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More Votes than Voters Found in 37% of Detroit Precincts 0
- Politics
- December 15, 2016
Green Party presidential hopeful Jill Stein has taken some heat for demanding recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. It turns out we may owe her a debt of gratitude. Via The Detroit News: Voting machines in more than one-third of all Detroit precincts registered more votes than they should have during last month’s presidential election,
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Latin: The ‘5 for the Price of 1’ Language?0
- Education
- December 15, 2016
Throughout much of my life, I’ve been surrounded by language enthusiasts: a sister who has long dabbled in learning various languages for the fun of it; a good friend who got her Master’s degree in linguistics; a co-worker who is a Latin buff. Regrettably, I never caught the language itch. And the two languages which
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Orwell on the Difference Between Patriotism and Nationalism 0
- Culture
- December 14, 2016
A prominent intellectual at a recent private meeting was asked the difference between nationalism and patriotism. His response was similar to the explanation Justice Potter Stewart once offered on the difference between “obscene speech” (i.e. porn) and “protected speech”: “I know it when I see it.” George Orwell, in his essay Notes on Nationalism, offered
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About Those Apparitions Who Shook Down Scrooge for Money 0
- Economics
- December 14, 2016
No Christmas season would be complete without plentiful opportunities to watch stage or television productions of Charles Dickens’ unfortunately immortal A Christmas Carol. The classic Reginald Owen and Alastair Sim movies will no doubt play several times on multiple cable channels. We have a live production showing at the Alleyway Theatre here in Buffalo, N.Y.
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The Story Behind Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’0
- Economics
- December 14, 2016
Charles Dickens was mad. He was angry at his father, who was sent to debtors’ prison, forcing young Charles to pawn his belongings, drop out of school and work in a shoe-polish factory. He was also angered by the conditions in which England’s poorest children lived and worked. He was going to publish a political
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Washington Irving on the Problem with Christmas 0
- Culture
- December 14, 2016
There are generally two main complaints I hear every time Christmas rolls around. The first is that Christmas has become hectic and exhausting. The second is that it has been stripped of all that is meaningful and neutralized so as not to give offense. I thought of these two complaints when I came upon a
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