Despite Jeff Bezos's libertarian ideology, Amazon has used governmental privilege to grow to a massive scale, and has had a disastrous effect on American life, as Alec MacGillis shows in Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America.
New College of Florida’s Disastrous Stanley Fish Indulgence
Stanley Fish’s promotion of Judith Butler shows how well-meaning but muddled liberals end up protecting our captured institutions from democratic discourse and accountability, often in the name of “defending democracy.”
The Vienna Philharmonic’s Excellence Proves Europe Is Doing Something Right
Contrary to the wishes of some American critics, the orchestra still chooses its performers through blind auditions, testing only for musical excellence and scorning DEI considerations.
Mahmoud Khalil and the Red-Green Assault on American Sovereignty
The drama over Khalil’s arrest and detention is not really about Khalil but about sovereignty of the United States over its borders.
Good News, Illegals: There’s an App for Self-Deportation Now
The Trump administration is redesigning the Biden administration’s infamous CBP One phone app that facilitated illegal immigration into an instrument for self-deportation.
Immoral Cultural Arbiters
America’s culture is damaged not so much by the low standards of the entertainment industry as it is by the calculated strategy of anointing these vandals as moral authorities.
Bhattacharya’s Confirmation Hearing Shows Why the NIH Needs Reform
If America is serious about reversing the chronic disease epidemic and restoring public trust in science, confirming Jay Bhattacharya as NIH director is not just the right move—it’s essential.
What We Are Reading: April 2025
Short reviews of "The American Cinema" by Andrew Sarris, and "Ressentiment" by Max Scheler.
The Wannabe Revolutionary Is No Great Man of History
Luigi Mangione has become a cultlike figure to certain segments of both the revolutionary left and right. But even by the standards of these deluded people, he is a fraud.
Elon Musk’s Bleak House-Cleaning
Elon Musk and his band of DOGErs have exposed those in government who are not working in the interest of the American people but have their attentions turned elsewhere.
The Spirited Right Must Unite Around Consent
It will not do for the right to make lazy appeals to tradition when the American tradition now includes a long history of support for the administrative state.
Dealmaker, Peacemaker, President
President Trump understands that American foreign policy is rooted in interests before values.
Can Donald Trump Win a Trade War?
Good economic policy calls for a cool head, and Wall Street fears the president is letting his passions set the nation on a dangerous course.
What Kash Patel Will Find in the Kavanaugh FBI File
Many of the same characters involved in lawfare against President Trump are implicated in the untruthful ambush of me and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Steve Bannon Wants America to Ditch China—That Won’t Happen
The U.S. is not in a position to do what Bannon asks, but we can negotiate better terms and regain control of our trade and manufacturing policy.
The Censorious American Right
The trick of identifying those on the uncooperative right as being “woke right” or leftists in disguise is deployed for no other reason than to keep us out of the conversation.
Gay Surrogacy Is an Indescribable Evil
Children are not commodities to be bought and sold on the open market to appease the latest degeneracies foisted upon us by the LGBTQ mob.
The Democratic Fork in the Road and the Woke Repudiation Imperative
Will Democrats get the memo, or will they continue down the path of woke irrelevancy?
America First: Settling the War in Ukraine
In putting America first, President Trump is not aligning with Russia but with what is best for our people and the world.
On the Trump-Churchill Comparison
Looked at from another perspective, the comparison is more apt than some may see … but it is not as favorable to Churchill as they imagine.
Fine Young Cannibals
A case where an actual cannibal was ruled not guilty by reason of insanity, released from custody, and released has its roots in our system of white coat supremacy.
The Lawsuit Coup
Letitia James and 18 other attorneys general try to torpedo DOGE and tie the Trump administration up in court.
Trump Is No FDR … and Zelensky Is No Churchill
The president is a much more honest broker than Roosevelt was, and the Ukrainian dictator is no hero.
Europe’s Decline Was a Choice
Europe took a 30-year vacation from history and can’t correct course with its current leadership.
Richard Dawkins’ Ukraine Hypocrisy
Dawkins denounces Trump as a bully in a smug post that is a perfect example of his commitment to browbeating rather than honest debate.
Germany’s Election Promises an Unsteady Future
With a federal chancellor as “conservative” as Mitt Romney, Germany will continue to be an oppressive leftist state on par with Canada and Sweden.
The New Superman: Soaring Clear of Wokeness?
In the wake of recent death blows to wokeism, America is ready for a film that celebrates a fully masculine and fully American character.
Polemics & Exchanges: March 2025
Readers praise Prof. Gottfried for his piece on Vichy France, and Piers Shepherd for remembering Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira.
Trumpian Tornado Takes the U.S. Down a New Path
During its first month in office, the Trump administration has made bold moves domestically and internationally, most significantly by making a break with European globalists.
Time to Topple the Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment is not a beatific and integral part of some mythical “Second Founding.” Indeed, it undermines republican government.
How “Democracy” Lost Its Meaning
Majorities still rule in most Western countries, but unelected bureaucrats continue manipulating majorities and elections.
Righting History
Three new books set the record straight on European monarchy, Franco's Spain, and Hitler's ascent to power. Revisionists often get it wrong, but these three get it right!
Remembering Eva Brann
Eva Brann's lifelong quest to understand American history affirmed that there was something unique about the country worth preserving and perpetuating.
What We Are Reading: March 2025
Short reviews of "A Worthy Company" by M. E. Bradford, and "Intelligence in Danger of Death" by Marcel De Corte.
The Religion of Secular Doomsayers
"American Spirit or Great Awokening?" carefully decodes the hidden religious elements of wokeism’s fascination with climate apocalypticism and trans identity. This little book, however, makes some significant missteps.
The Prime Minister Who Loved the Market Too Much
Former-PM Liz Truss' book doubles as a memoir and a stale neo-Thatcherite policy paper. Her politics haven't changed much since the '90s.
The Great America First Conspiracy
Jacob Heilbrunn's "America Last" attempts to undermine the MAGA movement and encourage "the resistance" by discrediting the intellectual history of the America-First right.
Books in Brief: March 2025
Short reviews of 'America First,' by H. W. Brands, and 'The Movement' by Clara Bingham.
Trudeau: Government by Luck and Gimmick
Justin Trudeau's political failure mirrors the general inability of leftist ideologues to prepare for that moment when their luck runs out and reality knocks on the door.
The Hazards of Viewpoint Diversity
The honest liberal who strives for neutrality is soon outgunned by ideologues who view academia not as a marketplace of ideas but as an institution that must be controlled.
A Visual Feast that Fails to Frighten
Though visually dazzling, Robert Eggers' "Nosferatu" collapses into caricature and fails to give the audience a good scare.
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
The penny is on the chopping block today, but other casualties will follow as we traverse down the road of progress.
Creating Our Own Four Horsemen
Conservatives must use what time remains for the republic's survival to establish their own institutions and heroes who will help them stave off left-wing cultural dominance.
The Death of the UK Conservative Party
The Tories had 14 years in power to undo Liberal power structures. Instead, they capitulated and became a pathetic leftist party.
Europe’s Patriots Enthused by Trump
Donald Trump has inspired a patriotic movement well beyond America's borders. "Make America Great Again" has birthed "Make Europe Great Again!"
Promethean Fire in the Age of AI
Completely outsourcing creativity to algorithms would be a grave mistake and nothing short of a betrayal of what makes us human. It also doesn’t make much sense if you consider yourself a culture warrior.
Maugham the Master
W. Somerset Maugham was envied for his wealth, ability to travel in style everywhere in the world, and the fact that everything he wrote sold like hotcakes.
The FBI’s New York Field Office Appears To Be Hiding Something
The office was ordered but apparently failed to deliver the full set of documents in the infamous Jeffrey Epstein case.