We Need to Become More Offensive

BY SEAN WALSH Dostoevsky was right on the money when he wrote about how some people straight-up enjoy taking offence at the most trivial things: “A man who lies to himself is the first to take offence…he likes feeling offended, it gives him great pleasure, and thereby he reaches a point of great hostility” – The Brothers Karamazov Dostoevsky’s novel is an unsurpassed literary dissertation … Continue reading We Need to Become More Offensive

Diary of Mr Peter Hitchens

BY SEAN WALSH I have instructed my solicitors Phillips, Schofield, and Childs to issue a “cease and desist” letter to Mr. Professor (Emeritus) Richard Dawkins on the grounds that the title of his book “The God Delusion” could be considered libellous. I will set out my reasons to myself below, while reminding myself, Mr. Peter Hitchens, that I am not a lawyer. It is what … Continue reading Diary of Mr Peter Hitchens

He’s So Fine?

BY SEAN WALSH For competent plagiarists this could be the best of times In 1976 a New York court decided that George Harrison had committed “subconscious plagiarism” by passing off My Sweet Lord as his own work. It ruled that the Quiet Beatle’s paean to peace, love and understanding was more than coincidentally similar to the Chiffons’ 1963 hit He’s So Fine. The decision must … Continue reading He’s So Fine?

The Value of Latin Best Appreciated Sub Specie Aeternitatis  

BY SEAN WALSH Trigger warning: contains references to Catholicism.  No politician does casual spite quite like Bridget Phillipson. In a Seasonal message to the struggling but aspirational middle-class family she has decided to cancel the Latin Excellence Programme. This, you may know, is a provision introduced in 2022 to around 40 non-selective state schools. From February the resource will no longer be available to the … Continue reading The Value of Latin Best Appreciated Sub Specie Aeternitatis  

On Celebrity Endorsements

BY SEAN WALSH Did the Mob “Wise Guy” Bring it Home for Trump?    I knew that he was going to win when he secured the endorsement of the respected and much-loved former Mafia hit-man Sammy “the bull” Gravano (pictured). These embraces are always the result of a negotiation. No doubt a shadowy Trump consigliere had met for a “sit down” with Gravano’s people in … Continue reading On Celebrity Endorsements

Why The Left Hates Laughter

BY SEAN WALSH “A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes” – Ludwig Wittgenstein. * “Man is the only animal that laughs…for he is the only animal that is struck by the difference between what things are and what they ought to be” – William Hazlitt. We have been told that it would be unfair to take any pleasure in … Continue reading Why The Left Hates Laughter

Why conservatives Should Prize Eccentricity

BY SEAN WALSH “When people feel at home, they allow themselves freedoms, hobbies and eccentricities.” – Sir Roger Scruton   Occasionally, the broiling cesspit that is social media stills itself for just long enough to reveal a gem. Here’s an example, a tribute to the conservative academic Michael Oakeshott, posted on Twitter by the philosopher Ferenc Horcher: Oakeshott’s style was enchanting. Here was a man … Continue reading Why conservatives Should Prize Eccentricity

My Hometown. And Water

BY SEAN WALSH We live in Devizes, a town which nudges the contours of Salisbury Plain: an army redoubt devoted to the prevention of significant war, and home not just to military training exercises but to strange goings on. Ghostly goings on, actually, and there is a supernatural component to life here which is pretty undeniable. It is a weird but wonderful place, bifurcated by … Continue reading My Hometown. And Water

Roe V Wade

BY SEAN WALSH It’s not possible to have a “debate” about abortion The US Supreme Court has done what it’s charged to do and interrogated the Constitution of the United States in order to reach a majority decision. It’s X-factor on stilts, given the nonsense presented to it. Those of us who lack a familiarity with the legal fetishism which is the default jurisprudential rhythm … Continue reading Roe V Wade