LATEST
2025-12-18T15:23:06-06002025-12-18T15:22:06-06002025-12-17T14:15:24-0600

Blog 3 Columns

Home
Blog 3 Columns

Why the Hong Kong Protestors Keep Marching 0
- Culture
- September 23, 2019
Students, young professionals, and not-so-young Chinese have now demonstrated in Hong Kong for many weeks, despite the brutal attempts by the government to stop them. The police have used clubs, tear gas, and water cannons — everything but dogs — to silence them. “If we didn’t protest,” one young woman said, “this might become just another Chinese city.” Why are they protesting?
READ MORE
Kamala Harris and the Cult of the Presidency 0
- Culture
- September 23, 2019
Kamala Harris wants you to join her cult. But don’t worry: membership is voluntary — that is, unless a plurality of your fellow voters want to join, in which case you’ll be automatically enrolled. You see, Harris’ cult is the “cult of the Presidency.” Coined by Gene Healy, the phrase describes the worship that so often accompanies
READ MORE
How American Liberalism is Co-Opting Islam 0
- Culture
- September 23, 2019
A persistent refrain of conservatives and liberal hawks has been that liberals and leftists are soft on Islam. This theme dominated Nick Cohen’s What’s Left, Andrew Anthony’s The Fall-Out, Paul Berman’s Flight of the Intellectuals, and much of the late life of Christopher Hitchens. There is, of course, a great deal of truth to that contention. It is unimaginable
READ MORE

‘Always Packin’: Have Americans Become Lazy About Personal Safety?0
- Culture
- September 23, 2019
The year before she hit it big in the action flick “Speed,” Sandra Bullock played a police officer helping Sylvester Stallone catch Wesley Snipes in “Demolition Man,” a movie set in the crime-free, futuristic utopia of San Angeles. In one scene, as Snipes attempts to construct a gun, lightly-armed policemen close in on him. He proceeds
READ MORE
Winning the Lottery Every Day 217
- September 20, 2019
It’s mid-September, and I am privileged to spend five nights at a beach house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina at the invitation of a long-time friend, John. Two of John’s other friends, Susan and Franklin, are also here. The weather so far has brought ocean breezes, blue skies, and moderate temperatures. The house
READ MORE
In Defense of Jane Eyre 1
- Culture
- September 20, 2019
Jane Eyre is a perennial novel for me. Yes, I teach it every year, but more importantly, I reread it every time. Not just a skim. A full read. And this is why. 1. Jane is a character of such growth. I know, I know. Brontë includes much of her own life and experiences in the
READ MORE

Different Parties, Different Planets 0
- Culture
- September 20, 2019
When people try to explain why the United States is so politically polarized now, they frequently refer to the concept of “echo chambers.” That’s the idea that people on social media interact only with like-minded people, reinforcing each other’s beliefs. When people don’t encounter competing ideas, the argument goes, they become less willing to cooperate
READ MORE
Dave Chappelle and the Public Thirst for ‘Sticks and Stones’0
- Culture
- September 20, 2019
Sticks and stones might not break your bones, but Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix special will likely hurt your feelings. Defending Louis C.K’s questionable home practices, and Kevin Hart as “four tweets shy of being perfect,” Chappelle takes 65 minutes to launch stones through the window of PC culture, right onto the heads of his audience. The
READ MORE
Child Hostages Obey Their Climate Captors 0
- Politics
- September 20, 2019
On Friday, schoolchildren around the world will be prompted to walk out of class as part of the “Global Climate Strike.” These young “climate strikers” will protest alleged inaction on climate change and promote an end to fossil fuel use. “Our house is on fire – let’s act like it. We demand climate justice for
READ MORE