“Pursuit of Happiness” by Christopher Flannery, The American Mind
Certainly America is not just an “idea,” but there is an American idea. Put simply, it is the idea of political freedom. For my father and grandfathers, this idea was inseparable from all the local and particular parts of America they cared about. It made every hill and valley of this land sacred. A whole people living up to this idea made America “the land of the free.” This was our country. It still is, though it is currently under enemy occupation.
“Mark Pomerantz Revealed the Madness of the Trump Cases, While Trying to Do the Opposite” by Chris Bray, Tell Me How This Ends
They didn’t start with a suspected crime or with a victim or with a complaint. They started with a target, with someone they wanted to charge with something and then went looking for something to charge him with. No one reported Trump to the police; the DA just felt like investigating him.
“Try a Little Honesty About Israel” Victor Davis Hanson, The Blade of Perseus
Israel has been disproportionate only in the effectiveness of its response. Hamas and its Iranian benefactor intended to disproportionately hurt Israel but utterly failed. So, Israel proved to be competent, and proved Hamas incompetent in its similar efforts to use disproportionate force.
“Columnists and Their Lives of Quiet Desperation” by Hamilton Nolan, How Things Work
Editors can hide their flaws, but columnists are exposed. [Pamela Paul] is often criticized for her tiresome obsession with campus politics and bad-faith gender issues, and she is indeed the sort of sucker who is not even smart enough to know that she is standing in the Land of Bad-Faith Arguments. But I enjoy reading her quite a bit, in the same way that you might derive some malicious joy from watching a bad but rich comedian bomb night after night. She is handcuffed to her job by prestige, and she will not stop writing until her fan base is exclusively made up of idiots.
“Sticks and Stones” by Christopher Gage, Oxford Sour
This censorious culture is sadly inevitable in our narcissistic age. We are all the main character. Such self-absorption means a mere difference of opinion can often feel like a criminal assault. When fenced-off behind screens, ordinary people are thin-skinned despots.
“Why MAGA fears RFK’s candidacy” Freddy Gray, Spectator World
When the Kennedy family starts talking values, the American right instantly smells a rat. There may be plenty of research showing that RFK is likely to take more votes away from Biden than Trump, but conservatives can’t help but notice that the big-picture polls tell a different story.
