May 7, 2018

'Suicide of the West' is a big, baggy, sometimes brilliant case for gratitude and perpetuation.

Leonard Bernstein prophesied an American classical music; his disillusionment and disappointments mirrored the nation’s.

The problem is entitlement spending, not appropriations

"The military mission to eradicate ISIS in Syria is coming to a rapid end, with ISIS being almost completely destroyed,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on April 4. “The United States and our partners remain committed to eliminating the small ISIS presence in Syria that…

A bracing reminder of an easily forgotten commonplace.

“We suffered with Obamacare,” Trump said. “Make no mistake. This is a repeal and replace of Obamacare. Make no mistake about it,” he declared before pausing for a personal boast. “I predicted it a long time ago. I said it’s failing and now it’s obvious that it’s failing. It’s dead—it’s essentially…

It’s springtime for Pat Buchanan.

By happy coincidence, on the very day that ex-FBI director James Comey published his self-serving memoir, my wife and I happened to be rummaging around in the George C. Marshall research library on the campus of Marshall’s alma mater, Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington. It was entirely…

Cumulus Media, the third largest terrestrial radio chain in the country, is bankrupt, and it’s making some drastic moves. Earlier this spring, it dropped Don Imus, the legendary—if now fossilized—morning host. And now there are rumors that Cumulus is looking to cut Michael Savage, one of talk…

There’s nothing the media love more than a story about themselves. And if it isn’t about them, they’ll make it so.

The Senate majority leader is not depressed.

It has different math, geography, and history. And Hillary is president.

The politics of applause.

Jeremy Corbyn’s Jewish problem.

Britain’s military should be growing. It’s not.

Euler’s identity: Genius, discovery, elegance.

You’ve got to admit it’s getting better.

‘Pasta for Nightingales’: A charming Renaissance collection of birdlore and beauty.

The challenges of teaching poetry.

Bumping an idol of French cinema off his pedestal.

Journalists in the mainstream media often sound as though they have no idea why anybody would entertain skepticism about the news media. The term “media bias” is, to them, a ruse. Complaints about “fake news” are evidence of stupidity or delusion.

It wasn’t with shock but with relief that The Scrapbook greeted the news that a Washington tradition is coming to an end: “After nearly 15 years, The Hill is bidding a beautiful bye-bye to its annual 50 Most Beautiful list.”

Readers may remember Fearless Girl, the 50-inch-tall bronze statue of an intrepid young girl, placed in front of the famous Charging Bull sculpture in Lower Manhattan. The girl, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced, will be moved to a new location nearby—in front of the New York…

Most Americans can name only one local politician from Washington, D.C., and that happens to be the city’s “mayor for life” Marion Barry, famously busted in 1990 for smoking crack in an FBI sting operation (“bitch set me up!”). In March, the city unveiled a bronze statue to Barry on Pennsylvania…

"When the audience of more than 300 began to clap and howl, Madeleine K. Albright entered the Georgetown University auditorium. She waved. She winked. The clapping grew louder, especially from young women in the room. They smiled giddily, checked to make sure their phones were on silent and opened…

Priscilla M. Jensen, at the fair.