How do we learn?
In a previous post, If you happen to be in Uruguay next month…, I announced that three of my films are being shown this September at the Sala Cinemateca Festival. In announcing this I...
Monthly Archive: August 2012
My Secularism, Unraveling
Though a regular churchgoer and on most days a religious believer, I subscribe to the secularist principle that church and state ought to be kept separate. I don’t want government dictating religious belief and...
Fall TV
The fall television season starts up soon. My regular favorites will be back on the air. There are four new shows I am going to check out this year: – Revolution – Last Resort...
Mitt Romney and the New Southern Strategy
The must-read piece of the day is by Tom Edsall of The New York Times and it concerns the Romney-Ryan campaign, which is fast-transforming itself from one that is monomaniacally focused on the poor economy,...
The Evolving Nature of the News Beast
I agree with Paul Krugman when he writes, “We know what Ferguson is going to do…But what is Newsweek going to do?” While the immediate controversy surrounded a less than esteemed Ivy League Professor...
From the Atlantic Wire: “Race Takes Over the Race”
Given Ta-Nehisi Coates’ powerful story from the most recent issue of the Atlantic which looks at the President’s narrative through the lens of race, in addition to Romney’s recent birther joke and his (completely false) welfare ad...
For the Greater Good
… the greater good Libertarianism is a very diverse ideology there’s a real blend of intellectual systems within it and much of the reason for that is that libertarianism is a purely political philosophy,...
Captain David’s 35% Rule
Last week was a bit of a rough go in the shipyard. We went to step our masts, only to find that super-special, never-been-used-on-a-certificated-vessel-before rigging was made too short. The source of the error...
Mindless Diversions Comment Rescue And Open Thread!
Kohole asks: Your comment brings up a question: when did Good v Evil stories with the Good Guys Winning actually start (at least in the western tradition)? The bible and the myths ancient Greeks...
In Which I Dissect One Harvard Professor’s Tabloid Cover Story (…At Length)
I won’t waste time giving you the context. Niall Ferguson wrote the cover story for Newsweek’s August 19th issue. It is an affront to sound reasoning, intellectual curiosity, and charitable discourse. Here’s why.
Why It’s Impossible To Parent Ironically
There’s been a fair bit of parenthood buzz around the League of late (Cf. Mike and Will and, in a different way, Burt). I’ve enjoyed all of it, and I want to add a...
A Giant Leap into the Undiscovered Country.
…RIP Neil Armstrong. The tragedy of the day is that more people are skeptical of his achievements today, than they were when he achieved them 43 years ago….
omnia vincit amor
Mark Sanford has gotten engaged to the Argentinian lady who was his mistress during his first marriage.
A Few Words on Bigotry
Years ago when I was a bit younger (but still very much a grown adult of the world) I was traveling by car on business. A young man we’d just hired was accompanying...
Rights, Liberalism, Public Reason and Political Correctness
A lot happened to me this last couple of weeks. Jerry Gaus visited the National University of Singapore. Even though he is a libertarian and a Rawlsian, he challenged some of my deeper suppositions on a number...
Whiteville: Endgame
I have previously written about the water tower cross in Whiteville, Tennessee three times: here, here, and here. The story is pretty much over now. On August 8, 2012, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the...
Reading in the Digital Age
At the end of every term for at least the last half-dozen years, I’ve had to take a week (or two—the task probably isn’t done by the end of a single week) and re-teach...
Friday Jukebox: It’s Gonna Be A Long Night
Watch this video on YouTube As you might have guessed, I’m a huge poetry fan. I like the subtlety of language in the hands of masters. For example: “Don’t call your mother, don’t call...
The Recognition of Same Sex Marriage is a Victory for Conservatism
A couple of years ago, I wrote about the defeat of Proposition 8, and how it was a victory for Conservatism. In light of Burt’s recent post, I thought I’d resurrect it. Here it is, in...
My Pick for Essay of the Year.
Fear of a Black President Just read the whole thing. It’s one of the most cogent, nuanced takes on the subject I’ve seen. TNC has raised the bar again, and all I can do...
