Political Commentary & Opinion

Famed lawyer Ken Starr died unexpectedly Tuesday following complications from surgery after a long and previously undisclosed illness. He had a long and storied—and somewhat controversial—career. Starr, 76, was born in Vernon, Texas, and was a Texan through and through. A graduate of George Washington University and Duke Law School (with a master’s degree from…

The radical left wields immense cultural power in America. When a conservative crosses them, intentionally or otherwise, he or she is met with a volley of vile, leftist hatred. The left ruthlessly tracks down any information about the conservatives, their jobs, friends, and family and attempts to cancel them. The left views the loss of…

In its latest effort to “remove barriers” to immigration, the Department of Homeland Security is finalizing the long-awaited public charge rule, codifying a weak standard that upends congressional intent, decades of precedent, and the core American value of self-reliance.  The term “public charge” first appeared in statute in 1882, when Congress barred the admission of…

The New York Times published a lengthy news story the other day explaining how over 1 million “undocumented immigrants” have been “allowed into the country temporarily after crossing the border during President Biden’s tenure.” For many of those 1 million asylum-seekers—whose cases are at best a “long shot”—many “will have to wait seven years on…

It can be said that gaining wisdom is a process of gaining some dark insights into life. One such insight is this: A lot of evil has been abetted by nice people. By “nice,” I am referring to the way people comport themselves in the personal realm. We refer to people as being “nice” if…

Organizers of the Sept. 9-11 Boise Pride Festival canceled a “Drag Kids” performance after public pressure prompted multiple sponsors to pull their support. The event advertised drag performances by children “from ages 11-18,” which conservative sleuther Christopher Rufo uncovered on the Tuesday before the event. The Boise Pride Festival was presented by Albertsons (a Safeway-affiliated grocery chain). Its sponsors included Fred…

Name-calling on the internet is nothing new. Enduring attacks based on biased or discredited sources is so common online it’s practically the price of admission for anyone seeking to contribute to the free market of ideas. So trolls and hecklers are hard to avoid. But when reputable sources and institutions mimic their tactics, we have…

London—Watching BBC and Sky News coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, one is struck by the adjectives used by reporters, commentators, and people interviewed outside Balmoral Castle and Buckingham Palace: sense of duty, virtue, integrity, service. What astounds is that these and other character traits the late queen exhibited were once considered normal…

Strategic amnesia is a new syndrome that lets Democrats forget their being guilty of the same behavior for which they demonize Republicans—especially when the GOP is innocent as charged. Strategic amnesia is, essentially, what happens as psychological projection ripens over time. Strategic-Amnesiac-in-Chief Joe Biden embodied this neurosis during the Snarl Heard ’Round the World—his corrosive,…

Sept. 11, 2001, dawned in Washington as the most beautiful day of that year and one of the most beautiful days I have ever experienced. I left my home in Northern Virginia early that morning. The route to the White House was always inspiring because of its historic evocation along the way—driving around the Lincoln…

The shopping spree is a fun concept. The winner of a game show or sweepstakes gets five minutes to race through a store piling high a shopping cart with all the goodies they can get their hands on. Inevitably, the prizewinner gravitates toward the big-ticket items to get the most bang for someone else’s buck….

In the past few months, I have written much about James Madison’s Montpelier, our fourth president’s home and now museum. A great deal of my writing has been descriptive, detailing the exhibits at Montpelier and evidencing whose influence has been impactful. I piled fact upon fact, relying on research and primary sources and letting much…

Conservatism has a long and storied history. It evolved with various times and places, and adapted to fit the needs of rising generations. But one thing has remained consistent in conservatism throughout the ages, says Yoram Hazony, president of the Herzl Institute in Jerusalem and chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation. Conservatism and religion are…