A surprising gift request from a left-wing relative--need help

Vanity

[Our man in washington]

My dear sister and her husband are both leftist professors in prominent universities. Both have established reputations in their fields. To give you an idea of how leftist they are, they fly a big U.N. flag in front of her house instead of a U.S. flag.

Anyway, I e-mailed them asking what they wanted for Christmas. I got the following very surprising response from my brother-in-law:

"Your sister and I would love a subscription to whichever right-of-center publication you consider most thoughtful, informative, well-reasoned, empirically-grounded, responsible, etc. In our world, it's easy to stay apprised of informed opinion on the left, but the right is less accessible."

So, what do freepers think? It can't be a magazine where the right just talks to themselves. It also should be fairly highbrow; these are professors, after all. My first thought is "The National Review" but is there a lesser-known publication that might meet these goals?

Thanks for any thoughts anyone has. We might be able to convert two folks who influence hundreds of college students with their ideas. I was delighted they asked. (They really are nice folks, so I'm willing to be generous in my gift.)

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Excellent.

[Terpfen]

The Weekly Standard. I'm constantly impressed with its coverge, especially their old "Among The Bourgeiosophobes" article from 2002. I still get a kick reading that.

[Crawdad]

I've always heard you should never give a gift that connotes self-improvement, but these two are begging for it.

[Wondering in Wyoming]

American Enterprise

[livius]

If they're Christians or Jews, First Things is a good publication. I also like the Spectator, which might be a good choice for those in academia.

[VRWC_minion]

Stay with humor. Their guard is up otherwise. I'd got with the Limbaugh letter. It will divorce them of their certain bias that Rush is racist etc and the humor will get past their defenses.

HOWEVER, if convinced they wouldn't take it seriously, let the news speak for itself. A good source is the Washington Times Weekly paper. I get it and it contains news stories that are factual based unlike the ones in the liberal papers as well as a whole selection of commentatories on various subjects each week. It is a great antidote.

[VRWC_minion]

Link

[international american]

I fervently hope that they are not going to read the publication and use it to trash conservatism in their respective classes:)

[Thinkin' Gal]

Personally, if they ARE liberals and a part of the left-leaning university gang, I'd think the request was just to prepare for battle. They may just be looking for holes.

Bingo. And they asked for the info as a gift, so they won't have to pay for the research material. Dishonest to the core, that's the typical liberal.

[international american]

"Bingo. And they asked for the info as a gift, so they won't have to pay for the research material. Dishonest to the core, that's the typical liberal."

You a mind reader or sumpin?:)

[Eva]

If you are not familiar with Frontpage Magaizine, HEREis a link. I find it to be one of the most informative sites on the web.

[TrueKnightGalahad]

I'd give them a subscription to Commentary magazine. I have been reading it since the late '60s (I started early -- LOL!), and in some ways it reflects my own intellectual journey from left to classic liberal, i.e., what the lamestream media would now identify as the right. Commentary publishes longer think pieces which are highly influential in Washington and beyond; the letters section shows the surprising breadth of its readership.

I wouldn't recommend The American Spectator as a first foray from the left's comfortable embrace, much as I enjoy reading it (or did, before the latest outrageous price increase), because in some ways it is TOO polemical -- snappy, smart-ass, always entertaining but not always the best researched or deepest-thinking. And I cannot in any way second the suggestion of The Economist -- a friend and I were discussing why that mag was ultimately so unsatisfying, and concluded that it was because it never ventured beyond conventional (read: leftist) received wisdom on ANY issue -- why read it when we already have CBSABCNBCPBSCNNNYTWPLATNPR...ad nauseum?

[VRWC_minion]

Correct. FR is not the place to "learn how not to be a liberal". This place is for conservatives to discuss conservative issues, not for conversion. Everyone hates re-hashing the same old liberal crapola over and over again so there is little patience for it.

[wizardoz]

Most journals and regular publications are too sarcastic, written for insiders. If you really want to blow their minds, buy them the book OMINOUS PARALLELS by Leonard Peikoff. He's the academic progeny of Ayn Rand and the main proponent of her philosophy.

This book in particular is a world-rocker. It's about the growing similarity between 1980s America and 1930s Germany. The cover is red and blue with a Nazi swastika merging into the US emblem of the eagle. It's almost as if it were designed to appeal to lefties, cause they're going to pick it up thinking it'll be telling them that the Evil Right Wing are a bunch of Nazis.

But "psyche!" It's about the evils of socialism and other brands of collectivism, and how seamlessly they sequed into fascism. It's about the mysticism, hysteria, and the moral morass that philosophy had become, and how it destroyed people's ability to consider objective reality and the rights of the individual. It's a whole new axis of evil, with Marx, Kant, and Heidegger at its points. It's fascinating.

It's a way of looking at the world that I guarantee your friends have never seen. They think (I suspect) that "right wing thought" = Conservative Christianity. Well, that's only one kind of right wing thought. Objectivism is another. And the overview of 20th century philosophy combined with German history is riveting. By the time I was done with it, I didn't even NEED the "ominous parallels" pointed out to me; they were clear enough.

[LarryM]

I would suggest a subscription to Commentary for academics. It is more of a highbrow publication.

[The Great RJ]

I gave my left of center sister-in-law a reproduction campaign button: "Pretty Girls for Nixon"

[Cobra64]

Ann Coulter's books, and a subscription to the Rush Limbaugh Letter.

[international american]

I think I am learning more from this thread than you are:)

[international american]

Thank you Eva, I saved it
Best, IA

[CrossCheck]

The New Criterion would be very appropriate for pointy headed libs. Do a search and go to their web log. Very interesting and well written.