Politics

Not a Single U.S. State Is Requiring Kids to Get V*ccinated to Attend Public School. Why?2
- Education, Economics, Politics
- September 19, 2022
September has arrived and many children are back in public schools (though fewer than previous years). At a recent event, one parent joked to me we’re now officially in “vaccine season.” The comment made me laugh, but there’s at least a kernel of truth to it. It’s not unusual for states to require that children
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Fanning the Political Fires at Home With War Abroad 7
- International, Politics
- September 16, 2022
Six months ago, the opening shots of the Russia-Ukraine conflict shook the world. Now, thousands of miles away from those of us in the United States, the two countries wage a vicious military, economic, and propaganda war over territories and populations which the region’s power players have contested for centuries. But that’s not the impression
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Finding a Great Getaway From Our Crazy Time 12
- Culture, Education, Literature, Politics, Uncategorized
- September 15, 2022
“You have to be always drunk,” wrote the French poet Charles Baudelaire. “That’s all there is to it—it’s the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk.” “But on what?” Baudelaire asks. With “wine, with
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How Can You Befriend a ‘Semi-Fascist’?2
- Culture, Politics
- September 15, 2022
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, at a recent event with a liberal audience, praised Justice Clarence Thomas, her ideological adversary. Sotomayor said, “He is a man who cares deeply about the court as an institution.” She added that while the two often disagree over judicial decisions, “We share a common understanding about people and kindness
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Exposing the Woke School Counselor Cabal 7
- Education, Culture, Politics
- September 14, 2022
Back in the day, guidance counselors were those helpful (but not unduly intrusive) high school officials who dispensed vocational and career advice, reminded you of college application deadlines, and made sure your transcripts and letters of recommendations got where they needed to go. But like so much else in the 1960s and 1970s, traditional roles
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The Plague of Presentism 12
- Culture, Politics
- September 13, 2022
Presentism: Now there’s one ugly duckling of a word. My online dictionary defines presentism as “uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially the tendency to interpret past events in terms of modern values and concepts.” To my surprise, the 40-year-old dictionary on my shelf also contains this eyesore of a word and definition. To be present,
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