The trouble with last week’s elections for the European Parliament is that its results offer grounds for widely different interpretations of their meaning. Too many glasses are half-full or half-empty. One thing is certain: the upsurge of Euroskeptic, sovereignist-identitarian parties – feared by some, hoped for by others – has not materialized. The EU is...
On September 30, at 3 P.M., our longtime colleague and friend Joe Sobran passed away. This is the last column he was able to write for us, published in the July 2010 issue. The Dear Leader of the United States reminds me of Robert Frost’s quip that a liberal is ...
A sign above the cafe adjacent to the motel across the highway from the railroad tracks in Lordsburg, New Mexico, proclaimed the good news in faded red letters on a flaking white background. "Whiskey and water," I told the waitress when she came with her pencil and pad. "No . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe...
creased centralization of power that had taken place during therncentury and a half between the settlement of Jamestown andrnthe systematic corruphon perfected by Robert Walpole andrnpassed on to the third German George. Hardly was the ink dryrnat Yorktown, however, than Anglophile schemers like AlexanderrnHamilton began plotting measures by which the . . . Subscribers Only...
President George W. Bush’s highly anticipated prime-time speech to mark the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America was supposed to be nonpartisan and conciliatory. It offered him an opportunity to present mature thoughts on one of the most momentous events in this country’s history . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access...
Paroxysms of liberal outrage gripped denizens of the Swamp when the Commerce Department announced that it plans to find out the citizenship status of U.S. residents by asking them directly via the 2020 Census and the U.S. Mail. And as with every Census form, “Your . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access the...
In one of his earliest essays, Walker Percy expounded a theory of “Metaphor as Mistake,” and it is true that many insights, not all of them metaphorical, can arise from misunderstanding or, as happens to me more frequently these days, mishearing what someone has said. A psychiatrist friend, back . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe...
Conservative nationalists in Europe face the same uphill struggle against the dominant left as do their American counterparts.
In a recent discussion with a younger colleague about his book-in-progress on American historian Richard Hofstadter, I learned that, during the student riot at Columbia in 1968, Hofstadter repeatedly likened student radicals to European "fascists." My colleague found this remarkable, given the fact that Hofstadter had spent . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to...
choice, "because you can't beat the qualit)'nof life" in small-town America, as onenyoung woman explained to the (probablynflabbergasted) AP. If Lusk isn't enoughnfor you, you can move to Fort Collins,nDenver, or Colorado Springs; when Uticangets wearisome and you can no longernpay for the upkeep on . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access the...
Principalities & Powersrnby Samuel FrancisrnGnostic NewtrnThe hallmark of the sophomoric mind isrnthat it knows the sorts of things thatrnadult minds do but has not yet figuredrnout how to do them. Bright undergraduatesrnwho solemnly inform their professorsrnthat they plan to write term papersrnapplying what they have read about thernlatest fads of . . . Subscribers Only...
My personal experience with Jesuits has been overwhelmingly positive. I was reminded of that this past Sunday, as I attended Mass at my high school alma mater. I enjoyed my four years as a student there, and the friendships I made and the lessons I learned have continued to bless me, year in, year out....
So many Americans, particularly on the right, have taken Fox News for granted over the past 20 years. It has become a fixture as an alternative to what is known as the mainstream media. In confirmation of the old saying, “You never know what you’ve got til it . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access...
I first met Samuel Francis more than 30 years ago, when he was a graduate student in Chapel Hill and a stalwart member of the Carolina Conservative Society—subsequently, the “Orange County Anti-Jacobin League” when it lost its university recognition on a point of principle. I was a . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to...
For some time now, American law and lawyers have had a legitimacy problem. Most Americans must wonder how it is that unelected federal judges have the power to declare that no state government can punish consensual homosexual relations, prohibit abortion, or permit prayer in the schools (to mention just . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe...
Church conventions are the business of summertime in democratized Christian America. While normal, sane men are taking their boys to ball games or running trot lines by the light of a Coleman lantern, grown men (and women) are sitting in earnest before professional parliamentarians and video monitors in conference . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe...
For decades, conservative commentators and writers have told anyone who would listen that America is going to hell in a handbag. (An aside: Why do people always go to hell in a handbag? If I must go to hell, I’d prefer a limousine with a fully . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access...
tended Sacred Heart College, still goingnstrong). Apparently two plaquesnwere put up by the United Daughtersnof the Confederacy to mark the site,nironically on Union Avenue, wherenDavis lodged with one of Montreal'snleading citizens, John Lovell. Whitenleftists and black activists have demandednthat the plaques be removed.nOnly a French plaque remains . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to...
No studies indicate, let alone demonstrate, that a significant percentage of ordinary white people “hate” black people, or black white, or indeed that an appreciable number belonging to any race in America today “hates” members of any other race. But there’s no question that a great many people . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now...
54 / CHRONICLESnRainbow or Thunderstorm?nReaders of American newspapersncould easily conclude that racialnand ethnic conflicts are peculiar tonSouth Africa and the United States,nwith an occasional flare-up in Londonnor India. The truth is thatngovernments everywhere find it difficultnto superimpose the modernnidea of nationhood upon the ancientnrealities of race and tribe . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now...
Peruse left-wing media reports and Twitter trends and one will discover that claims that “Trump won” are labeled as misinformation. Polling numbers, however, show that many Americans hold exactly the opposite view
CORRESPONDENCErnLetter FromrnAustraliarnby R. J. StovernAustralians All, Let Ostrichesrn"Australians all, let ostriches, / Forrnwe are young and free"— the attempt byrnan expensively educated Australianrnschoolchild to notate the first two linesrnof Australia's national anthem (the firstrnline of which is "Australians all, let us rejoice")rn.rnBill and Hillary not surrealistic enoughrnfor . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to...
Most English schoolboys learn this quip: Belgium is a country invented by the British to annoy the French. Which is just about true. And if you don’t understand why and how Belgium was invented, you won’t understand the significance of the elections in . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access the full article...
On this civil view, citizenship is yalued fundamentally becausenit assures, insofar as can be, that these further protectionsnwill actually be afforded. Those who seek additional rightsnand privileges, including the right to participate in the processesnby which rights are established and protections provided,ndo so primarily in order to maximize the . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe...
The hallmark of the sophomoric mind is that it knows the sorts of things that adult minds do but has not yet figured out how to do them. Bright undergraduates who solemnly inform their professors that they plan to write term papers applying what they have read about the . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe...
Literary feuds, like ideas, have consequences. After Sir Walter Scott read a disparaging review of his Marmion in the Edinburgh Review, the bard of the Borders decided that what British life needed above all was a journal that would give his works more respectful treatment . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access the...
The great American story for at least 100 years has been a tale like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or Hawthorne's "My Kinsman Major Molineux": the rube who comes to the city and loses his innocence. Like Jack in the fairy tale, we are eager to . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access...
The decline of once great powers, real and perceived, is a major theme of the early 21st century that is likely to become more pronounced as the century progresses and the balance of power, propelled by the shifting balance of energy and influence, shifts from West to East.
The elephant in the next room is Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party. For a graphic proof, look at the media, TV, and newspapers lately. The European Parliament met in Strasbourg for the first plenary session of its newly-elected members. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”—a title engrafted by the EU upon the last movement of the 9th Symphony,...
ChroniclesrnA M A G A Z I N E OF A M E R I C A N C U L T U RE PERSPECTIVErnHere Come the Judgernby Thomas FlemingrnEverybody gonna pay tax today.rnVIEWSrnSomething Like Waco by Samuel FrancisrnThe new federal police state.rnBlack Helicopters and the Morning Militiarnby . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now...
It’s been quite a summer in the United Kingdom. On June 23, we the British people surprised everyone—including, perhaps most of all, ourselves—by voting to leave the European Union. That wasn’t meant to happen. All year, the E.U. referendum polls had shown a consistent . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access the full...
In this 1996 essay, the late Congressman James Traficant illustrates the Washington establishment’s habitual subordination of America to foreign interests.
By no means the least of Ronald Reagan’s achievements as man and president was that he may well have been the first chief executive since Herbert Hoover who did not deserve a prison term for his crimes. He also managed to hold the presidency twice, hand his office . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now...
Wednesday was the best night of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Joe Biden, Tim Kaine and Barack Obama testified to her greatness and goodness and readiness to be president. And all saw in the Republican Convention in Cleveland a festival of darkness and dystopia. Nor is this unusual. For, as the saying goes, the ins “point with...
Contemporary debates on the nature of American nationality—are we a people possessed of a shared tradition and culture, or are we simply a mosaic of ethnic groups that function in a common system?—find their counterpart in contemporary Israel. The legitimacy of Israel as "the Jewish state" is . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to...
Some 45 years ago, I was sitting in Washington Park, a quiet refuge in downtown Charleston defined by Broad, Meeting, and Chalmers Streets. The park was my favorite place to read and to engage in what was then every young man’s hobby: brooding about girls. Sitting there, I . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now...
Amy Wax talks about issues of race, merit, intelligence, and virtue as well as the discriminatory effects of Affirmative Action.
America, in case you haven’t noticed, is lost in the throes of celebrating the writing of its Constitution, which is now two centuries old. The somewhat labored efforts to fix public attention on the historic document are largely the work of former Chief Justice Warren Burger and his own private bureaucracy in the Commission on...
Like the Roman cursus honorum, the ascending path of neoconservative success is carefully prescribed. Instead of the progress from aedile to consul, however, the journey leads through hackwork up to the glories of publishing with Basic Books, appearing on TV talk shows, and gracing the mastheads of . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to...
hundreds of thousands, generally prosperous.nThe Railroad Commission, both during the glory days ofnoil and the subsequent energy squeeze, entertained nonnotion of an eternal vendetta between consumers on thenone hand and companies on the other. The assumption wasnthat both groups were interested in reliable supplies atnaffordable prices.nLiberal populism is . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now...
On Wednesday night Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump spoke at the same prime-time television event for the first time. The “forum” was not a debate; the candidates appeared back-to-back, answering Matt Lauer’s questions about their qualities and qualifications to be commander-in-chief. He let Clinton—who appeared first—speak without disruption, but repeatedly interrupted Trump. On the other...
It all began in February, when one disgruntled Vermonter started a blog to attack the Second Vermont Republic, the four-year-old secessionist organization in our state. He was apparently prompted by hearing Rob Williams, then cochair of the SVR, attacking Abraham Lincoln on the radio for the illegal . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to...
As a paleoconservative and traditional Catholic, I greatly enjoy Chronicles and look forward to every issue. I am, however, increasingly disturbed by the consistent and growing demonization of Muslims in the magazine. I think it is quite reasonable to accept that Islam has some extremely rough edges . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to...
Accounts from individuals, many unknown to Americans, who gave their treasures and lives to defy totalitarianism fill Rod Dreher’s latest book, Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents. Their stories should inspire all of us in the age of fear and fraud we now inhabit. But there’s one problem—a huge problem—with Dreher’s take on...
“The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!” —Hamlet, Act I, Sc.5 The Amazing Media Machine, dripping oil and self-satisfaction, roared to new life with Jeb Bush’s declaration of his presidential candidacy. At last—something to talk about. We have Jeb—”Jeb!” as the campaign button puts...
On Thursday, February 24, I was denied entry to Canada. After six hours’ detention and sporadic interrogation at Vancouver airport I was escorted to the next flight to Seattle. It turns out I am “inadmissible on grounds of violating human or international rights for being a proscribed senior ...
Conspiracies Against the Nationn(continued from page 11)nand call for the dismantlement of entitlement programs,nsome of them seem perfectly willing to push their ownnagenda at the Federal level. Some think the governmentnshould provide a nondenominational school prayer. Othersnwant an anti-gun-control amendment. Still others want tonuse the . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access the...
pacity of Russia and China to resist thernmadness of world domination of thernAmerican-European alliance.rnWe must incessantly affirm and repeatrnthis: The resistance of the entire Serbianrnpeople to the bloody aggression of a Westrnunited in a murderous and destructivernmadness appears to be one of the lastrnchances open to nations to . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now...
“Unfortunately you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all of our problems,” President Barack Obama told students at Ohio State on May 5. Some of . . . Subscribers Only Subscribe now to access the full article and gain...
“Beautiful losers” was the phrase Sam Francis borrowed from Leonard Cohen to sum up the failure of the American conservative movement. Beautiful or not, American conservatives have been losers from their movement’s inception, and the same can be said for every conservative movement since the French Revolution and going back at least to the Enlightenment,...