Dear Friend,
Welcome to our inaugural. The purpose of the WJ is simple: to keep you up to speed on National Review editorials and podcasts, to cite a few worthwhile reads here at NRO — and even some from friends, — and to share info Yours Truly believes to be worth sharing (which we hope you will share in turn, via whatever social media platforms are your preferred time-suck). Diving in . . .
Ear Ye, Ear Ye
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On the new episode of The Editors, Rich, Charlie, and Michael Brendan Dougherty discuss the death of the Senate health-care bill and Jeff Sessions’s heck-bent civil asset forfeiture expansion.
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Mad Dogs and Englishmen ramble back after a bit of a break: In the new episode, Kevin and Charlie take on civil asset forfeiture, Obamacare’s (not) repeal, Dunkirk, the books of Joseph Conrad, and KDW’s Switzerland trip.
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On The Bookmonger, John Miller interviews Carl Cannon about his new book, On This Date: From the Pilgrims to Today, Discovering America One Day at a Time.
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Check out The Liberty Files, David French’s weekly effort to keep us all abreast on the battle for free speech and free worship. The latest episode features David chatting up unalienable rights with Ryan Anderson.
Editorials of the Week
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Our latest editorial urges Attorney General Jeff Sessions to roll back his plan to expand civil asset forfeiture.
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Certifiable Madness calls on the Trump administration to dismantle the Iran Deal as Candidate Trump promised.
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Don’t Settle for Nothing presses Senate Republicans to pass some type of health-care reform. For example: “Republicans seem to be able to achieve near-unity on ending the individual mandate, allowing insurers to offer discounts for younger people, protecting taxpayers from having to subsidize abortion coverage, and giving states some freedom to relax regulations. They should work for legislation that achieves these goals and includes as much Medicaid reform as 50 senators are prepared to tolerate.”
Worthwhile NRO Reads
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This Julius Krein dude wrote a miserable review in the Washington Post of Al Felzenberg’s acclaimed new biography of our founder, A Man and His Presidents: The Political Odyssey of William F. Buckley Jr. (you’ll find NR’s review here). Krein also used his review as an opportunity to smear WFB. Rising to defend the man who created the conservative movement, John O’Sullivan writes an excellent takedown of Krein’s petulance.
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Rich Lowry nails Senate Republicans.
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Max Bloom alerts us to the existence of an important new conservative legal outfit, the American Freedom Network.
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Andrew Cuomo makes me sick. Kyle Smith too: “Even by Empire State standards, Cuomo is imperious; his ego must be visible from space. The standard operating procedure is clear: He obsessively pushes high-visibility public-works projects of little or no utility so he can parade around like Caesar at the photo-op upon their completion. When the replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge opens next year, one half-expects to see Cuomo drive across it in a gold-plated chariot, fanned by a squadron of eunuchs while state assemblymen play lyres by the roadbed.”
From Our Friends
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Every day The College Fix publishes something from the front lines of the culture war – America’s college campuses. Today it runs a maddening piece about insanity at School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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Meanwhile, Sweden, the land of obtuseness to Islamofascism, seems to circle the drain. Gatestone Institute reports.
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Abortion and . . . the 100-yard dash? Yep. Ursula Hennessey has a very troubling piece on “The Blind Spot in Women’s Athletics” over at the Human Life Review blog.
Friends and Neighbors
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Coming soon: Scalia Speaks. That’s good, but honestly, I’m waiting for the sequel, Scalia Gestures.
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Why don’t you plan on being in New York City on October 25th and joining a whole bunch of other conservatives celebrating the 4th Annual William F. Buckley Jr. Prize Dinner, which this year will honor the great novelist, Tom Wolfe, and philanthropists Brice and Suzie Kovner. It will be a terrific night, and this is will be a most enjoyable way for you to support National Review Institute and all its many programs and fellows. For more information, go here.
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NRI is accepting applications for its forthcoming Regional Fellows programs in Dallas and San Francisco. If you don’t live in those areas, maybe you know someone who does, and who would like to develop a deeper understanding of conservative thought. Check here for details.
Ye Olde Baseball Oddity
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The boxscore from Babe Ruth’s first game. He pitched and won (4-3, over the Cleveland Naps), but whiffed in his first at bat. Willie Mitchell did the deed.
Heading for the Exit
Today I am taking (theme music) my three sons (yes: Jim, Andy, John) and Never Wrong Scott (he subscribes) to see Dunkirk. And tonight, I’ll likely flop on the couch and watch All About Eve, which TCM is airing. If you have never seen it, you’ve done yourself a disservice. So, reserve the couch.
See you next week. God’s blessings on you and yours until then.
Jack Fowler
Vice President, National Review
P.S.: Like Scott, you really ought to subscribe to NR. We have a great deal awaiting you, here.