[Editor’s note: The dean of American conservatives, William F. Buckley, Jr., has been ill for several weeks. This is his first column since June.]

WASHINGTON — Prior to the recent global financial crisis, the Federal Reserve Board under Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was ready to take a subtle step toward easier money in order to stave off U.S. recession fears.

In every child’s life there comes a time when childhood fantasies are shattered and he or she is forced to accept reality — there is no Santa Claus or tooth fairy; parents don’t always mean it when they promise to stay married until parted by death.

Historical costs, sometimes called sunk costs, are irrelevant to decision-making because they are costs that have already been incurred. That’s something that’s not intuitively obvious, even for some trained economists. On a couple of occasions, I’ve recommended to a graduate student, having difficulty with his Ph.D. dissertation, that it might be wise to start all over again with a different topic. The response:

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who became only the second Republican president after the Civil War to win and to serve two full White House terms, liked to quote approvingly the first Republican president and the American martyr to that war, Abraham Lincoln: “The role of government is to do for people what they cannot do at all for themselves or so well do in their individual capacities.”

When “The Simpsons” movie turns out to be more realistic than “The Bourne Ultimatum,” you know something is up. Nevertheless, the thriller is a big hit, proving once again that film audiences now want live action cartoons rather than crisp, realistic films like “The Ipcress File” or “The French Connection.”

Sometimes, with all the bad reports and unfortunate news we receive, it is vital and encouraging to hear some good news.

Will the execution-style murder of three young students in Newark, N.J., finally turn the tide in the immigration enforcement debate? Will we at last abandon the deadly, chaotic, lawless sanctuary nation experiment and restore America’s lost status as a sovereign nation under the rule of law?

Tim Morowski lived two doors up from Old Mrs. Crabtree at the end of Flamingo Street and was the slowest person I knew. We all called him Slow Moe for short, but he wasn’t dumb.

Two recent tragedies — in Minnesota and in Utah — have held the nation’s attention. The implications of these tragedies also deserve attention.

As Anne Westbrook wrote last week, Harrison Jones was captured and imprisoned at Point Lookout, Md., but was later released at the end of the war. He returned to Fayette County and, in 1867, received land from his father. We pick up the story there. Anne writes:

Some people say you have to be crazy to run for public office.

After covering politicians over a span of 37 years, I have a different perspective. I say they go crazy after they get elected.

I have read some local comments about lousy health care given our veterans, both in the service and after their discharge. I don’t question that problems exist here and there, but the whole system should not be painted with a broad brush of blame without some careful examination. Let me tell you my own story.

A very disappointing thing happens to some of our elected officials when it comes to protection of our environment. Right up until they have to vote to spend extra money to make sure that adequate protective measures have been taken, they will say a lot of the right words about how they do everything possible to maintain a healthy environment. But for some, standing by their words and doing the right thing is not so easy.

They are words that every decent Southern woman hopes to hear from her mother.

My mama said ‘em but I never thought I’d hear ‘em.

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Pastors get some of the darnedest, most interesting questions from people in their churches and people they meet. Here are a few I’ve gotten over the years and recently via email since this column started.

WASHINGTON — With the midnight hour approaching Saturday Aug. 4 near the end of a marathon session, Democratic and Republican leaders alike wanted to pass the Defense appropriations bill quickly and start their summer recess. But Republican Rep. Jeff Flake’s stubborn adherence to principle forced an hour-long delay that revealed unpleasant realities about Congress.

Hillary Clinton may be pulling away from the pack of Democratic contenders, but she’s still playing it safe. She’s quick to stake out territory that puts her in the mainstream of Democratic opinion, even if it means disavowing her own past positions — or those of her husband.

“How long will it take,” I thought, as I watched the coverage of the collapsed bridge outside of Minneapolis, “before someone blames President George W. Bush?” It turns out, not long.

WASHINGTON — Republicans returning to the House floor on Friday morning Aug. 3 after their walkout the night before were surprised to find as presiding officer the Democrat they call “King Corruption”: Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, master of earmarks and backroom deals.

The tale of Army Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, the discredited “Baghdad Diarist” for the discredited New Republic magazine, is an old tale:

WASHINGTON — A sadder but wiser J. M. (Mike) McConnell, Director of National Intelligence (DNI), told a senior Republican House member last weekend that the next time he dealt with congressional Democrats he would make sure a Republican was in the room or on the phone. After a lifetime navigating the murky waters of intelligence, Admiral McConnell at age 64 was ill prepared for the stormy seas of Capitol Hill.

Democratic presidential candidates in their Tuesday night debate were ragging, as usual, on “cool hand” George W. Bush’s “failure to communicate,” but I don’t think they get why the president, an intelligent fellow, does a poor job of explaining his actions.

That New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has maintained, even in some cases widened, her lead for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination in national polls is a tribute to her own polished performance, especially in the candidate debates, and to the professional campaign organization she has assembled.

Amid all the hand-wringing and finger-pointing as housing markets collapse, mortgage foreclosures skyrocket, and financial markets panic, there is very little attention being paid to the fundamental economic and political decisions that led to this mess.

The last (but unfortunately not the final) “debate” among Republican presidential candidates aired Sunday at 10:30 a.m. EDT in the apparent hope that no one would watch. Few did. But among those who watched, or who read the transcript, ideology once again seemed to take precedence over something the voters might consider of greater importance in next year’s election. That something is competence.

In the past few weeks I’ve been in communication with two names, one known to most Americans, the other probably only remembered by media and political leaders. Both are part of the 2008 presidential drama. It remains to be seen if they will become full-fledged participants.

Global warming has become a big-ticket item in the eyes of its supporters. At stake are research funds, jobs and the ability to control lives all over the globe. Most climatologists agree that over the last century, the Earth’s average temperature has risen about one degree Celsius.

In their latest demonstration of how much they love the troops, liberals have produced yet another anti-war hoax.

The New Republic has been running “true war” stories from a brave, anonymous liberal penning dispatches from Iraq. The famed “Baghdad Diarist” described his comrades joyfully using Bradley fighting vehicles to crush stray dogs, mocking a female whose face had been blown off by an IED, and defacing Iraqi corpses by wearing skull parts on their own heads.

We continue this week with the story of one of the many Jones families in Fayette County, that of Jesse Jones and his children. Anne Westbrook is a descendant of this family and has generously shared her research with us. It is hoped that someone out there may see something familiar and make a connection, helping to separate this common surname into family groups.