On February 10, 2015, The Center for Vision & Values was pleased to welcome Dr. Guido Hulsmann to speak before more than 100 students and guests during the Freedom Readers Economic Dessert Series. Hulsmann, a professor of law, economics, and … Continue reading
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My Self-Control is Running on Empty
Self-control is more important than self-esteem. The ability to control one’s activities is more predictive of success than is intelligence. When it comes to self-control, research supports Ralph Waldo Emerson’s adage that “character is higher than intellect.” What does the … Continue reading
Rating Colleges and Universities and—Blenders?
Early in his second term, President Obama charged the U.S. Department of Education to develop a new rating system for all higher education institutions. College presidents across the country are concerned and are asking some important questions. Jamienne Studley, a deputy … Continue reading
Commencements, Causes and Campus Free Speech: The Surprising Case of Dickinson College
When my daughter told me that Mark Ruffalo—an actor and leftist activist—would be receiving a prestigious prize at her 2015 commencement at Dickinson College, I was dismayed but not surprised. Dickinson, an elite liberal arts college in central Pennsylvania, is … Continue reading
Building A Legacy for Freedom: Remembering Jack
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Forbes.com. Dr. John (Jack) Marks Templeton, Jr. (February 19, 1940-May 16, 2015), lived an extraordinarily productive life. He made many contributions as a medical doctor, a foundation president, and as a family man. … Continue reading
Seven Brothers? A Remarkable World War II Story
This time last year I did a commentary on five brothers who served in World War II. Very impressive. Imagine my surprise when someone who caught the commentary sent me a package with this note: “Dear Professor Kengor: Your [commentary] about the … Continue reading
Memorial Day: Remembering Loyce Deen of Altus, Oklahoma
I’ve written in the past about how my Pop carried with him a haunting memory from his time aboard the aircraft carrier Essex in World War II. Anti-aircraft fire had killed a turret gunner during a sortie. Pop, whose job … Continue reading
Joe McCarthy: Despicable or Prophetic?
A recent column I wrote on communism in Hollywood in the 1940s elicited strong reaction toward the person of Joe McCarthy. This was somewhat perplexing, given that McCarthy was not the front-and-center figure investigating Hollywood communism. Yet, it wasn’t surprising, … Continue reading
Iran: The Gulf Region Bully
Iran acts like a Persian Gulf hegemon because it can. Tehran’s military, while capable of making a less-than-concerted attack costly, would be overmatched by the armed forces of the United States and those of the Persian Gulf states and crumble … Continue reading
The Triumph of Supply-Side Politics: Where the Supply-Siders Totally Blew It
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at RealClearMarkets.com. If you’re hoping for an unremitting anti-supply-side diatribe, you will be disappointed. There is, indeed, a major flaw in the supply-side approach and I’ll get to that presently, but first, let’s give … Continue reading
The Man Who Could Redefine Marriage
A recent profile of Justice Anthony Kennedy begins with this: “The Irish Catholic boy who came of age in Sacramento after World War II is an unlikely candidate to be the author of the Supreme Court’s major gay rights rulings. But those … Continue reading
Socialization as a Religious Phenomenon
Every home schooling parent has been asked the S-Question: “What about socialization?” The implications (real or imagined) of the question are less than flattering: Students who attend schools outside the home are socialized better because they spend so much time with their … Continue reading
Overcoming Stagnant Wages: Stronger Unions and Higher Minimum Wages are Not the Answer
Recently, many economists and politicians have expressed concern about stagnant wages and rising income and wealth inequality. Such concerns prompted 20 states and the District of Columbia to raise the minimum wage this year. Some economists, such as former treasury … Continue reading
The S-300 Slap Down
The Russian-built S-300 anti-aircraft/anti-ballistic missile (AA/ABM, carrying the NATO designation SA-10, codenamed “Grumble”), while not the world’s most advanced surface-to-air defensive weapon, roughly equates to the American Patriot system. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent decree promptly lifting former President Dmitry Medvedev’s … Continue reading
Negative Interest Rates: A Brilliant Concept!
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Forbes.com. I have to admit that initially I was uninterested, even close-minded, about the negative yield being offered on a growing share of European sovereign debt. “It must be a short-term aberration,” I … Continue reading
The Inauguration of The Honorable Paul J. McNulty ’80 the Ninth President of Grove City College
The Honorable Paul J. McNulty ’80 is a former U.S. Deputy Attorney General and partner in the global law firm Baker & McKenzie. He oversaw the prosecution of terrorists in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, set policy for … Continue reading
Hollywood’s Blacklist and Agents of Stalin—and Hitler
Few subjects have been as addled, muddled, and befuddled as the issue of communist penetration of the American film industry. Thanks to liberals and their control of Hollywood, media, and academia, the typical take is that Hollywood in the 1940s … Continue reading
V&V Q&A – “Religion in the Oval Office”
Editor’s note: The “V&V Q&A” is an e-publication from The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. In this latest edition, professor of political science and executive director of the Center—Dr. Paul Kengor—interviews the chair of the history department at Grove … Continue reading
Great Expectations?
“If your children are no better than you are, you have fathered them in vain, indeed you have lived in vain.” -Solzhenitsyn from “Cancer Ward” Actually, I am not satisfied merely if my children are better than I am, for … Continue reading
Five Elections that Mattered for Conservatism
In 1970, a young conservative who once played professional football and served as an aid to California governor Ronald Reagan was elected in an upstate New York congressional district. He was a different kind of Republican from New York. Neither … Continue reading