Even though I haven’t had much to contribute to their fine efforts in quite a while, I wanted to offer a rather belated wish of congratulations to the people at Front Porch Republic on the occasion of their one-year anniversary. One thing that becomes very clear after more than five years of discussing mostly policy and conventional politics is that the truly important and interesting ideas are concerned with entirely different things. Front Porch Republic has been an impressive effort to try to open our eyes to the kind of vision that one can only have by recognizing natural limits, remaining faithful to the place where you live and experiencing the liberty that comes from restraint, discipline and self-government. This vision necessarily baffles people who believe that solutions can be found through the application of external coercion and power or through the pursuit of fantasies of emancipation from the limits imposed by nature. For the rest of us, it is a great consolation and encouragement. Long may the Porchers thrive.