Blog 3 Columns

A Gun Control Lesson From Australia’s Cat Genocide 0
- Culture
- August 9, 2019
As America reels from another string of mass shootings, first in El Paso, then in Dayton, Ohio, the debate over gun control is heating up again. Any rational observer realizes that there is something deeply flawed with how we traditionally talk about guns in America. I wonder if we would be better off if we
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Why I’m Glad I Read Toni Morrison’s Beloved (Even Though I Didn’t Want To)0
- Culture
- August 8, 2019
“I am very unexcited to read this book,” I told a classmate of mine as I stared at the copy of Beloved sitting on the table in front of me. I would describe myself as a book lover, but my fiction quota is relatively low. It’s not that I don’t like fiction. Rather, if
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The Epidemic of Woke Politicians 0
- Politics
- August 8, 2019
Every time there is a mass shooting, we’re all supposed to dispense with reason and common sense and embrace the proposition that laws can solve all of our problems. There’s a word for this: “panic.” And it’s a panic made worse by politics in two ways. The first way has to do with
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The Batman and Tolkien’s Batman 0
- Culture
- August 8, 2019
While we continue to marvel at the steady stream of superheroes being pumped out in comics and movies, I am more interested in ordinary heroes. The ordinary hero is the man or woman behind the scenes. They are the ones who play the steady, supporting role. Natural second fiddles, they are the loyal retainers who
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I Immigrated to the US to Pursue the American Dream, Not to Pay for Your College Degree 0
- Culture
- August 8, 2019
Candidates were back at it last week, competing to see who could present the best student loan forgiveness plan. Sure, that might appeal to some of the party’s base and America’s cash-strapped millennials. But for roughly 46 million immigrants like me, the idea that the government should forgive student loans is totally unfair. After all, when we came here,
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‘Do Something’ Is a Dangerous Demand to Make of Politicians 0
- Culture
- August 8, 2019
Do Something, goes the suddenly popular chant. In response to the wave of mass killings this year, it’s being shouted at any available political figure. Be careful what you ask for. It’s hard to imagine anything good can come of this slogan. To demand the state do something, anything, is short sighted and even dangerous.
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Why Only Villains Are Running for President 0
- Culture
- August 7, 2019
Steven Pressfield has written best-selling historical fiction books such as Gates of Fire and Tides of War. He writes nonfiction as well; and in my development as a writer, few books have helped me more than Pressfield’s The War of Art. When Pressfield talks about writing, I listen. Recently he wrote a series of blog
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Why Are Children’s Books Narrating Confusion?0
- Culture
- August 7, 2019
Did you know that crayons care about identity politics and race? I didn’t. I just thought they were great for coloring! Luckily I came across The Day the Crayons Quit, by Oliver Jeffers. Each crayon writes a note to a little boy, Duncan, with a complaint. Either Duncan colors with them too much or too
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Trump Moves Forward on Apprenticeships – but More Needs to Be Done 0
- Culture
- August 7, 2019
A quick scan of the news confirms that college students spend more on higher education than ever before, but they lack the necessary skills to succeed in the workplace. Apprenticeship programs could offer a promising college alternative, but establishing them can be difficult. That could change, however, as the Department of Labor (DOL) is making
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A Gun Control Lesson From Australia’s Cat Genocide 0