Stefan McDaniel

Britain’s House of Lords expelled most of its hereditary lords in 1999. This may well have been a very good thing on balance, but as The Economist shows , it did have the regrettable effect of making regions outside of London “more marginalized than ever.” Those old dukes may have . . . . Continue Reading »

It is good to be skeptical of Sen. Obama’s promise to lead this country beyond the “old divisions,” as though the fierce partisanship of, say, the Culture Wars were fueled by pure spite. As many commentators have said, this “beyondism” is itself just another partisan . . . . Continue Reading »

“Vengeance is mine”, saith the Lord—but this does not prevent His working through fully conscious secondary causes. One inspired avenging angel tricked would-be scammers in Nigeria into re-enacting the Monty Python “Dead Parrot” sketch. The result is a hilarious object . . . . Continue Reading »

Thomas Jefferson and I apparently think alike. A couple of weeks ago I argued that Sarah Palin was offering a much-needed challenge to the over-educated “wonks” who think themselves entitled to rule. In the Weekly Standard , the great Reagan biographer Steven Hayward writes that . . . . Continue Reading »

In my experience, the modern elite university is an intellectual wasteland. Most students are just trying to get job security, and insofar as they can be said to have ethical or philosophical views, they are uncritical “preference” utilitarians of a decidedly scientistic cast of mind. . . . . Continue Reading »

without a taste of The Onion . . . . . Continue Reading »

Rev. Hot Pants is only one sign that the Anglican communion is in a bit of trouble. Even casual readers will know that Anglicans have spent the past several years trying to avert an all-too-possible schism between the moral and theological “liberals” and the “conservatives.” . . . . Continue Reading »

Last week I said that politics was a practical affair, for which people with ordinary practical experience were usually better qualified than theoreticians. The upshot was that Sarah Palin’s past as a mother and PTA member was nothing to sniff at. This Mail Online article on the PTA suggests . . . . Continue Reading »

Please, pray for England . . . . . Continue Reading »

If Barack Obama loses the presidential election, some say , the youth will never get over it. They will lose faith in politics. This prediction is meant to be grim, but I think it among the better reasons to hope Barack Obama loses. Not to trade in tired truisms, but I must repeat what seems to me . . . . Continue Reading »