The American Spectator

September 2010

Note From the Publisher

• Ruling Against the Ruling Class

  Introducing our new September issue -- and the new book The Ruling Class, an expanded version of Angelo Codevilla's summer issue blockbuster. You can order it now!

  Alfred S. Regnery

Correspondence

• Reviewing James Davison Hunter: An Exchange

Freedom Watch

• Less Could Be More

  Government today is so big it is almost impossible to measure how wasteful and incompetent it has become.

  Tom Coburn

The Continuing Crisis

• The Continuing Crisis

  R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

Features

• Pilgrimage to Albania

  The most interesting places to visit are often those furthest from the beaten path.

  Alfred S. Regnery

• A Splendid, Precarious Victory

  The Supreme Court has incorporated the Second Amendment. But the party of government power will continue its efforts to disarm the American people.

  Dan Peterson

• Let Slip the Dogs of (Tax) War

  To survive Obama, Maine can learn from Canada.

  Neal B. Freeman

• The Sad State of Progressivism

  At the annual Netroots Nation conference, liberals reflected on where Democrats came up short.

  Philip Klein

• Those Underpaid Government Workers

  The recession has exposed just how nice and cozy -- and unaffordable -- working for the government can be.

  Andrew G. Biggs & Jason Richwine

• Caught in the Crossfire

  The NRA has its opponents outgunned but suddenly finds itself in a shooting match with fellow conservatives.

  W. James Antle, III

The Pursuit of Knowledge

• The Idea of a University

  Surely there is a better way to manage the transition from adolescence to adulthood than by spending the family savings on a four-year course in resentment.

  Roger Scruton

Capitol Ideas

• How Enviros Obstruct the Border Patrol

  Here's another thing the mainstream media won't report.

  Tom Bethell

Presswatch

• The Legend of Helen Thomas

  James Taranto

Letter From Paris

• Here’s Looking at You, Kid

  Today Mona Lisa is the ultimate in kitsch.

  Joseph A. Harriss

Politics

• Contract Negotiations

  Tomorrow, House Republicans are set to release their "governing agenda" -- a Contract with America that is more than just a campaign tool, drawing as it does on 30 years of history.

  Grover G. Norquist

High Spirits

• A Saintly Conscience

  John Henry Newman's beatification is the focal point of Pope Benedict's visit to Britain, which begins today.

  Jonathan Aitken

Ben Stein's Diary

• Summer and Sandpoint

  Ben Stein

Conservative Tastes

• The Pursuit of Happiness

  It used to be that Hollywood had nothing against the mercenary motive.

  James Bowman

Books in Review

• Knight Errant With a Clipboard

  A beautifully edited half century of Bill Buckley.

  John R. Coyne, Jr.

• Can’t Live With Them…

  Is Thomas Sowell too disdainful of intellectuals?

  Jeremy Rabkin

• Good Show to All That

  The great Paul Johnson has penned a sort of counter-autobiography.

  Mark Falcoff

• Enabling Ignorance

  Roger Kaplan

Current Wisdom

• Current Wisdom

  R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

Last Call

• Swimming Pool

  That's it for this year.

  Wlady Pleszczynski