Author: Eric Scheie

M. Simon and I have been getting together at Rockford’s Irish Rose Saloon over the Thanksgiving holiday for so many years that it might as well be called the Official Classical Values Reunion. (I’d love to have Dave and Sarah join us, but it just so happens that I visit Rockford every Thanksgiving, and Simon…

After his return from the Restoration Weekend, during which “the leading conservative analysts and many political leaders present their views of what led to the disastrous defeat of Mitt Romney,” Ron Radosh opined, “We need a truce on divisive social issues.” Let us take opposition to gay marriage as the major example. Last week, gay…

There is more to be thankful for than there appears to be. Right now I am thankful for my general good health, and for my friends. Politics does suck more than usual, but I can still be thankful that we have gridlock, and a country at least theoretically designed to be somewhat resistant to tampering.…

A friend who is in his 20s recently told me he was asked to show ID in order to be allowed to buy a video game at a Walmart store. I had never heard of anything like that before, and although I don’t buy video games, I decided to Google the question. Sure enough, Walmart…

I was going to leave another comment to M. Simon’s post but I think that when one of his posts reminds me of one of mine (as well as something I just read in a great new novelette I’m reading), a new post is merited. Anyway, here’s M. Simon (seconded by excellent commenter Kathy Kinsley): I…

The war against classical values is older than most people  think. It dates back at least to the Renaissance era, when artists became enchanted with — and copied — ancient art. Giulio Romano and Marcantonio Raimondi met in Rome, where High Renaissance darling Raphael personally trained each one. Raphael’s sudden death in 1520 left star pupil Romano…

There’s a film made by Charlie Chaplin in 1918 that most people have not seen titled “A Dog’s Life.” A few stills: Even though I have not seen the film, I know dogs pretty well, especially the canine mind, and what I read about the star (“Mut” — an obvious canine genius who looks for the…

I don’t know what is more despicable; union bosses taking down another American company or the petitioning President Obama to save Twinkies: A new White House petition wants President Obama to nationalize the “Twinkie industry,” saving the popular junk food from possible extinction. “We the undersigned, hereby request Barack Obama to immediately Nationalize the Twinkie…

In a perfect example of how easy it is to waste other people’s money, FEMA sold off brand-new, perfectly good emergency trailers for a small fraction of the price the government paid: Federal officials sold hundreds of emergency trailers for disaster victims at fire-sale prices in the months before Hurricane Sandy churned toward the United…

I’ve quoted Greg Gutfeld before, but I don’t keep track of him (or anyone else) as I should. But I know his name so I clicked on Glenn Reynolds’ link to his latest piece which discusses why conservatives aren’t cool: Why aren’t conservatives cool? Why are they perceived as intolerant when it’s the other side…

According to the conventional wisdom, McCain lost to Obama in 2008 because the Republican base stayed home. What I want to know is how come Mitt Romney in 2012 got fewer votes than McCain did in 2008? McCain, 2008: 59,934,814 Romney, 2012: 58,938,376 The conventional wisdom this time is that the base was energized and…

I am astounded at the amount of attention being paid to another sex scandal, and I like what this blogger said: It’s amazing how the Press will dramatize situations such as this one, while ignoring scandals such as Operation Fast and Furious and the Benghazi Affair which have stained the Obama Administration. This is not to…

According to Berry: And according to Burke: All government — indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act — is founded on compromise and barter. So if happiness was founded on compromise, then how do I pursue it without further compromising our founding principles?

While Veterans Day falls on November 11, the official holiday is today. Which means it isn’t too late to honor a veteran, or just thank one. I did so earlier, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank M. Simon, who is a proud veteran. And if you don’t know any veterans to thank,…

A comment to M. Simon’s earlier post highlights the hopelessness of the abortion debate: If we keep killing our children, we don’t have a civilization anyway. It’s actually the one issue I’m willing to die over, just as I would have given my life to end slavery had I lived 150 years ago. We? If person…

Some people I greatly respect are quite upset at General Petraeus for having sex with a woman other than his wife. I just left the following comment for someone who sees cheating on a spouse as indicating a general lack of trustworthiness: What he did was wrong. No argument there. I don’t see why personal…

Wow, I just realized that I haven’t written a post today. No time. I am too exhausted by politics to have anything to say, and I’m delighted that M. Simon has taken up the slack. I noticed an interesting study, though. There have been many claims made about a connection between aluminum and Alzheimer’s. I’m…

M. Simon is a proud 1%er who voted for Gary Johnson, and his recent post made me do some homework. Like other people, I too have been curious about whether Gary Johnson was a factor in Obama’s victory, so I went to the Reason article’s link to a wonderful interactive state-by-state database and looked at each state to determine…

Michael Savage typifies the sort of “conservatism” that makes me want to vomit, and as I have said a number of times, if Savage is a conservative, then I am not, nor do I ever want to be, a conservative.  (I like to think he isn’t really a conservative, but I guess it’s not up…

Well, it looks like Obama is going to win Michigan, Ohio, and even Florida (which shocks me, as I thought Romney at least had that). I’d love nothing more than being wrong, but I’d say Obama’s got it. Ugh. MORE: The fools on Fox are waxing about the “conservative base.” Spare me! The “conservative base”…