The Editors

Roman Polanski was arrested for the decades-old rape of a child”and a bunch of Hollywood types defended him. Old news, at this point. But the interesting thing about the case is not that some people defended him but how quickly the tide turned against his defenders. The most leftist magazines and websites in America, which had once published pieces in praise of child sex, were among the most relentless at hammering Polanski… . Continue Reading »

As we promised earlier this week, First Things is continuing to expand our range of content offerings. Today, we are adding two more new features: Spengler and The Anchoress . For the past few years our new associate editor David P. Goldman has been writing popular weekly columns for the Asia Times . . . . Continue Reading »

In the latest edition of First Things , editor Joseph Bottum discusses the future of the magazine and hints at the changes to come . Along with a revamped and redesigned website, we will be adding a range of new content offerings. Today, we are pleased to announce the first of these new features . . . . Continue Reading »

The new issue¯ First Things ’ contribution to the Spring¯has arrived at last: the first hints of new growth since the cold winter came upon us. More than hints, perhaps, for it is, in its way, as strong an issue as the magazine has ever published.There’s a new poem, for instance, . . . . Continue Reading »

Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred on unmarried couples or groups. . . . . Continue Reading »

This is war. Call it a sustained battle or campaign, if you will, but the relevant moral term is war. It is not, as some claim, a metaphorical war. Metaphorical airplanes flown by metaphorical hijackers did not crash into metaphorical buildings leaving thousands of metaphorical corpses. This is not . . . . Continue Reading »

Upon rereading the following editorial, which may be viewed as a statement of purpose and hope, there is little that we would change. What we set forth as our prejudices then are our prejudices now. We might frame a couple of items differently. After all, we have learned something over these years. . . . . Continue Reading »

Twenty-five years ago, on January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States, in what numerous constitutional scholars have called an act of raw judicial power, abolished the abortion laws of all fifty states. The news went out that the Court had settled the controversy over abortion. A . . . . Continue Reading »

The symposium on the judicial usurpation of politics has generated an intense debate about many things, as is evident in the above responses, in the letters section of this issue, and in the many commentaries appearing in other publications. Obviously, this is a debate that will continue. William . . . . Continue Reading »

Articles on “judicial arrogance” and the “judicial usurpation of power” are not new. The following symposium addresses those questions, often in fresh ways, but also moves beyond them. The symposium is, in part, an extension of the argument set forth in our May 1996 editorial, “The Ninth . . . . Continue Reading »