Honestly: why are some conservatives warning that it would be bad for the GOP if the government shut down for a few weeks? Talk about being held hostage… Reid killed the omnibus deal. But he’s going to push now for a year-long CR — part of what I’m certain was a planned bait and switch. Will the GOP, giddy that the omnibus bill was pulled, declare victory and take Reid’s

In the 15 Dec 2010 NRO, K.J. Lopez interviews Michael Knox Beran, author of The Pathology of the Elites. In this interview (all of which is worth reading), Beran touches on the problem with modern literary criticism and its moral vacuity in the guise of moral relevance. LOPEZ: Can the elites develop new moral protocols to foster self-knowledge and prevent hubris and overreaching? BERAN:[Lionel] Trilling thought that one could find

Naturally: The House late Thursday gave final approval to a temporary extension of the George W. Bush-era tax rates, delivering a significant but politically bruising victory to President Obama. The $858 billion legislation now heads to the president’s desk for his signature. It extends the Bush tax cuts across the board for two years, slashes the employee payroll tax by 2 percent for one year, renews the estate tax and