The Free Dutchman

  • Charlie Kirk murder

    Can the Left Be Redeemed After Charlie Kirk’s Murder?

    I got into an argument with a random person on X (where I lately spend too much of my time, I regret to admit) after having the audacity to “partly agree” with Glenn Greenwald’s take on the awful murder of Charlie Kirk. I did point out in my reply that Greenwald’s equating the Right and…

    Mark Vandenberg

  • The Dutch (Or “Dutch”) Became World News Yesterday

    I’m too lazy to write a proper post today after a long week of work, tweeting, and paying way more attention to the elections than was good for my mental health. I’ll have more to say about Tuesday’s elections in the next coming weeks. Instead, allow me to embed and quote my tweet regarding a…

    Mark Vandenberg

  • The “Manchurian” Candidate

    I dislike imprecise analogies. But there’s something profoundly disturbing about the Kamala Harris presidential candidacy.

    Mark Vandenberg

  • “Verward” Or Not “Verward” — That’s (Not) the Question

    While the U.S. is gearing up for the final stretch towards Election Day, a terrorist incident in the Netherlands last week underscored the need for a serious reduction of mass immigration on both sides of the Atlantic. In yet another of the now infamous “lone wolf” knife attacks haunting the Old Continent, a 22-year-old man…

    Mark Vandenberg

  • Mass Shootings: The American Mind Gone Nihilist

    If the horrendous acts of terrorism in El Paso and Dayton this past weekend made me angry and sad, reading the empty-headed commentaries on social media within all but seven minutes of the respective events proved even more of a mental challenge. The usual culprits emanating from them are a) President Trump; b) the NRA;…

    Mark Vandenberg

  • The Failure of Liberalism and Elegies for Hillbillies

    You know your reading is taking off when the books you’ve knocked off your list start connecting in your head like puzzle pieces on the dining room table. This happens to yours truly all the time nowadays, and it particularly occurred with two works I read in 2018, Patrick J. Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed and…

    Mark Vandenberg