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Blog 3 Columns

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Blog 3 Columns

Partisanship and the Reason Each Side Thinks the Other Side is Crazy 0
- Politics
- January 23, 2017
To some liberals, Donald Trump’s inauguration portends doom for the republic; to many conservatives, it’s a crowning moment for the nation that will usher in an era of growth and optimism. It’s as if each side is living in a different country – and a different reality. In fact, over the last few months, a
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On Ben Franklin’s Letter to an Atheist 0
- Economics
- January 23, 2017
Benjamin Franklin’s feelings on God and religion were complicated. While it’s true that Franklin believed in God and saw great benefit in religion, he himself (as I’ve written before) had an aversion to church services (or at least services led by dull pastors). Like many people, Franklin’s own views on faith and religion changed throughout
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How Ancient Greek Skepticism Can Thwart Internet Trolls 0
- Culture
- January 23, 2017
How do you deal with those pesky trolls who seem to be everywhere on social media sites nowadays? Nothing ruins the cool vibe of the social media experience more than their online diatribes, meant to tease and instigate with every key stroke. Kendall Walters defines a troll as “someone who deliberately provokes others online, typically
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Betsy DeVos’ Secret (and Paradoxical) Weapon 0
- Education
- January 23, 2017
Over the past few weeks, the political and media controversy has primarily centered around Donald Trump’s various selections for cabinet positions. Perhaps, of them all, the one pick that has garnered the most profuse and stringent criticism has been Trump’s choice for United States Secretary of Education—Betsy DeVos. Whether one believes the Michigan philanthropist and
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Why Americans Need to Give Trump a Shot 0
- History
- January 20, 2017
Donald J. Trump was sworn in as America’s 45th president on Friday. Tens of millions of people watched the ceremony, which took place on the National Mall amid a sprinkling rain. Many no doubt watched the event with excitement, others with fear. I’ll admit that I felt both of these emotions as I watched Trump
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The Oldest Rhetorical Trick in the Book 0
- Education
- January 20, 2017
In his brilliant 1956 collection, Minority Report, H.L. Mencken stated: If you were against the New Deal and its wholesale buying of pauper votes, then you were against Christian charity. If you were against the gross injustices and dishonesties of the Wagner Labor Act, then you were against labor. If you were against packing the
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Students Arrested for Sharing Copies of U.S. Constitution 1
- Culture
- January 20, 2017
Sometimes I think we must be living in an Alice-in-Wonderland world. At least, it sure seems like it if we judge from the number of times we’re forced to cry “Curiouser and curiouser!” because of the cognitive dissonance which abounds around us. Take the incident at Kellogg Community College in Michigan which recently came to
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PolitiFact Flubs Betsy DeVos Fact-Check 0
- Education
- January 20, 2017
It would be difficult to think of any principle more basic than that criminal defendants can’t be convicted except by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But left-leaning “fact-checker” PolitiFact doesn’t even know it. In an error-filled January 19 “fact-check,” PolitiFact’s Anna Orso writes about “the ‘clear and convincing’ standard used in criminal trials.” The clear
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Obama’s Going to Get Paid 0
- Politics
- January 20, 2017
Today President Barack Obama will leave the White House after two terms in office. In spite of the toll that the stress of being the POTUS takes on one—their hair usually turns gray while in office—I’m sure there will be some sadness on Obama’s part. But that sadness may soon diminish, because the fact is,
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