Blog 3 Columns

In Gerrymandering Case, Supreme Court Rules It’s a Matter for Lawmakers, Not Judges 0
- Politics
- June 27, 2019
In a new decision, the Supreme Court determined partisan gerrymandering disputes are a political question, not something federal courts should be deciding. In a 5-4 ruling Thursday, the high court decided in a pair of cases regarding gerrymandering – which is the practice of state legislatures drawing up districts for congressional and state legislative seats to benefit
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Global Capitalism Makes Your Hipster Minimalism Possible 0
- Culture
- June 27, 2019
The family-owned barbecue truck at Porcfest was doing a bang-up business. I stood in line and finally ordered my plate of meat. In years past, most vendors at this event processed Bitcoin for purchases, even as far back as 2011, when the idea of magic Internet money seemed goofy. All these years later, its inability to scale
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Eight Surprises From the First Democratic Debate 0
- Politics
- June 27, 2019
This year the Democratic Party has a paltry few candidates running for president. Twenty-five to be exact. Twenty of them are a part of the first debate in Miami, which has been broken up into two days – June 26 and June 27 – with ten candidates each day. Here are eight, somewhat unexpected, occurrences
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Down With Yoga, Up With Baseball 0
- Culture
- June 27, 2019
Not long ago, a former boss suggested I take up yoga to reduce stress. Soon thereafter, an old friend noted the positive effects that yoga had had on him. Then someone at church praised yogic meditation and breathing exercises. I don’t doubt the usefulness of Eastern meditation. Yet my gut reaction to this craze might
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Why Do Parents Have Trouble Teaching Children Respect?0
- Culture
- June 26, 2019
Kids are hard work. Anyone who has spent even a small amount of time around children knows this. So it’s no surprise that parents are eager to get away and spend some time by themselves. Yet we also have this modern phenomenon of parents who want to keep their kids with them, even while doing
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What Rightward Shift in Higher Ed?0
- Education
- June 26, 2019
Over the past 50 years, American higher education has been “transformed” in a rightward direction by an influx of philanthropic efforts by conservative billionaires and foundations — or so claims a newly released report by David Austin Walsh for the Urban Institute. The transformation claimed by the Urban Institute report is multifaceted, allegedly bringing an
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Spotting Doublethink in Ourselves 0
- Culture
- June 26, 2019
George Packer has a good review essay of a new book about the George Orwell novel 1984. Excerpt: We stagger under the daily load of doublethink pouring from Trump, his enablers in the Inner Party, his mouthpieces in the Ministry of Truth, and his fanatical supporters among the proles. Spotting doublethink in ourselves is much
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Rose Wilder Lane Explains Why Anti-Semitism Threatens Freedom 0
- Culture
- June 26, 2019
On college campuses, among celebrities, and among socialist politicians, anti-Semitism is in vogue. Rose Wilder Lane would tell you it is no accident that freedom is simultaneously in retreat. Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, was a famed journalist who helped to ghostwrite her mother’s Little House on the Prairie books. In
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Is the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Really Underpaid?0
- Culture
- June 26, 2019
The U.S. women’s soccer team is currently playing in the World Cup in France, defending the title they won in 2015. They’ve had an incredible start, scoring 18 goals in the group stage – a record for the tournament – and beating Spain to reach the quarterfinals. Some see this success as fresh evidence in support of the
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In Gerrymandering Case, Supreme Court Rules It’s a Matter for Lawmakers, Not Judges 0