U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is teaming up with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to start what they’re calling the “Pete and Bobby Challenge.” Anyone who accepts the challenge must complete 50 pull-ups and 100 push-ups in under five minutes. Whether or not the challenge really gains steam and “makes America
READ MOREA few years ago, I interviewed a married couple for an article, who, although only in their mid-20s, already owned a thriving business. This couple had met in a high school welding class – a fact which prompted the husband to joke that “sparks flew.” Humor aside, I was intrigued to hear that a welding class
READ MORESuppose you want to change the world for the better. Where to begin? One place is friendship. We are, as Aristotle teaches, social animals, designed to live in community, to build societies where each plays a role as part of a whole, and to find meaning through relationships. Aristotle suggests in the “Nicomachean Ethics” that eudaimonia
READ MOREIn “Meditations: Book X:16,” the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” For several decades now, our culture has served as a battleground over the meaning of manhood. Some attack males for displaying “toxic masculinity,” or advocate that men become more like women, expressing
READ MOREFor every version that rolls out, “Jesus Christ Superstar” merits accusations of blasphemy. The latest version, performed in early August at the Hollywood Bowl, is no exception. But this blasphemous rock opera should also receive criticism for its artistic failure. Not surprisingly, it gets resounding praise instead, lauded for its uneven, wild, challenging nature. “It’s
READ MOREThere’s not a cloud to be seen as I drive with my seven-year-old son – apart from the five unnatural lines left behind by planes in a grid pattern, that is. “Why do people want to control the weather?” my son ponders aloud, looking up at the unnatural lines. Weeks prior, we saw similar trails
READ MOREIn L. B. Cowan’s “Streams in the Desert,” a book of meditations given me by a friend, a recent entry has this line: “Who can estimate how much we owe to our suffering and pain?” That’s a sentiment that runs against the American grain in this century. In 2023, for instance, some 60 million Americans sought treatment
READ MOREGen Z has been sold a bill of lies. Most of the generation was born into the “Learn to Code” public information campaign. Tech moguls, celebrities, and even U.S. presidents poured funding and influence into an effort to create more computer programmers. Students were told they would get six-figure salaries for entry level jobs after graduating
READ MOREThe U.S. fertility rate dropped to an all-time low in 2024, according to recent CDC data. Our country’s fertility rate now stands at fewer than 1.6 births per woman, well below the 2.1 children per woman needed to achieve population replacement. Effectively, this means that we’re unable to replace – let alone grow – our population
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