Tom Tancredo Passes the Blunt

Tom Tancredo promised to publicly smoke pot if Colorado’s legalization initiative passed. But now, after the initiative did indeed pass, he’s backing out, supposedly because his wife and grandkids were so outraged.  All of which brings up the question: why do Tancredo’s wife and grandkids care if he smokes pot? More to the point: why …

What’s Wrong with the March for Life?

On Friday, I took advantage of being up in Washington, DC and attended the March for Life. I had previously attended the march in 2011- my first year in DC- but, for whatever reason, I was more personally affected by this year’s march than I had been two years prior, and not just for the …

NAACP, Soda Bans, and the Confusion of Rod Dreher

Rod Dreher opposes Mayor Bloomberg’s New York soda ban. But, in a post at the American Conservative, Dreher is outraged that the NAACP thinks of the ban as a “civil rights issue.” That is, the NAACP points out that the ban would disparately harm minority convenience-store owners—and to Dreher, this makes them “prostitutes” in the pocket …

Robert Nisbet on Abortion

The forty-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade was on Tuesday. With all the cliched left-right posturing that the abortion controversy engendered, it is instructive to read the great conservative sociologist Robert Nisbet’s thoughts on the subject. Nisbet was one of the leading conservative intellectuals of the last century and most famously argued that the decline of …

In Defense of the Libertines

Lots of people, including people on this blog, distinguish between “libertarianism” and “libertinism.” The former, they say, can be okay, as long as it is undergirded by conservative principles. The latter, however, is almost always denounced. So it was a refreshing change of pace when I came across this interview with Thaddeus Russell, a libertarianish …

On Education (again)

So, my previous post was very ranty and not all that helpful in developing and driving the discussion forward. In its self-indulgence, I suppose I out myself as a wanna-be academic. Or blogger. So, let me take this post to provide a more straightforward position. I agree with what one reader, Lanny, said in response …

Conservatives, Homeschooling and Social Science Normality

In his response to my remarks about homeschooling, Ben has taken the debate into a direction and sophistication that is welcome. I hope my response can meet him at this new standard he has set. I acknowledge that the original essay to which Ben is responding leaves much unstated and too many assumptions implicit rather …

Downton Abbey: A lesson for us all

Aristocracy has a pretty bad rap, especially in our progressive, egalitarian, and “forward-looking” American democracy.  The very word aristocracy connotes exploitation, absurd social construction, and just plain unfairness.  To go around parading the ideals of aristocracy would be no less evil than to call for a return to chattel slavery, and to some, it would …

In Defense of Homeschooling

My colleague Joe Ptak has written a post linking homeschooling to the rise of cultural pluralism and the erosion of the civic culture, which he argues leads to a “culture of relativism.” Once you start homeschooling, according to Joe, you threaten the stability of a society and open the door to “anarchic relativism.” It’s an …

The NRA Was Right About Obama

The NRA’s new ad about Obama’s children has been getting a lot of attention. Unfortunately, most of the criticism—e.g., on whether it is good form to talk about the president’s children or whether it is in fact true that Sasha and Malia’s school employs armed guards—misses the important point. That is: whether we’re turning into …

. . . Then Why Be Conservative?

In his defense of conservatism and radical change (below), Edmund Babbitt writes: [C]onservatism is cautious about attempts to reform political society and generally favors limited and incremental rather than drastic and immediate change. . .  Nevertheless, conservatives recognize that uneasiness about change does not translate into adamant and unqualified opposition to all attempts at improvement—even …

The Conservative Case for Radical Change

The disastrous American fiscal and financial practices that have produced massive annual budget deficits, an enormous national debt, and the increasing certainty of rising interest rates, inflation, and default raise the important question of the desirability and necessity of significant policy change.  It is commonly argued by both self-styled conservatives and critics of conservatism that …

Homeschooling and a Culture of Relativism

Chuck O’Shea has written a provocative post in support of the ascendance of homeschooling in the United States. While I don’t take issue with the article he quotes, I disagree a bit with the reasons he gives as to its importance. His reasons are positive. I will, briefly, provide contrasting (negative) reasons that highlight the …

Homeschooling on the Rise

This story is a few weeks old, but quite interesting. Homeschooling is on the rise, according to the Economist. Three decades ago home schooling was illegal in 30 states. It was considered a fringe phenomenon, pursued by cranks, and parents who tried it were often persecuted and sometimes jailed. Today it is legal everywhere, and …

Strike blows against militarism and hollywood

In a blow against militarism and for restraint – for conservatism – the White House has responded to a petition to begin construction of a Death Star with a “no.”  That’s probably a good thing…

Political Science, Theory and Philosophy

Over at the duck of minerva blog, there have been a few responses (and responses to responses to a recent paper written by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (whose blog can be read here). The topic of the paper is outside of the scope of the normal stuff we discuss on the blog – the …

Ted Cruz’s Neoconservative Boilerplate

When Ted Cruz ran for the Senate, he got the endorsements of Ron and Rand Paul and the Paul-inspired Young Americans for Liberty. Compared to Ron Paul, Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel’s foreign policy is a pretty boring, if sensible enough, centrism. But now, in a USA Today op-ed, Senator Cruz denounces Hagel’s foreign policy …

Blessed are Those Who Win Elections, for They Will Be First in the Kingdom of Heaven

“And I will give children to be their princes, and the effeminate shall rule over them.”- Is. 3:4 For some reason, Jesus never said this about elections. There are plenty of reasons why He never said such a thing, but one is that Jesus’ followers were to set a brilliant example of just the type …

The Perils of Top-Down Reform

Being both a law student and a libertarian, I often wonder what I can do to advance libertarian ideals once I start practicing law. And, broadly, I see two basic methods for libertarian legal reform. The first is the “top down” approach of Randy Barnett and the Institute for Justice, which tries to persuade judges …

Google Earth and North Korean Prison Camps

Now this is fascinating. Google Earth has visually revealed the network of North Korean prison camps. Google, a company that I’m a little wary about after Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt visited North Korea this week, seems to have inadvertently revealed a heinous regime for the hell-hole it is. Not that too many people doubted …

Thoughts on Burlington, Vermont’s Assault Weapons Ban

As political pundits continue to debate whether the President will push for more gun control in the wake of the Newtown shooting, the City Council in Burlington, Vermont has moved ahead with a proposal to ban assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Now, like many conservatives (including at least a few who write for this blog) …

Honey Boo Boo’s Cri de Coeur

I have been thinking about writing a blog post about Alana Thompson, better known as Honey Boo Boo, for some time now.  What I’ve realized is that Alana Thompson can only be saved by you and me.  I think a lot of people know the show is horrible, but they watch it, only ironically of …

5 Arguments We Should Abandon in 2013 (But Probably Won’t)

2012 was a good year for bad arguments. Here’s a list of the five worst arguments of 2012, and what is wrong with them. 1.  Obama won the election fair and square, so now we should let him carry out his mandate. Most people agree that politics should be about pursuing policies that are likely …