Trump’s Doctrine: ‘Principled Realism’ Comes to the Fore
Congress requires every administration to submit an outline of its national security strategy. This is usually a behind-the-scenes exercise, carried out by the national security […]
Why I Have Given Up on Trumpism
I have given up on Trumpism. I realize this declaration will come as a surprise to some readers. I should mention, therefore, that it is […]
Nothing Burger With Wheeze
Given the ocean of blaring red type with which the Drudge Report greeted the news of the indictment of Paul Manafort and Richard Gates on […]
Yes, Trump is Winning
Last week, I went to a dinner event at social club of which I am a member but rarely patronize. You will guess why when […]
Constitution Day
As we write, the two-hundred-and-thirtieth anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution of the United States just passed. The holiday, celebrated on or about September 17 […]
Why Trump’s U.N. Speech Was a Triumph
Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed yet again why he is the most robust president since Ronald Reagan. Following up on his brilliant speeches before a […]
The Un-P.C. Reason for Labor Day
Ah, Labor Day! For many, this national holiday is chiefly a bittersweet celebratory marker: a line in the sand (preferably at some winsome beach) between […]
Inebriates of Virtue
At Yale, where censorship never sleeps, the Committee of Public Safety—no, wait, that was Robespierre’s plaything. Yale’s new bureaucracy is called the “Committee on Art […]
While They Rage, Trump Builds
What’s the highest pleasure known to man? Christian theologians talk about the visio beatifica, the “beatific vision” of God. Alas, that communion is granted to […]
America: Four Possible Futures
Back in August 2016, I was pleased to have been able to amaze the world with an important literary discovery: a hitherto unknown manuscript by […]
The Pakistani Hackers Working for the DNC
At last, I am in a position to help the New York Times. It’s a good feeling. As anyone who has stumbled upon their website […]
The Russia House: Pope or Kafka?
Not the Pope, Francis the anti-American environmentalist Jesuit. No, I mean Alex, the 18th-century English poet. Here’s my question: Is the whole Russia-meddled-in-U.S.-election/Donald-Trump-colluded-with-Putin-to-snatch-the-presidency-from-its-rightful-owner,-H.-Clinton narrative an […]
Donald Trump as Pericles
I have no idea who wrote the rousing speech that Donald Trump delivered Thursday in Warsaw. But I think I know who might have provided […]
Trump Provokes CNN’s Self-Immolation, America Relieved
A couple of weeks ago in this space, I speculated that CNN, the Crackpot News Network, had reached the terminal stage of malevolent implausibility. “[I]t […]
Potemkin Progressivism
It often has been observed that philosophy really got going when people started thinking seriously about the distinction between appearance, on the one hand, and […]
Trumping the Narrative
The Narrative is partly like quicksand. If you fall into it, struggling will hasten your envelopment and death. Best to relax, take some deep breaths, […]
“Pittsburgh Not Paris” Triggers the Eco-Nuts
I have only now stopped laughing. I was going to write about President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord […]
Populism, X: The imperative of freedom
It is curious how certain words accumulate a nimbus of positive associations while others, semantically just as innocuous, wind up shouldering a portfolio of bad […]
Lack of Judicial Impartiality Threatens Rule of Law
Why do judges wear black robes? It’s a question few judges today seem to be asking themselves. It certainly appears not to have troubled the mind […]
The Delusional Press for Power of the Anti-Trump Crowd
Over the last few years, I have several times had occasion to cite Charles Mackay’s 19th-century classic Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. […]