He is moving to Pennsylvania to work with the John Templeton Foundation. Dreher is one of the most interesting editorialists around, in that he comes at problems from a conservative philosophical and Christian orthodox worldview but refrains from blind ideology and partisanship. I’m sorry to see him surrendering the very valuable role he’s played in this city and in the national political debate, but glad that he will be digging into the deeper issues of our time. Nobody can claim he doesn’t live what he preaches, chicken coops and all:
By the way, anybody want to buy a great Arts & Crafts bungalow in historic Old East Dallas, with a fenced back yard, a big chicken run and coop, a small greenhouse and shed, and raised organic gardening beds. And a rainwater collection system? And a brand-new fireplace with a generous hearth? Because I’ll make you a deal.
Call quick. When the entire nation turns to CrunchyCon-ism, it may become a National Landmark.
15 comments
That is a big loss for Dallas, Wick. Don’t always agree with him, but Rod is unfailingly smart and thoughtful about the issues.
I’ll really miss Rod. the Templeton Foundation is a great fit for him. It is a big loss for our city. He does live what he preaches. It’s been a privilege to know him. Blessings Rod!
Dallas will be a better with life support system for Right Wing talking points gone.
Don’t know what planet Wick lives on, maybe he just never read Rod’s blogs) here’s some example of his “interesting” work:
In celebration of the installation of the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives here’s what he said the following about Nancy Pelosi on January 5, 2006:
Regarding having her grandchildren involvement in her swearing in [Rod]“thought she looked asinine up there, frankly. It’s a wonder she didn’t lay out cookies and milk.
But with Rod it’s not just about behavior, it’s also about a woman’s appearance: “Then again, Margaret Thatcher is my ideal of feminine leadership, not some ridiculous Bay Area Botox victim.”
Tonight’s topic Rod numerous ad hominin attacks against Michele Obama.
Here’s how Rod has described our next First Lady in his own words:
-Based on Rod’s analysis of her college papers she She’s a “Phony. A Princeton-and-Harvard-educated, $400,000 a year phony, whining about her privilege.” (From Dreher’s “The chip on Michelle Obama’s shoulder Wednesday March 5, 2008 “)
-”I’ve basically been admiring how effectively she’s managed to give an essentially dishonest account of who she really” (”Scrutinizing Michelle Obama” Tuesday August 26, 2008)
-”She gave up lawyering, she says, and chose “public service”–the kind that leads in due course to a 300k-plus salary. I’ve no problem with it. I just don’t want to keep being asked to admire the sacrifice.” (From Dreher’s “Oh, the selfless Obamas” Wednesday August 27, 2008)
-”I’m wondering if the Obamas are, underneath it all, the kind of educated left-wing miserabilists who really do despise their country.” (From Dreher’s “Mme. Obama hated America till now?” Tuesday February 19, 2008)
-”Is she really vain enough to believe that America was a dishonorable place until it began to embrace her husband?” ( Dreher “Madame Obama’s gaffe” Feb 19, 2008 Dallasnews.com)
Maybe the DMN will stop running Mark Davis too make Dreher seem less extreme.
Actually, I think that this means that the “CrunchyCon” thing didn’t work out.
On that subject, when you have to resort to square-peg, contrarian hyphenates to breath life into a political philosophy (CrunchCon, South Park Republicans, etc.), it means that philosophy is dead.
Have fun waging war on science at Templeton.
Isn’t he going to work for the guy who wants to use science to prove faith? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton_Prize
ALSO, please provide an illustrative, substantive example of him breaking from wingnut dogma to support something not so – oh – wingnutty.
He’s a hack and now he can work on deciding how many angels dance on the head of a pin. Being neither provable nor disprovable makes it a great place to practice his … something.
His departure is not a surprise. Typically when a younger, local journalist is wooed in FrontBurner or D it means they are looking for a new gig. Dave Levinthal received the same treatment before he and the wifey left for D.C. Rod would have been a great foil / frienemy for Rogers.
The last four noteworthy departures from the DMN all saw reporters leaving for non-profits:
Kent Fischer is doing work for the Bill Gates Foundation, Dave Levinthal is a senior staffer at the Center for Responsive Politics, Emily Ramshaw left for the new Texas Tribune (a 501c3) and now Dreher is headed to the Templeton Foundation.
Coincidence?
The loss is so profound. First Bible Girl, now Bible Boy.
Ding Dong.
Mixed feelings. Rod was right about a third of the time, wrong a third. The rest of the time he was just preposterous. Right or wrong, he usually wrote beautifully, as well as Jim Schutze. But, then, Schutze is right about a third of the time, wrong a third, and…
Contrarian thoughts, yes. Apparently conservatives aren’t allowed that. I can respect anyone who is consistent……which is why I am searching for @ grumpy’s defense of Sarah palin. What Rod said about pelosi and the chosen one’s wife are flowery compared to what she’s endured.
In terms of Dreher’s philosophy applied to life and love, Rod has always been unpredictable (unless the subject was gay marriage). Always literate. In terms of his professionalism, he has always been worth reading if only because he actually read and learned in the course of his applied opinions…which could change when new insights became available; hardly the norm among the myriad rigid left & right socio-political reactionaries regularly vomiting calcified columns on media pages. Personally, in terms of friendship, coupled with all the above, he has always been generous and loyal and endearing. What’s not to miss?
Dreher is definitely one of the greatest editors in the world. I respect him.
Dreher should add to his bungalow description: “located a few blocks from a five-time exemplary elementary school and one of four International Baccalaureate candidate high schools in Texas”.
I was hoping to witness his eventual conversion to our religion in East Dallas – our great public schools. Perhaps it is the preacher lineage in my genes.
However, I wish him luck in Philly and I hope that he will find a “Bungalow Heaven” like Junius Heights. There, I hope he will fully engage with the neighborhood.
I shall miss his writing. I have disagreed with him on many issues but I always look for his columns and have commented on many of his posts on the Dallas News Opinion Blog.
The comment response to Rod Dreher’s announcement on the local blogs, 10% of the response to his announcement on his beliefnet blog, shows pretty clearly that Dallas was about as interested in Rod Dreher as Rod Dreher was in Dallas, so this move is probably a win for both parties.
I was never a big fan of Rod’s as he was not consistently conservative. However, after reading all the things that @Grumpy Demo gives him credit for writing I am a new and devoted fan. Way to go, Rod, we will miss you and your wisdom.