Movie dads
Some of you may enjoy my latest essay at Image, about fathers in movies. Here’s an excerpt: “I want to explain that when you’ve got
Hunting dogs
“When the law is against you,” goes the adage, “argue the facts. When the facts are against you, argue the law. When both the facts
Listing
If you were to write down the names of everyone you trust — truly trust — what size paper would you need? I needed the
The Art of Disappointment
Some of you may like my latest essay at Image. Others of you may hate it, depending on your view of property rights, downsizing, and
The Christianity of Chris
This is not one of those reflections on the death of Christopher Hitchens, in which the writer labors to bolt his meager little meteor to
Professorial logic
There are many plausible explanations for why men commit nearly all murders and start most wars. It could be that we’re just hard-wired to smash
A boy grows
Yesterday was Stephen Caleb’s birthday. He’s twelve, and there are now only 364 days between him and the onset of teenagerism, which I associate —
On the vice of chimps with shotguns
“Voting is a universal right.” This wisdom from Victor Sanchez, president of the United States Student Association, explaining his efforts to get more college students
On the Virtue of Hemlock
In his recent Boston Review essay, philosophy professor Carlos Fraenkel manages the neat trick of advocating a sensible position — that high-school students should be
More than bread
When we don’t think we can control some things we take charge of what we can. This is why the functionary fastidiously maintains a constant
On the virtues of snake-killing
Some of you know about my long-running battles with snakes. You’ll understand, therefore, why I so appreciate Jonah Goldberg’s jeremiad against snake-enabling military-industrial complexes, and
Almost the End of the World
This weekend I read Daniel J. Flynn’s wonderful piece on Ray Bradbury in The American Conservative. I hope my friends who are: a) not American,
