By • Mar 08,2009

Decline and Fall …

Kenneth Brannagh’s version of ‘Henry V’ and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s version of ‘The Running Man’ both just came on. Guess which one I chose to click on.

By • Mar 07,2009

Apropos nothing

I was pondering the debate over gay marriage when this wonderful Chesterton quotation popped into my head: Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors....

By • Mar 07,2009

Does democracy promotion matter?

I’m posting in San Francisco right now, after spending the past couple of days at a Stanford conference on democratic transitions and the role that international actors play in supporting...

By • Mar 07,2009

Profound philosophical questions

If God is good, why does evil exist? Do men have free will, or are our actions predetermined? Above all, why don’t hotels ever put little tubes of toothpaste in...