Current Affairs
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Occupy Government
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1 min read
First Amendment to the United States Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” With such a…
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For Newt Gingrich It’s the Labor in Child Labor
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2 min read
The headline should read: Presidential Candidate Eager for Gilded Age‘s Return Instead it reads: Newt Gingrich: Child Labor Laws Are ‘Stupid’ Gingrich’s position is, of course, more nuanced than it sounds. And you have to give him credit for this characteristic bit of brainstorming on his part. But, as is always the case with this…
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Fox News Viewers: Less Than Ignorant?
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1 min read
You have to admit that there are some things that you know intuitively and when they are confirmed, it is all less shocking than it should be. Having said that, it was still pretty amazing to see this headline: “Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don’t Watch Any News: Study.” The study, which…
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Is Joe Paterno Your Scapegoat?
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2 min read
You should be mad at Joe Paterno. I wouldn’t be surprised if, when the whole Penn State child sexual abuse scandal is over, it is possible that he is at the center of a great-big cover-up. But Paterno shouldn’t be our scapegoat. And neither should the whole coaching staff. We can’t march these people out…
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The Two Politics
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4 min read
In the United States we have two politics. Competitive Politics The first, I’ll call “Competitive Politics,” is the two-party system of pugilism, evidenced by our incessant competitive metaphors. We talk about horse races, boxing matches, and football. So outdated is this vision of politics, that we even use war metaphors as evidence of only two…
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Bullying Isn’t Free Speech–Even in Michigan
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3 min read
Matt’s Safe School Law, otherwise known as Michigan’s “anti-anti-bullying law” is an embarrassment and juvenile. It is the pre-emptive self-defense of bigotry, and just like the nation’s first foray with the Bush Doctrine, this has a profound effect on people’s real lives. It hurts people. Real people. Not mythical, hypothetical, potential people. Real, living people…