Public Life

Public Morality’s Last Stop

Why did a British fund manager receive such a stiff penalty for failing to pay for his train tickets? Are we compensating for a truncated understanding of integrity? Continue Reading »

18 Dec 2014

What the Midterms Mean for Social Conservatives

by Brandon McGinley

I’m never more of a partisan than on election night. All my misgivings about the Republican Party dissolve and I become like a sports fan tabulating my team’s essential statistics. Then Wednesday arrives, and the spasm of partisan enthusiasm fades into a renewed realism. Continue Reading »

6 Nov 2014

The Reformation at Five Hundred

by Thomas Albert Howard and Mark A. Noll

On October 25, many churches will once again observe “Reformation Sunday,” commemorating the day in 1517 when Martin Luther is said to have nailed his Ninety-Five Theses concerning theological reform on the door of the Castle church in Wittenberg, Saxony. This event continues to be regarded as . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Nov 2014

How to Succeed In Politics As a Businessman By Really Trying

by Pete Spiliakos

A certain Georgia Senate seat has a strange and revealing recent history. 2008 was the ultimate Democratic wave year, but the Georgia Senate seat remained in Republican control after a runoff election. 2014 is shaping up to be a Republican wave year, but Republicans are left hoping to retain that same Senate seat based on President Obama’s unpopularity. The Georgia Republicans have gone from being able to resist a Democratic wave to depending on a Republican wave. Much of this variance from national trends has to do with the particular weaknesses of Georgia’s businessman-turned-politician Republican candidate: David Perdue. Continue Reading »

30 Oct 2014

Frank Wolf: An Appreciation

by George Weigel

For the first time since 1978, Frank Wolf’s name will not appear on the November ballot in Virginia’s Tenth Congressional District. The Republic will be the poorer for that. Continue Reading »

29 Oct 2014

Blinded by Nostalgia

by Yuval Levin

The twenty-first century has been a time of transition in American life. In our economy, our culture, our politics, and throughout our society, longstanding norms seem to be breaking down. Times of uneasy transition are often characterized by a politics of nostalgia for the peak of the passing order, and ours most definitely is. Continue Reading »

23 Oct 2014

Good News for the Naked Public University

by Robert Osburn

Recently, an academic administrator informed me that passing judgment on others’ sexual orientation or religious beliefs was grounds for exclusion from partnership with the university office she represents. Continue Reading »

21 Oct 2014

Chaput, Morals, and the Law

by Mark Bauerlein

In anticipation of tonight’s Erasmus lecture by Archbishop Chaput, and for those who aren’t familiar with his writings, here is a short essay by him at Public Discourse two months ago that lays out a particular pressure suffered by faithful at the current time. It is the role of law in their religious observance, or rather, the conflict between the two. Continue Reading »

20 Oct 2014

Feeling Fancy

by Kyle Smith

Wes Anderson is one of the most vital, personal, and distinctive American filmmakers of his generation, an exacting auteur whose florid signature blazes across his work. Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Oct 2014

Taking the Long Way