R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.

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Legalizing Drugs

The weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal featured an article advocating the decriminalization of drugs. Economists Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy argue the war on drugs has failed, and social costs of continuing with our current laws are too high. Their solution is to legalize drugs use, and . . . . Continue Reading »

7 Jan 2013

The Blindness of Tax Purists

Daniel Henninger has gone down the rabbit hole. In his column for the  Wall Street Journal he inveighs against the countless ways in which the tax code is manipulated by legislators to reward this or that constituency—-or donors and lobbyists, as the case may be. The . . . . Continue Reading »

4 Jan 2013

Esoteric Elite Morality

Over the years I’ve come to realize that “relativism” is the wrong way to describe the way in which secular elite culture approaches moral questions. It’s obvious that all things are not permitted, which is why Pope Benedict coined the term “dictatorship of . . . . Continue Reading »

28 Dec 2012

Being and Taxes

A friend was talking to me recently. He observed that the post-election drama in Washington seems to be about more than taxes and spending. Everybody seems to feel that the stakes are high, and two visions of the future of America are being contested. “It’s . . . . Continue Reading »

27 Dec 2012

Faith Invisible

With year’s end drawing near the editors of the Wall Street Journal ‘s weekend review section asked fifty “friends” to tell us their favorite books of 2012 . We hear from TV personalities, businessmen, writers, politicians, a college president, two baseball managers, three . . . . Continue Reading »

17 Dec 2012

The New Translation of the Mass

The Tablet is conducting an online survey to find out what people think of the new translation on the Mass after a full year of its use. Log on and let them know what you think. . . . . Continue Reading »

4 Dec 2012

More on Sex, Marriage, and Politics

David Blankenhorn and I have had a useful exchange. In his last posting he questioned my argument that judging homosexual acts wrong isn’t akin to the racist view that skin color makes someone inferior : I’m sure that Rusty Reno knows as well as anyone that almost no gay people . . . . Continue Reading »

27 Nov 2012

Marriage, Sex, and Politics

A few days ago I wrote a sharply worded attack on Ken Mehlman’s argument that supporting gay marriage is the properly “conservative” position. David Blankenhorn offered some thoughtful reflections about what’s at stake for me (and others). He raises a key question. Can those of us who . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Nov 2012

Republican Party Illusions about Gay Marriage

Ken Mehlman is either deluded or disingenuous. The former chairman of the Republican National Committee is among those now trying to bring the Republican Party around to the cause of gay marriage. In today’s Wall Street Journal he made his case. Here is the most egregious paragraph. Some . . . . Continue Reading »

21 Nov 2012

Rubio’s Creation Controversy

Marco Rubio was caught off guard during an interview by Michael Hainey for GQ. He was asked how old he thinks the earth is. His response: I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst . . . . Continue Reading »

20 Nov 2012