John Horvat II 
Quite by accident, I came to frequent a jewelry store that would help me take care of those small problems with watches that can be so vexing. I was tired of department store attendants who could not replace batteries or change watch bands. It seemed that every time I took a watch … Read more
In face of a recession that never recedes, the assumption of a broad and growing prosperity for the middle class is in doubt. Gone are the heady days of the post-Cold War triumphalism of the nineties when optimistic observers believed that we might live forever in a kind of glorious consumerism. Instead, … Read more
As we gear up for the Thanksgiving holidays, many are preparing to engage in a strange new ritual that is crowding out the traditional turkey and pumpkin pie. The ritual, of course, is the extension of Black Friday shopping into Thanksgiving Day. It is a practice so shocking that we might as … Read more
The first warning was pretty clear. Back in May, a group of central bankers and financial analysts met together in Basel, Switzerland and issued a report on the dire state of the world economy. The 2014 annual report of the Bank of International Settlements then claimed that the present climate is as … Read more
The latest elections proved beyond a doubt that America is a conservative nation. Despite everything, conservative ideas still resonate strongly with many Americans and definitely have a future. But a simple victory is not enough. This is because the present victory does not explain everything. While conservatives just won in 2014, they … Read more
The late Sen. Eugene McCarthy once said that only two kinds of religion are permitted in America: strong beliefs vaguely expressed or vague beliefs strongly expressed. In a similar way, it could be said that the same formula applies to political beliefs. Keeping everything vague is the basis of a general consensus … Read more
A review of Nothing is Free: The Price Only Business Leaders Can Pay to Protect Free Markets by Dave Geenens (Atchison, Kans.: Inhance Press, 2013). * * * Modern economics tends to reduce what happens in business to numbers and formulas. The human element is taken out, and all is left dry and lifeless. … Read more
The planned holding of a Satanic Black Mass in the Civic Center, a public building in Oklahoma City, on September 21, represents more than just an exercise of “freedom.” It is a highly symbolic act that signals the end and breakdown of a consensus. Recently a similar event was planned at Harvard, … Read more
There is something wrong with the way we deal with our problems these days. We used to have leaders. Now it seems every crisis must be addressed by some massive law, in which every possibility of error can be foreseen; every detail regulated. It is as if to say, let the government … Read more
The tragic suicide of comedian Robin Williams contains many lessons. Everyone is quick to point out the contradictions of his life. Here was a man who had everything the world had to offer to fill his life—money, fame and an entertaining lifestyle. And yet far from satisfying him, he was left with … Read more