An Aristocrat’s Smut
Legendary bad boy, the Earl of Rochester, wrote sex-fueled verse designed to shock.
dougiem
Ireland’s violent men of peace
It was from the Northern Ireland conflict that I first learned how language – like everything else – can be warped utterly. Take the late Martin McGuinness, not to mention his still-living, libel-hungry comrades.
America’s cities have descended into anarchy – and Britain’s could be next
From crime to climate protesters, the predictable result of not upholding the law is more lawlessness
Randi Weingarten is the shame of the nation
I liked a remark that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made last year. That the most dangerous person for America is not a foreign despot, but our very own Randi Weingarten. The President of the American Federation of Teachers did not take kindly to that point.
Manchester club badges have nothing to do with slavery
WHAT do you do when the demand for offence is greater than the supply? Why, you go scouring the land looking for things to be offended by, of course.
Love That Is Everlasting
John Donne’s poem strikes at the heart—with a line that knocks you flat.
In defence of Picasso
‘Well, they can’t cancel Picasso.’ That was my optimistic take some months ago when a friend in the art world said: ‘Watch out, they’re coming for him next.’
To those on the left and right, don’t make leaker a hero — he’s a traitor
I predict that Teixeira will become a national hero to one political side or other in the US, depending on whose politics his leaks most assist.
Sensitivity Readers Are Distorting the Pages of the Past
Why is anyone shocked that authors reflect their times?
Seeing God in a Cat
An 18th-century poet praised the Lord—and his pet feline Jeoffry.
The English countryside isn’t racist
Just last month the BBC website ran a lead story about ‘Muslim hikers’ allegedly suffering ‘abuse over Peak District prayer signs’. But the abuse was online. That’s a surprise – for most of us the online world is a buttercup field of delight and harmony.
Sir Keir Starmer thinks all he has to do is let the Tories sink – that’s not happening
Like many voters, I am not impressed by the Conservative Party’s attempt to run our country since 2010. In some ways Starmer should be a shoo-in for PM. A former Director of Public Prosecutions, he has shown that he can tie up his own shoelaces, which is more than can be said for some party […]