The American Spectator

December 2008-January 2009

Templeton Essays

• The Limits of Liberty

  As license now trumps responsibility, the Western world fritters away its most treasured possession.

  Roger Scruton

Note From the Publisher

• Back to Basics

  Alfred S. Regnery

The Continuing Crisis

• The Continuing Crisis

  R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

On the Prowl

• On the Prowl

  The Prowler

Features

• Oil City Is Well Again

  Northwestern Pennsylvania is quietly celebrating its renaissance as the founding capital of America's petroleum industry.

  Shawn Macomber

• The Day My Brother Was Murdered

  Memoirs of a shattered hope.

  Michael Novak

• Books for Christmas

  Our annual list of holiday gift suggestions from distinguished readers and writers.

• Sorting It Out

  What now for the Republican-Conservative conventicle?

  W. James Antle, III

The Currency Spectator

• Weak Dollars, Weak Presidents

  The real reason why Republicans never had a chance on November 4.

  Stephen Moore & John Tamny

Capitol Ideas

• The Good War? Maybe Not

  Could World War II have been prevented?

  Tom Bethell

Presswatch

• Fact-Check Follies

  James Taranto

Letter From Paris

• Burger’s Revenge

  France has finally come to appreciate our contribution to world gastronomy.

  Joseph A. Harriss

Politics

• Elbow Rahm

  John H. Fund

High Spirits

• When the Giving Gets Rough

  Donor fatigue, not to say collapse, is fast becoming a major problem for many nonprofit organizations.

  Jonathan Aitken

Ben Stein's Diary

• Amid the Collapse

  Our Clear-Eyed Diarist in top form.

  Ben Stein

Conservative Tastes

• Enemies of the Good

  James Bowman

Books in Review

• Faith of Our Fathers

  A tool for enlightened debate on the Establishment Clause and other church-state issues that continue to confront our nation.

  Rev. Michael P. Orsi

• A World of Hurt

  Katherine Anne Porter: Collected Stories and Other Writings

  Algis Valiunas

• Nuclear Recovery

  Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Power Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America’s Energy Odyssey.

  Max Schulz

• The “L” Word

  What is libertarianism, and who, exactly, counts as a libertarian?

  Jeremy Lott

Current Wisdom

• Current Wisdom

  Assorted Jackasses

Public Nuisances

• Morning in America/The Clown of Campaign ’08

  R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

Last Call

• The Usual Suspects

  With New Year's approaching, it's time to rid our rhetoric of stale metaphors and other clichés.

  Paul Beston