Blog 3 Columns

The Great Difficulty That Faces Us 0
- August 26, 2015
From Christopher Dawson’s The Judgment of the Nations (1942): “As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy. The subordination of morals to politics, the reign of terror and the technique of propaganda and psychological aggression can be
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The Dangers of Pot Stirring 0
- August 26, 2015
Regarding Vester Lee Flanagan, the man who shot Alison Parker, Adam Ward, and Vicki Gardner during a live news feed, The Daily Beast reports: “Vester Lee Flanagan faxed a 23-page suicide note to ABC News after he killed two Roanoke, Virginia, journalists at approximately 7 a.m. Wednesday. At 8:26 a.m., ABC News reports it recieved
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Public Shootings and Narcissism 0
- August 26, 2015
This morning, a Virginia news reporter and cameraman were tragically shot dead on live TV by a gunman dressed in black. Now, news comes out from Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe that the shooter is most likely “a disgruntled employee of the station.” This means that the attack was probably timed to take place on live
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Illiteracy is Costing America Billions 0
- August 26, 2015
A few months ago, there was a bit of hubbub when Minneapolis knocked off Washington, D.C., for the top spot in the “Most Literate City in America” study. Produced each year by Dr. Jack Miller of Central Connecticut State University, the study draws on the number of book stores, libraries, education levels, and other factors
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32 Million U.S. Adults are “Functionally Illiterate”… What Does That Even Mean?3
- August 26, 2015
In a few of our blog posts we’ve mentioned the statistic that 32 million (1 in 7) adults in the U.S. are considered “functionally illiterate.” There have been some questions about the meaning of this mysterious term “functionally illiterate,” so I have provided something in the way of an explanation below. The most frequently referenced
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“Shut Up, Bigot!”: The Intolerance of Tolerance 0
- August 26, 2015
America is in the midst of a raging national debate on issues surrounding sexuality and gender. If you dare to suggest that gender is determined by sex and is immutable, that same-sex sex acts are immoral, or that marriage is a permanent, exclusive union of husband and wife, then you will be called an intolerant
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Twin Cities School District Thinks Students Should be in Front of a Screen ALL OF THE TIME 0
- August 25, 2015
Public school districts today are increasingly identifying screen time with education. Across the country, many districts are spending a lot of money to provide each student with an iPad or laptop. I live around one of them. The other day I received in the mail the 2015-16 calendar for the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan school
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Plato: Fix Yourself First 0
- August 25, 2015
A passage from The Republic, Book IV, 443d-e, which has been highly influential on the Western tradition. According to Plato, a man first “sets his own house in good order and rules himself” – harmonizing the various parts of his soul – before he can ensure justice in his actions toward others: Save this
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Let Them Play!0
- August 25, 2015
By now, many of us are convinced that kids need more recess time than they currently have. A recent article in the Washington Post confirms this. According to Debbie Rhea, when it comes to solutions and strategies to improve education, more time for play is crucial. She notes: “Kids are built to move, and having
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The Great Difficulty That Faces Us 0