A few days before Christmas, I checked the schedule for Turner Classic Movies, one of the few TV channels I watch. I was looking for Christmas movies, maybe the 1938 Reginald Owen version of “A Christmas Carol” or something like … Continue reading
President Obama and his administration’s spokespersons continue to explain the eruption of bombings and mass shootings as “lone wolf attacks” or “work place violence.” The cause, they often say, is too many guns in society. Their response is a further … Continue reading
U.S. labor unions have long been experiencing a decline. In 1954, union membership for both public and private sector employees combined peaked at 28.3 percent. Today only around 11 percent of all workers belong to unions. The overall rate of … Continue reading
In “The Myth of Sisyphus,” Albert Camus’s exploration of the role of suicide in the modern world, the philosopher of the Absurd states, “That universal reason, practical or ethical, that determinism, those categories that explain everything are enough to make … Continue reading
Books Make Great Gifts! This Christmas give the gift of scholarship. The Center for Vision & Values is pleased to highlight incredible books written by our fellows and contributing scholars. All of the books below would make excellent gifts for … Continue reading
After much debate and considerable delay, the House of Representatives has finally passed a highway funding bill. A big question that delayed the bill’s passage was whether the federal fuel tax would be increased to fully cover planned spending from … Continue reading
In “Pleading Guilty,” best-selling novelist Scott Turow wrote, “What kind of ethical social system takes as its fundamental precepts the words ‘I’ ‘me’ and ‘mine’? Our two-year-olds start like that and we spend the next twenty years trying to teach … Continue reading
For months now, ISIS has sold oil on the international market through Turkey, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is furious with petroleum prices plunging along with Russia’s economy. Consider that context as we consider the following. On November 24, Turkish … Continue reading
In September, President Obama announced his administration’s new College Scorecard, touted as a resource for parents and students as they search for a higher education institution. Several well-regarded colleges are nowhere to be found in the data. Grove City College … Continue reading
In 1789, America’s first president proclaimed a “day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” George Washington implored the heavens to “pardon our national and other transgressions” and urged the citizenry to practice “true religion and virtue.” In 1863, Abraham Lincoln urged … Continue reading
I recently saw the documentary “3801 Lancaster: An American Tragedy.” I went home and cried. I don’t mean tears of joy. No, I cried. The last time I cried was when my dad died. The last time before that I can … Continue reading
Responding to a request from Congress, President George Washington issued our nation’s first Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. Only in the midst of the crucible of civil war, however, did presidential proclamations of Thanksgiving become customary. Every year since 1863 our … Continue reading
Some time ago a former student emailed me a video clip that I now show my Major European Governments course. It’s a five-minute news piece by Dale Hurd of CBN News, a conservative Christian outlet—the rare kind of place where … Continue reading
The recent campus absurdities at Missouri and Yale have justifiably been met with derision by critics and real concern by parents who are paying a great deal of money to send their children to college. But some conservatives like Senator Marco … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Department of Education has released its “College Scorecard,” a searchable college-affordability database that President Obama described as containing “reliable data on every institution of higher education.” Unfortunately, that simply … Continue reading
“ Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but above all thou shalt not be a bystander” –Yehuda Bauer, Professor of History and Holocaust Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Obama administration’s weak and failing … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Investor’s Business Daily. A long-touted motion picture on prominent Hollywood screenwriter and communist Dalton Trumbo debuts in theaters this weekend. I will see the film, but first I’d like to share some background … Continue reading
“Just existing became what was important.” So said Frank Kravetz, World War II veteran and former captive of Nuremberg Prison Camp, or what Frank called the Nazi “hell-hole.” “Yet even as I struggled with the day-to-day sadness and despair,” said … Continue reading
Abigail Fisher applied for admission to the University of Texas at Austin (UT) as part of the entering class of 2008. Little did she know that being rejected for admission under UT’s race-conscious program would bring her before the U.S. … Continue reading
Of course, it’s not a new verb; it’s in older dictionaries. I have been hearing it much more frequently, however, and I am becoming alarmed. We as a society are much more aware of the risks of being concussed, and … Continue reading
