Dear Reader (Including those of you not cursed to endure the sweatpant-fog climate of Washington, D.C.),

Sometimes we use certain words only to describe the forms of that word we do not like.

Let me explain: Let's imagine that my daughter says, "French food is awful."

I respond: "What do you mean?"

She replies, "Snails, Daddy. They eat snails."

To which I retort, "Oh, I agree. We never should have let them talk us out of those toasted cheese sandwiches, that time. But you love duck confit and croissants. That's French food, too."

Daughter: "That's different."

The same dynamic plays itself out in many political and policy debates.

My go-to example of this is the word "censorship." Over my many years of debating with intense libertarians of the left and the right, I've heard many times that "all censorship is wrong" or "I am 100 percent against censorship."

"Oh really?" I ask. "So riddle me this: The FCC prohibits hardcore child pornography on Saturday-morning TV. Are you against that?"

The answers tend to vary, but one very common retort is something like, "Oh come on. That's not ...

June 29 2018

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In Defense of Dogma Jonah Goldberg Dear Reader (Including those of you not cursed to endure the sweatpant-fog climate of Washington, D.C.), Sometimes we use certain words only to describe the forms of that word we do not like. Let me explain: Let's imagine that my daughter says, "French food is awful." I respond: "What do you mean?" She replies, "Snails, Daddy. They eat snails." To which I retort, "Oh, I agree. We never should have let them talk us out of those toasted cheese sandwiches, that time. But you love duck confit and croissants. That's French food, too." Daughter: "That's different." The same dynamic plays itself out in many political and policy debates. My go-to example of this is the word "censorship." Over my many years of debating with intense libertarians of the left and the right, I've heard many times that "all censorship is wrong" or "I am 100 percent against censorship." "Oh really?" I ask. "So riddle me this: The FCC prohibits hardcore child pornography on Saturday-morning TV. Are you against that?" The answers tend to vary, but one very common retort is something like, "Oh come on. That's not ... Read More ADVERTISEMENT Top Stories The Race to Be Wrong First about Annapolis Kyle Smith Many in the media laid the blame for the shooting on Trump's rhetoric before the facts were known. The March of the Twitter Trolls David Harsanyi Democrats make little distinction between soft-spoken moderates such as Paul Ryan and crude sometimes-conservatives such as Trump. Judge Blocks Kentucky's Medicaid Work Requirements Jack Crowe A federal judge on Friday blocked the requirements implemented by conservative Governor Matt Bevin, calling them 'arbitrary and capricious.' ADVERTISEMENT Scurrilous Attacks on a Potential Trump Nominee — from the Right Shannen W. Coffin Kavanaugh has done nothing to suggest infidelity to the Constitution as written, and everything to suggest fidelity. The Imaginary Constitution Kyle Smith The actual Constitution is a source of frustration and vexation to progressives because it does not mandate the things they want to require while it does grant clear and unmistakable protection to things they actively hate (guns) or desire strongly to restrict (speech). The U.S. Should Sanction Iran's Minister of Intelligence and Security Tzvi Kahn Mahmoud Alavi leads a ministry that remains indispensable to Iran's efforts to subjugate its neighbors. Can Trump Make the Bureaucracy Sane Again? Jimmy Quinn It's a visionary plan, but it might well be suffocated by the system it seeks to fix. Michael Moore Falsely Claims Migrant Children 'Must' Attend Deportation Hearings 'Alone' Jack Crowe The leftist filmmaker's comments were a 'deliberate misrepresentation' of the administration's immigration-enforcement policies, according to a DOJ official. ADVERTISEMENT JOIN NRPLUS All Our Content. Fewer Ads. Members-Only Privileges. NRPLUS is everything you would associate with a digital magazine subscription, and a whole lot more ─ including up to 90% fewer on-site ads, access to our private Facebook group, full commenting privileges, and invites to our writer/editor conference calls. SAVE 40% TODAY Photo Essays Cartoons of the Day: June 29, 2018 Cartoons of the Day: June 28, 2018 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.