Calling all conservatives

I miss William F. Buckley. Jr. In young adulthood, Firing Line on Sunday afternoons challenged me to think. I often disagreed with Buckley, but I admired his cool, cordial way of debating his (often progressive) guests. Margaret Hoover is Firing Line’s capable current host.

If alive today, I think Buckley would be, like George Will, a former Republican. The Party of Lincoln, my beloved grandfather’s party, is no more. I’m convinced he would be aghast at this administration’s anti-conservative destructiveness. Why? His only vote for a Democratic presidential candidate was in 1964, when he feared Barry Goldwater would privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority. If that shook him up, imagine how he would respond to the behavior of this Republican President and Congress.

If you, like me, grieve the loss of a true conservative party, I commend Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (above). The Bulwark, successor to The Weekly Standard, is essential reading for me in this time when major political figures masquerade as conservatives. Bill Kristol reminds me of Bill Buckley.

From “Happy Days Are Here Again,” by William Kristol, in Vive La Résistance, an edition of Morning Shots, a newsletter by The Bulwark, written by Kristol, Andrew Egger, et al, November 5, 2025.

Sunday menu

Some additional formation resources (with a faith focus) that I find helpful:

Daily Reflection & Prayer, by Joe Howell, The Institute for Conscious Being, whose November 8 post was “Forgiveness: Part Six,” which points to The Book of Forgiving, by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu.

The Cottage, by Diana Butler Bass, a journalist who covers faith issues in America. Her November 7 post was “Empire is Not Beautiful and Jesus’ vision for a better world is.”

White Too Long, by Robert P. Jones, who grew up as a Southern Baptist in the south. Yesterday’s post was an interview with Joy Reid, “Unpacking the Threat of Christian Nationalism.”

Jones is part of a new collaborative, The Convocation, with Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, and Jamar Tisby, available via the Substack platform, emailed each Thursday.

Lutheran Confessions, by Clint Schnekloth, whose November 5 post was “Sobriety and Inclusion.”

More tomorrow.

From Doubter’s Parish Newsletter, by Martin Thielen, a monthly publication available by email. The November post is “The God I Don’t Believe In.” His December post will be “The God I Do Believe In.”

A daily rhythm

I’m my best self when in rhythm, beginning with a daily reminder to be in formation. I’ve used various tools, but at this stage of life, in this moment of history, my first read is the Daily Meditation from Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation. Each Sunday meditation keynotes the weekly theme. Each Saturday meditation is a one or two sentence summary of the Sunday-Friday meditations, with a suggested practice to end the week.

Then, I turn to some trusted sources for information, or news. In these urgent times, I begin with historian Heather Cox Richardson, legal scholar Joyce Vance, and retired attorney Robert Hubbell, who today provides a review of recent US Supreme Court action. Then, I scan other morning emails, many of which arrive via the Substack platform. As a child, Broad Street in my home town had a newsstand with various recent newspapers and magazines displayed to entice readers to make a purchase. That’s how I feel when I open my email each morning and see what has arrived. Some are totally free, some by paid subscription. Substackers are generally free, but offer more for paid subscribers. (Today, Vance has a brief intro and then a conversation for paid subscribers with Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org.)

Some resources I read as needed: 1440 Daily Digest; The Good Fight, with Yascha Mounk, who today interviews George Packer, a writer for The Atlantic and author of The Emergency; and Lucid, with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who today posted “‘Both Sane and Insane’: Autocratic Visions of Governance, and Chaos as a Strategy.” I’ll share more resources tomorrow. The world is at your fingertips.

Broad Street, Gadsden, Alabama, from All Things Alabama’s Facebook page.

Digital print

I grew up with Walter Cronkite (CBS), Chet Huntley and David Brinkley (NBC). ABC News entered the Birmingham market in 1961, giving us three major networks. Our family watched NBC. I was 12 when NBC and CBS expanded the evening news from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Still, no time for depth.

As a kid, I lingered over The Gadsden Times, our daily newspaper, usually beginning with the sports page, then the comics, then the front page. At some point, the Times added financial news, with limited coverage of the stock market. Figuring out the ticker symbols prepared me for Wordle.

My point this morning is simply that broadcast media has a time disadvantage over print media. We jettisoned cable TV when we realized we weren’t watching it. We get our news from “digital print’ sources via the Internet. Yesterday’s post listed four of our major sources. More tomorrow.

Compare Heather Cox Richardson’s review of November 6, 2025 with what is typically covered by network news. Each day, She gives us footnotes for accountability, documentation and further reading.

Joyce Vance mingled humor and hope with her coverage of the sandwich attacker’s acquittal, which was uplifting reading for me this morning.

Via Kindle, etc., even books are available in digital print form. (Photo from Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, cited above.)

Formation

Retirement is freedom to live into one’s deepest calling. For me, it’s spiritual formation, a term that sounds religious. Since much of the world’s public religion today is toxic, personal formation may be better. For the simplicity in this and the next few posts, I’ll call it, simply, Formation.

In 1968, CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite was a major opinion-swayer. Lyndon Johnson understood the significance of Cronkite’s opinion that it was time to negotiate an end to America’s war in Vietnam. In my opinion, Fox News has become America’s most important opinion-swayer.

As an act of intentional formation, we no longer have TV cable. I subscribe to CNBC+ for $15 a month to access their financial news, so I don’t aspire to be a Desert Spiritualist. After our two-month camping trip, I’ve re-established a daily pattern of media intake that will continue to evolve. Here are links to today’s example of my first reads:

Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, from the Center for Action and Contemplation.

Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, which I access via Substack. She is also available on YouTube and Facebook.

Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, a federal prosecutor for 25 years, is must reading in this age when (for now, at least), the judiciary is our only functioning “check and balance,” and it is wobbly. Vance helps me know (with wonderful Jewish precision and levity) the crucial legal issues of the week.

Those three are everyday “must reads” for me. Also, I check Robert Hubbell, whose Today’s Edition Newsletter tends to be encyclopedic. I use Hubbell to practice speed-reading. Today’s post. “Toto, I dont think we’re in 2024 anymore….” was a good review of Tuesday’s election results.

From “What the Frogs Know,” by Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse (cited above)

Assimilation

A time apart can be a valuable gift, whether it’s a coffee break, a day off, a vacation or a sabbatical. I’m grateful for the gift of experiencing nine states and 22 campgrounds. The post-trip reorientation has been a time of gentle assimilation, integrating new memories into my consciousness.

These memories sharpen my attentiveness to the present and make me more selective about engaging the daily news flow. On the trip, less was more, and I aim to keep it that way. It’s not necessary for me to have an opinion about everything.

On Sunday, a friend introduced me to the term cultural humility, which he sees as the heart of the much maligned, yet much needed, principle of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). His context was healthcare delivery, but it helps me assimilate our recent cross-cultural sabbatical encounters.

I have greater respect for our Native siblings, farmers and government workers. I have deeper respect for the lingering tragedy of American slavery and our fear of the diversity that is America’s greatest strength. My goal is to live with a cultural humility that embraces diversity and resists injustice.

Cathey gives Friar his weekly pedicure early on the morning of September 3, at the Army Corps of Engineers’ Pendleton Bend Campground on the Arkansas River, where a historic marker noted it was a stopping place for barges used to transport Native Americans on the Trail of Tears to what is now Oklahoma. We were there just one night, so we didn’t unhitch Big AL.