Blog 3 Columns

Why Didn’t the Founders Abolish Slavery?1
- Culture
- July 2, 2019
Reparations for slavery have reemerged as a hotbed issue in the 2020 election, raising the question of why the Founding Fathers did not abolish slavery when starting their new country. Many of the Founders – including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton – opposed the practice. They denounced slavery in the original draft of the
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Three Myths About Prohibition and Why It Actually Worked 0
- Culture
- July 2, 2019
The reputation of Al Capone and the typical American aversion toward big government cloud our understanding of the history of Prohibition. According to an article published last week in Vox, Prohibition worked much better than most people think. A reevaluation of Prohibition is very relevant for our time. Americans across the country are voting to
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The Pursuit of Happiness Rightly Understood 0
- Culture
- July 2, 2019
On the day C.S. Lewis died, his last written work was already in press with the Saturday Evening Post. “We have no ‘right to happiness,’” Lewis declared in the essay, by which he meant that we have no moral right to trample the rules of justice to gratify our impulses. Lewis did concede that the idea
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Nike: Taking Colin Kaepernick’s PC Advice Once Again?0
- Culture
- July 2, 2019
You’d think Nike would have learned by now to avoid Colin Kaepernick’s advice like the plague. After all, it was Kaepernick’s ad for Nike that caused a number of mocking knockoff memes on social media, provoked a boycott of the company, and sent the stock plunging in September of 2018. Believe in something, even if
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All Out of Bootstraps 0
- Culture
- July 2, 2019
Somewhere along the line, the Republican Party earned itself the moniker of the “Stupid Party.” It has become painfully obvious, for example, that most congressional Republicans don’t want to repeal Obamacare. “And if that is the case,” as Byron York wisely asks, “the question is, why are Republicans trying?” Well, for show, naturally; but also, because they
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When Knitting Becomes Political 0
- Culture
- July 1, 2019
Should a crafting website be a forum for political discussion? And if the website claims to be “inclusive” can it ban one political viewpoint from its forums? That’s a question we should all ponder in the wake of Ravelry’s recent decision. On Sunday, June 23, 2019, Ravelry, a free, community-based website for yarn-related craft enthusiasts,
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The TV Habits of Conservatives and Liberals… and Five Shows That Bring Them Together 1
- Culture
- July 1, 2019
There’s been a lot of concern about how conservatives and liberals consume their news from sources that merely confirm their preexisting beliefs. The result, supposedly, has been a disintegration of a shared reality and a fracturing of the nation’s political life. But does this trend extend to the shows we choose to watch on TV
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The Magical Narrative: The Power of Stories 0
- Culture
- July 1, 2019
Necessity is the mother of invention. So is desperation. It was nine o’clock in the morning, and I had volunteered to entertain five grandchildren, ages eight and under, for two hours so that a daughter-in-law might complete some paperwork. As I trudged up the stairs, coffee mug in hand, I wondered what I could do
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George Washington’s Dentures: Why We Venerate American Heroes 0
- Culture
- July 1, 2019
Have you ever wanted to see George Washington’s dentures? Well you can find them displayed within the halls of his estate, Mount Vernon. They’re a bizarre amalgamation of metal, bone, and ivory, placed under glass and spotlights as if they were members of the crown jewels. The question arises, why such care for this macabre
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Why Didn’t the Founders Abolish Slavery?1