Blog 3 Columns

‘Cheers’ Totally Predicted the Obama and Trump Campaigns 0
- Culture
- May 17, 2017
The television sitcom Cheers has always been one of my guilty pleasures. Next to Seinfeld, I consider it the best sitcom of my lifetime. After about a 20-year hiatus, I recently started watching Cheers reruns on Netflix. A few nights a week, on nights when my wife puts the kids to bed, I watch
READ MORE
Why Trump will likely win reelection in 2020 0
- Politics
- May 16, 2017
Most Americans don’t like Trump. Trump will most likely be reelected in 2020. How can both of these statements be true? Here’s how: Even when people are unhappy with a state of affairs, they are usually disinclined to change it. In my area of research, the cognitive and behavioral sciences, this is known as the
READ MORE
The War on Free Speech is Just Beginning 0
- Culture
- May 16, 2017
Will the war on freedom just peter out? No. Let’s look at four reasons why not. People are fed up with political correctness. No guff. Bill Maher is. Clint Eastwood is. We are told that Canadians are fed up too. But so? Two Canadian literary magazine editors were forced to resign from their national publications this month because they do not
READ MORE

Millionaire to Millennials: If You Want to Own a House, Stop Buying $19 Avocado Toast and $4 Coffee 0
- Culture
- May 16, 2017
Via the Guardian: An Australian millionaire and real estate mogul has advice for millennials struggling to purchase a home: stop buying avocado toast. Tim Gurner, a luxury property developer in Melbourne responsible for over $3.8bn in projects, is facing heat for comments he made on 60 Minutes in Australia, implying that young people can’t afford
READ MORE
City: ‘If something is not permitted it is prohibited.’0
- Culture
- May 16, 2017
Should Americans have a right to garden in their own yards? If you looked at this question, shook your head, and answered, “Of course! Why would we not?” then it would seem there is still some common sense left in the world. Unfortunately, that common sense doesn’t always extend to the powers that be, and
READ MORE
Camille Paglia: Neo feminism teaching women to live in ‘a permanently juvenile condition’0
- Culture
- May 16, 2017
Not long ago, feminist scholar and activist Camille Paglia made waves when she excoriated those who insist on the use of genderless pronouns: “How dare you, you sniveling little maniac, tell us how we’re going to use pronouns. Go take a hike!” Now Paglia is back with some more surprising – and politically incorrect –
READ MORE

Are You Overscheduling Your Child?0
- Family
- May 16, 2017
I often have a hard time saying “no” when it comes to social invitations and new opportunities. It’s probably because of a fear of missing out or simply wanting to please others. This tendency has become increasingly problematic since becoming a parent. My 4 and 6-year-old daughters are bombarded with activity requests, birthday party invitations,
READ MORE
‘Shattered’ Reveals the True Villains of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign 0
- Literature
- May 16, 2017
The 2016 presidential campaign was supposed to end with something being shattered. And it did. It just didn’t end with the sort of shattering that Hillary Clinton had long had in mind. Poised to bring that proverbial glass ceiling crashing down, Ms. Clinton instead presided over the smash up of her White House dreams. Perhaps
READ MORE
‘Empathy’ Might Be the Most Overused Word in the English Language (See Chart)0
- Culture
- May 16, 2017
“You completely lack empathy.” This was what a longtime acquaintance said to me a few months ago after I shared on Facebook a quote from Jeffrey Tucker, a prominent libertarian scholar, which touched on federalism and Donald Trump’s rescinding of an executive order on transgender discrimination. The comment stuck in my craw. I place high
READ MORE

‘Cheers’ Totally Predicted the Obama and Trump Campaigns 0