Uncategorized 897
Localism in Britain
Daniel Hannan (Member of the European Parliament for South-East England) sees the beginning of a localist revolution. We've still got a very long way to go, of course. But give…
The Problem of Undertheorized Agrarianism in Most Actually Argued Localism
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] That's a terrible title for this post, I know. But hopefully it'll make sense, if you actually make it to the end. First of all,…
Localist Philanthropy
Philanthropy Daily has an interesting piece arguing that "philanthropy is at its best when it leverages local resources." See how this works in one California county.
Fresh Water (Now at a Special Discount Price)!
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Well, this is rather fascinating: here we have a video of the Austrian businessman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who from 1997 until 2008 was CEO of Nestlé…
Tonight, in Boston
Just a few hours ago Boston FBI special agent Richard DesLauriers held a press conference in that city to present two security camera films of what the government is calling suspects…
Bigger is Better
Comes the report from the Grey Lady that the Fed's habit of pumping obscene amounts of money into the economy has the effect of increasing the profits of large companies…
Tocqueville for Tax Day
It seems if despotism came to be established in the democratic nations of our day...it would be more extensive and milder, and it would degrade men without tormenting them....I see…
Capital Offense
Washington, DC I’ve been spending my semester in exile in our nation’s capital. My apartment is in Arlington, on a ridge overlooking the city. From that spot I have a…
Mitchell Video: Human Scale and Humane Politics
Here's a link to the video of my talk at Villanova. Thanks to James Matthew Wilson and Douglas Minson for making it such an enjoyable time.
Some Big Capitalists Do It Right
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] From what I can tell, most businesses, once they get to a certain size, cannot avoid be lured into the American conviction that you must…
The Greenest Mountains
In the words of Frank Bryan, the University of Vermont professor whose Real Democracy is the best book ever published on the vital New England practice of town meeting, “Vermont’s…
How to Lose a Republic
Long before our own time, the customs of our ancestors moulded admirable men, and in turn these eminent men upheld the ways and institutions of their forebears. Our age, however,…
…And Marry Young.
Mark Mitchell has recently posted about marrying young. This becomes a topic of conversation, of course, when no one is doing it. I find in my conversations with students that…
Time To Stop Hooking Up
Donna Freitas writes in The Washington Post about the sorrows, travails, and confusions of the hook-up culture (if it can be called such). I am reminded when reading her article…
Biometric ID Cards Coming Your Way (Maybe)
Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham are pushing for national biometric ID cards as part of their comprehensive immigration reform plan. Writing an opinion piece in The Washington Post, the senators…
Neighbor Day
A friend sent this link announcing "NeighborDay." Here's a description: It’s crazy how few of us know our neighbors: their names, their phone numbers, what they’re about. The explosion of…
Ayn Rand Called C.S. Lewis an “Abysmal Bastard”
First Things has a piece on Ayn Rand's marginalia in her copy of The Abolition of Man. Ayn Rand was no fan of C.S. Lewis. She called the famous apologist an…
At only $8000, A Real Bargain
If this isn't the height of decadence I don't know what is: Putting aside those with fibromyalgia, how could anyone justify this purchase? Is it free "white glove" installation? Are…
Fragility and Scale
There is an interesting interview over at Reason with Nassim Taleb, author of Black Swan, a book which presciently described the economic disorder preceding the financial collapse. I haven't read the book,…
Solidarity Hall Asks Some Questions of George Weigel
Solidarity Hall is a website interested in formulating new visions for civil society. Their initial project is an attempt to recover communitarian ideas from thinkers like G.K. Chesterton, Jane Jacobs,…
See You at the Movies…
Herewith the spanking-new trailer for Copperhead, which Ron Maxwell (Gettysburg) directed and yrs truly scripted from a novella by the great novelist of Upstate New York--no, not J.F. Cooper but…
Men of the World, Pick Up Your Brooms
Alexandra Bradner, a philosophy professor at the University of Kentucky, has a piece at The Atlantic on women's "second shifts." Noting that women, mothers in particular, are both "important" and "exploited,"…
Farming without Dirt (and with fish)
Here is an article describing a method of producing vegetation and fish in a symbiotic relationship all without dirt. Could this, as the title of the article suggests, revolutionize the…