Blog 3 Columns

Former NPR CEO Spends a Year with Devout Trump Voters. Here’s What He Discovered.0
- October 31, 2017
Ken Stern spent eight and a half years at NPR, first as the network’s Executive Vice President, then as its CEO. Then in 2016, spurred by why he called a deep fear that the red and blue division in America was tearing the nation apart, he did something extraordinary. “I decided to venture out from my overwhelmingly
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5 Causes of the Protestant Reformation (Besides Indulgences)1
- Uncategorized
- October 31, 2017
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther purportedly nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church, thus marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation—a movement that was to permanently divide Western Christendom. But it’s important to understand that Luther’s act did not come out of nowhere. Rather, it was preceded by at
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Why Globalism is Doomed 0
- Economics
- October 30, 2017
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the international body based in Basel, Switzerland that represents the world’s central banks, claims in its latest annual report that globalization is a “scapegoat” for rising inequality, as it launches a defense of closer cross-border ties and integration. You didn’t get a copy and read every word of it?
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Why ‘Black and Orange Spirit Day’ is Now a Thing 0
- October 30, 2017
A Massachusetts elementary school recently made national headlines after canceling its annual Halloween costume parade and announcing it would henceforth observe “Black and Orange Spirit Day.” “[T]he costume parade is out of our ordinary routine and can be difficult for many students,” Brendan Dearborn, principal at Boyden Elementary School principal, wrote to parents. “Also, the
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The Misguided Campaign to Remove this Thomas Hart Benton Mural 0
- Culture
- October 30, 2017
In recent years, people have protested the racism of Confederate statues, Hollywood and sports mascots. But a curious campaign has taken place on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus. Students have circulated petitions and organized protests seeking the removal or destruction of painter Thomas Hart Benton’s 1933 mural “A Social History of Indiana,” which contains an image
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Is Halloween a Christian Holiday?0
- Culture
- October 30, 2017
Conventional wisdom holds that Halloween is essentially a secular and pagan holiday, the result of the Christian Church appropriating an ancient Celtic harvest festival. But one strain of critical opinion tends to the view that the holiday was thoroughly Christian from the start. In the church calendar, Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) is the beginning of
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The World’s Poorest People Are Getting Richer Faster than Anyone Else 0
- Economics
- October 27, 2017
Last Tuesday marked the 25th anniversary of the United Nations’ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The date intentionally coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Call to Action, which saw the French anti-poverty campaigner Father Joseph Wresinski ask the international community, in front of 100,000 Parisians, to “strive to eradicate extreme poverty”. To mark
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The 5 Things Men and Women Should Look for in a Mate 0
- Culture
- October 27, 2017
It’s no secret that marriage rates are declining. Recent data from Pew shows that between 1960 and 2016, marriage rates for those 18 and older fell from 72 percent to 50 percent. There are many theories on why this is. The rise of cohabitation and the fear of divorce. The increase in education attainment. The
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One Principal’s Surprising Advice to School Administrators 0
- Education
- October 27, 2017
Advice on how to improve schools is a dime a dozen. Teach math earlier. Start the school day later. Read more books. School year round. And the list goes on. All these suggestions are worth a try and may prove to be quite helpful. But do they treat the symptoms rather than one of the
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Former NPR CEO Spends a Year with Devout Trump Voters. Here’s What He Discovered.0