Introduction A conservative who doesn’t care to fight against the Left is useless. He might as well be a leftist himself, because, over time he becomes more a symbol of capitulation than a leading light of the Right. As a twentieth-century conservative icon, pundit, and National Review publisher, William F. Buckley certainly wasn’t this bad... Read More

My next to the last posting, which was an obituary on William F. Buckley, occasioned so many responses that I must disappoint those who thought I would never again say anything about my deceased subject. Contrary to the opinion of some critics, my obit was not intended to belittle someone who had betrayed the Old... Read More

In preparing my comments on William F. Buckley posted this morning, I was unaware that another detailed obituary about my subject came out yesterday on www.lewrockwell.com by my close friend and the distinguished linguistic philosopher David Gordon. All readers of this website are urged to look at Dr. Gordon's heavily documented discussion of Bill Buckley's... Read More

William F. Buckley, the former conservative pundit, celebrates his 81stbirthday today (November 24). His eightieth birthday last fall provided liberal journalists with an opportunity to praise someone who, according to Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, had saved the Right from extremism. According to Dionne (Buckley: The Right's Practical Intellectual Washington Post, October 11, 2005, A17),... Read More

The Greek historian Plutarch bequeathed to later generations a comparative study of Greek and Roman heroes known as Parallel Lives. This book was a favorite of one of my subjects, the very recently departed Samuel Francis (1947-2005). He gave it as a gift to my younger son. Plutarch's masterpiece is intended to teach us about... Read More