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Finding COVID-19’s True Fatality Rate 0
- Science
- July 16, 2020
Early reports from January painted a grim picture about just how deadly the coronavirus was. Initially, the World Health Organization estimated that the percentage of infected individuals who die from COVID-19 was 3.4 percent. That statistic is called the infection fatality rate (IFR) – or colloquially, the death rate – and means that for every
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Tweets of Washington Journalists Betray ‘Groupthink,’ Study Finds 0
- Culture
- July 16, 2020
Washington journalists’ tweets and interactions on Twitter show that those delivering news on government and politics to most Americans live in “more insular microbubbles than previously thought,” according to a new study. These journalists display a “vulnerability to groupthink and blind spots,” the study says. The study, by journalism professors Nikki Usher and Yee Man Margaret
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Reparations: Truly Helpful or a Quest for Power?0
- Culture
- July 16, 2020
In 2000, Rolling Stone Magazine called Asheville, North Carolina, “America’s new freak capital.” Today that reputation remains solidly intact. Asheville is the East Coast version of Portland, Oregon, a solidly Blue City where many of the residents are young, pierced, and tattooed, where tourists snap photos of dancers at the Friday Night Drum Circle like
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Reopening Schools: What Betsy DeVos Gets Wrong and Homeschoolers Get Right 0
- Education
- July 16, 2020
While the pandemic itself is generating much uncertainty, the battle over back-to-school is causing downright whiplash. Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that schools work to reopen for in-person learning this fall. The physician group stated that it “strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with
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Innocuous Names Shield Groups From Criticism 0
- Culture
- July 16, 2020
During a recent conversation, a friend of mine hit upon something which, while instinctively knowing it, I had never heard verbalized. To paraphrase his observation, “All the progressive groups intentionally pick a name you can’t argue against without being labeled a bad person.” In essence, a basic pre-requisite for a successful progressive organization seems to
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The Shirking Pandemic: How Politicians Pass the Buck 0
- Culture
- July 15, 2020
An elderly couple in my home state of North Carolina, married for over fifty years, has been forcibly separated by their nursing home for three months. The husband, now despondent, says he doesn’t want to live anymore if he can’t be with his bride. When pressed about this inhumane policy by a North Carolina legislator
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