What can the evolution of the martini tell us about the decline of Western Civilization?  A lot, if you’re Charles Bork at National Review.  His essay, “Decline of the Dry Martini, and other tales of a stumbling Western World” explains how.

Here’s an essay worth reading: “Crime, Drugs, Welfare - and Other Good News.”  The essay starts by describing how, about 15 years ago, conservative Americans were bemoaning the death rattle of American culture.  Robert Bork’s Slouching Towards Gomorrah was a good example of the kind of book written to diagnose the problem (diagnosis: blame it on the sixties):

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Some people say that American culture killed communism and won the Cold War.  Can rock-and-roll and Coke and Die Hard movies and McDonald’s do that?  And if they did, can they win the War on Terror?  Here’s a quick precis of what some Americans think about that question. 

(And something else to think about: if rock-and-roll and Coke and Die Hard movies and McDonald’s won the Cold War, was that really a victory worth celebrating?  Sounds like baiting kids to church with cool PowerPoint sermons and donuts.)