A few weeks ago there was a flurry of concern over the possibility of daughters being drafted for combat roles. Now that women have been cleared for combat duty by the Pentagon, all that is now necessary for that monstrosity to happen is for us to abandon our commitment to an all-volunteer military. But this …
Gun Ownership As Civic Virtue
A few posts ago, I mentioned in passing that gun ownership was not a sin, not a vice, and was in fact a virtue. This generated a few questions, which I thought I ought to address in a separate post. So here goes. The first issue concerns what is meant by “virtue.” Do I mean …
That Will Be Soon Enough
Lest it be misunderstood, I wanted to follow up on my post about the propriety of certain kinds of arguments in the immediate aftermath of something like the Connecticut tragedy. The issue is not relevance, but demeanor and spirit, in this case measured by timing. The issue is not whether you are right, but whether …
Markets, Free and Rigged
I have a lot to say about this, and will no doubt be getting into much more of it in the months to come, but for the present let me just say what it is I have a lot to say about. I say this so that those Christians who think that Romans 13 was …
Courage and Brains Both
I was asked this morning if I was going to say anything about the secession petitions that have been filed at the White House, and I realized I needed to. I have clearly been remiss. Some who thought I have never heard of a secession proposal that I wouldn’t like might have been wondering what …
Just Learn Yer Lesson, Woodja?
Since Reagan, the GOP nominees have been Bush I (88), [Bush I] (92), [Dole] (96), Bush II (00), Bush II (04), [McCain] (08), and [Romney] (12). And yet I feel the takeaway lesson from this last election (that many will urge upon us) is that the GOP has to stop nominating so many far right …
Cool Your Baby Jets?
I posted last night on the Petraeus marvel, which got bumped down the page. If you missed it, you can catch up with it here. Keep in mind that we are not speculating about a possible cover-up from a standing start. Remember that for those who have been following the story, there has been a …
Eyes Like Prawns
So then, the director of the CIA has resigned because of an extra-marital affair, and has done this resignation deed the week before he was slated to testify before Congress on that Benghazi business, which was already a dog’s breakfast sort of affair, and do you think that anybody will be curious as to how …
A Small Survival Kit
Here are two more things for us to think about for the next four years. And by “think about” I mean “learn more a lot more about.” The first thing is to learn how narratives are formed and sustained. The night of the election, Nancy and I went to a production of Annie (that one …
Patron Saint of Bipartisanship
A central issue for us as Americans in the aftermath is found in the prophet Jeremiah: “An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?” …