Joseph Bottum

Some men face their aging with equanimity, fortitude, and grace. The rest of us whimper, rail, and whine. A friend recently brought over his new Brazilian rosewood guitar—his fourteenth guitar, so many that he has begun hiding them from his wife. But I have chosen the road more traveled by, . . . . Continue Reading »

Fresh from the pages of Sports Illustrated , here’s a list of the top ten high-school athletic programs in the nation: 1. Non-denominational Christian (of Congregationalist origin): Punahou School in Hawaii 2. Catholic (Jesuit): Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon 3. Catholic (diocesan): . . . . Continue Reading »

The Times of London oversteps a little with its headline: “Cardinal John Henry Newman, Catholic convert, is beatified by the Pope.” The AP story carries a more accurate if less exciting title: “Pope OKs miracle to beatify UK Cardinal Newman.” . . . . Continue Reading »

For all that America prides itself on its individualism, the most distinctive American works of art have always seemed to me to be group projects: musicals such as Oklahoma! , and movies such as The Magnificent Ambersons , and—it seems worth mentioning, now that we’re reaching the end of . . . . Continue Reading »

After many conversations with friends and reporters and interested parties, I’m willing to make three predictions about Benedict XVI’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate , due out shortly: 1) The media will basically ignore it, as President Obama’s visit with the pope occupies all the . . . . Continue Reading »

It is reported that Douglas Kmiec has been nominated to be ambassador to Malta . For Malta? It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. But for Malta? . . . . Continue Reading »

Rusty, this has been a fun discussion of localism, particularly as I’m writing from a little town in South Dakota, back home for the summer in the one locale I really know. A thing I discovered, thinking our way through this, is the extent to which the descriptive is often taken as the . . . . Continue Reading »

We started this discussion of localism when I mentioned that I had been reading William Cobbett’s Rural Rides . I meant only to offer our literary friends a suggestion that the beginning of Rural Rides may have influenced the beginning of Dickens’ Bleak House , but, along the way, I . . . . Continue Reading »

You’re right, Rusty, when you speak of the multiple ironies of the appearances and disappearances of localist claims in the modern world. As I said, my problem with your localism is the Jews—by which I meant the way the Jews, perceived somehow as a threat for both their lack of group . . . . Continue Reading »

Last month, Alan Potash, the Midwestern regional director of the ADL, wrote the Omaha World-Herald to declare that “freedom of speech does not extend to racist groups.” As Eugene Volokh points out , this is particularly dangerous for a Jewish organization to hold, given the decades-long . . . . Continue Reading »