Collusion by Andrew McCarthy, and what a grim treat that was. McCarthy walks us through the entire Russia collusion story that has been wound ...
Suleimani and the Surly Wolverine
Introduction: So the Iranian general Suleimani was taken out by an American missile a few days ago, and this has resulted in a good deal of agitated discussion. And there is a pressing temptation, whenever things like this are done, for all the participants in our public life to default to their factory settings. Conservatives …
Suppose for Just a Moment That Trump Takes It Walking Away
Introduction: We do not yet know if this is what will happen, but we should at least know that this is what we should be bracing for. I know, it is almost a year until the voting in the general election happens, and I also know that these months could be a political eternity. All …
Where Cain Got His Wife, and Other Issues Related to the 2020 Election
Introduction: There is a difference between an argument with premises and a conclusion, on the one hand, and an argument with loud voices and no prospect of resolution on the other. Whenever someone is simply committed to their position, facts be damned, it is probably the wisest course of action to save your breath for …
Due Process for a Scavenger Landfill Dog
Introduction: So I would like to take a few moments to write about the Trump impeachment fiasco, and to do so without actually talking about Trump himself, or his character, or his tweets, or his hair. For the sake of the argument, allow me to grant all the emotional distaste that your righteous spleen might …
Unforgiven Sin as the Key to Understanding Modern Politics
Introduction: Our central political problem today is that nobody has any idea of how to drain the vast reservoir of guilt that has been slowly and steadily growing for the last half century or so. It is now a massive reservoir, and all of us are living downstream from the towering dam of our constitutional …
Boris, Brexit and Great Balls of Fire
Introduction: To hear some people talk about it, the rambunctious state of politics in the English-speaking world is merely about the various presenting issues—as in, whatever the next vote is going to be about. And of course, in some sense we have to grant that the issue, whatever it is, is the issue. But the …