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The MC at This State Fair Did Something Unusual0
- September 8, 2015
Yesterday, I wrapped up my summer by attending the Minnesota State Fair. While there, I had the fun of watching a true piece of Americana: a bull riding rodeo competition. Exciting? Absolutely! The bulls were bucking, the cowboys were flying, and once the rodeo hands had to scatter, practically scaling the walls of the arena
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The Kim Davis Saga Reminds Me of This Scene from “Thank You for Smoking”0
- September 8, 2015
Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, has been released from jail. I was away on vacation for much of last week, so I didn’t have a chance to comment on the Kim Davis saga. And by now, just about every major news outlet has offered their opinion,
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Survey Shows That Most Interrupt Social Activities to Use Cell Phones0
- September 8, 2015
Pew Research recently came out with a new public opinion poll regarding cellphone use, and the results should come as no surprise. It turns out that 89% of owners used them during their most recent social activity with others. Many Americans agree that such usage can take away from social interaction, but a number of
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SAT Scores Continue to Decline0
- September 8, 2015
A variety of news outlets have reported the rapidly declining SAT scores of the nation’s high school students. Bloomberg went so far as to use the headline: “Students Bombed the SAT This Year…” The charts provided by Bloomberg via The College Board are compelling and tell a much larger story of what has (or hasn’t)
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Nietzsche Thought Christianity Had These 4 ‘Advantages’0
- September 8, 2015
I guess it’s a Nietzsche kind of day… Earlier in the day we posted a quote from Nietzsche on the fate of liberal institutions. It resulted in a discussion about Nietzsche’s attitude toward Christianity and morality in the West (you can see that discussion here), so we thought we would add to it by posting
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Does This Nietzsche Quote Describe What is Happening to America?0
- September 8, 2015
America was founded on the tradition of classical liberalism, which is a political philosophy emphasizing the freedom (“liberty” – hence, “liberalism”) of individuals. Its various pillars include freedom of religion, economic freedom, and limited government. It was in the hopes of this freedom that men and women originally left the European continent, and that led
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Nothing in Excess0
- September 4, 2015
Along with the phrase “Know thyself,” these words were carved into the columns of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, where the famous Oracle presided as a symbol of wisdom in ancient Greece. They represent a fitting description of the virtue of temperance (Greek = sophrosyne), which Aristotle defines in the Nicomachean Ethics as having appetites “for the right things, in the
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Nine Thoughts on the Problems of Printing Money1
- Economics
- September 4, 2015
For some, a small dose of mild inflation, say 2% annually, is necessary for economic growth. For others, the act of inflation inherently reduces purchasing power and alters investing, savings, and business development. Most, though, would agree on the dangers of a purposeful use of inflation to get out of economic profligacy. With all of
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Doing the Right Thing0
- September 4, 2015
Imagine a boy is taking a test and is tempted to cheat by looking at his notes. He evaluates the situation: his notes are on the floor, and he could easily look at them without being caught. Plus, if he aces the test, he will finish the semester with an “A” rather than a “B”
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