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Charting American Decline 0
- Literature
- August 12, 2021
“After the quiet 1950s…incidents of political violence again became more frequent and now we may be in the middle of another wave of sociopolitical instability.” Thus five years ago wrote Peter Turchin, a University of Connecticut professor specializing in “historical social science,” a.k.a. Cliodynamics. After 2020’s violent nationwide political protests and the pandemic’s destruction of
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Homemakers: The Last Bastion in Our Cultural Chaos 0
- Family
- August 11, 2021
On the windowsill above my kitchen sink is a small sign reading, “It’s so good to be home.” I found this sign in a box in the basement a while ago and decided to give it a place of honor upstairs. Though I live as caretaker for my daughter’s house and rattle around in a
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Is America Becoming a Failed State?0
- Politics
- August 10, 2021
Suddenly, Sunday, a riveting report came over cable news: The U.S. embassy was urging all Americans to “leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.” Message: Get out while you can. Adding urgency was news that three northern provincial capitals, including Kunduz city, had fallen to the Taliban, making it five provincial capitals overrun since Friday. The
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Europe, A Nation of Old Men Up for Grabs 1
- Culture
- August 10, 2021
I have just completed a three-week tour of Europe starting from a home base in Switzerland to southern Germany, thence to the south of France, and finally to northern Italy. Each of these places is unique. Each is delightful in its own way, rich in culture and history, a pleasure to be in. The food
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The Chain Reaction of Academic Lying 2
- Education
- August 9, 2021
An uneasy relationship with the truth seems especially prevalent in America’s most prestigious schools. Ambitious academics quickly realize that upward mobility requires a knack for convincing deceit. Long gone are the days when brilliant scholarship was the ticket to moving up the ladder. The provost who can say with a straight face, “all of our
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A Tonkin Gulf Incident in the Gulf of Oman?0
- Politics
- August 6, 2021
A week ago, the MT Mercer Street, a Japanese-owned tanker managed by a U.K.-based company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, sailing in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman, was struck by drones. A British security guard and Romanian crew member were killed. Britain and the U.S. immediately blamed Iran, and the Israelis
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Charting American Decline 0