At one point in Chaim Potok’s classic The Chosen, David Malter—the father of the main character Reuven—discusses the decline of Jewish scholarship in the eighteenth century. In the discussion, he uses a term that accurately describes much of modern academic writing—“pilpul”: “Jewish scholarship was dead. In its place came empty discussions about matters that had no
READ MOREIn a data analysis, the New York Times has discovered that young whites (aged 25-34) are dying from drug overdoses at an alarming rate—five times the rate of 1999. This statistic, coupled with decreasing black young adult death rates, has worked to shrink the once enormous difference between black and white death rates by two-thirds.
READ MORE1. “Without education, we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously.” 2. “To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.” 3. “Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” 4. “I object
READ MOREJust before Christmas, the City of New York issued new “guidance” for enforcing a 2002 law prohibiting “discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.” Some conservative websites interpreted the new guidelines to mean that merely addressing a “transgendered” person by a pronoun of the “wrong” gender could result in a $250,000 fine for
READ MOREThere are those who disagree with you and consider it a duty to willfully ignore any point you might have. And then there are those who disagree with you but are willing to listen, and on some issues, might even be open to changing their minds. Comedian Louis CK falls into this latter category.
READ MOREAccording to the Pew Research Center, mothers today have more schooling than ever before. But, as mom and author Kendra Tierney writes, considering the ultimate value of that schooling is important if you plan to have a family. In 1960, just 18% of mothers with an infant had any college education. Today, that percentage stands
READ MOREOutdoor play is declining and causing a number of negative consequences for America’s children. Recognizing this, many parents and teachers are doing all they can to encourage youngsters to get outside and let loose. Unfortunately for Andrew and Kelly Count in Texas, the efforts to get their children outside are being met with a “neighborly”
READ MOREToday, the nation celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. who made a tremendous contribution to history. Most young Americans have been familiarized with his work and vision through his “I Have a Dream…” speech from 1963 at the “March on Washington”. Here’s the text of the full speech. Audio is below: A speech does
READ MOREIt’s extremely frustrating and happens all too frequently: You’re having a conservation with someone over a point of disagreement, and the other person quickly gets angry. End of conversation; end of dialogue. What causes this to happen so often? Why do differences over politics, morality, and worldviews often devolve into anger and hurt feelings? Why
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