With the Iowa caucuses in the rear view mirror, our Presidential campaign begins to clarify a bit. Candidates drop out, others give mixed signals, still others need to quit but haven't figured it out yet. Most of that action is on the Republican side, but that's where most of the candidates are. When you have …
Hillary's Hidden Obstacle in the Electorate
Voting at eighteen years of age has been the law in the U.S. for nearly a half century now. But for those who are off to college, the same age bracket starts voting in other ways, and one of those are student evaluations of professors. There is a great deal of argument about how much …
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The Places I Couldn't Teach
The flap over Wheaton's process to dismiss Larycia Hawkins from her position makes me stop and think about a few things, especially since I am beginning yet another semester of teaching Civil Engineering at UTC. Lord willing, sometime this year I will complete my PhD pursuit. It's been a long process, not without excitement; hopefully …
The Place Which Watches the Grass Grow Gets a Pass on Shari’a
Brunei slides past our sybaritic elites: The sultan of Brunei has issued an edict that threatens Muslims with five years in prison if they celebrate Christmas. Christians are told that their celebrations must remain secret or they can be jailed as well. One of my family business' customers was Brunei Shell, as the state sanctioned …
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Tribalism All The Way
I saw a Facebook post which characterised the Jr. Jerry Falwell's recent comments about concealed carry and Islam as follows: This is probably what most people expect of Fundamentalists-- hyper conservative, right wing bigots who see anyone who disagrees with them as godless enemies. This is religious tribalism at its most basic element. We are …
From Free Speech to Filthy Speech
This little tidbit emerged from Geo-Strata's interview with Dr. J. Michael Duncan of Virginia Tech, justifiably characterised as a legend in his (and my) profession: Q. What was it like at Berkeley during the '60's? "Berkeley in the '60's" is typically required reading in U.S. history classes now. A. (Laughs). I'm surprised you ask this …
Our Foreign Policy Block
Damon Linker starts out his piece on American foreign policy with this predictable assertion: Unlike so many of the blustering Know Nothings trying to become the Republican nominee for president, Clinton and Kagan know a tremendous amount about the world. Clinton, in particular, sounds comfortable talking in granular detail about the intricacies of international affairs, …
Maybe the Turks Will Unfurl the Banner Named Barack
For those of us with long memories, an old conflict resurfaces: The shooting down of a Russian jet by Turkey is a "stab in the back" committed by "accomplices of terrorists", Vladimir Putin has said. The Sukhoi Su-24 was warned 10 times before being downed near the Syrian border by two Turkish F16 jets for violating the country's …
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Ending Authority Has Never Been the Problem
David Fowler's generally incisive piece on the current mess our institutions of "higher" learning are in repeats, unfortunately, a misconception that needs to be challenged. Down in the article he states the following: Relativism, by definition, must question anything that purports to be authoritative, and, of course, nothing can be authoritative if there is no …
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The Ivy League Finally Meets Its Match
In this case, from New York's Eastern Correctional Facility debate team: The debate team from New York's Eastern Correctional Facility has major bragging rights, after beating the national debate championship team from Harvard. In September, the inmates invited the Harvard team to the Napanoch prison for a friendly match. The Eastern Correctional Facility team was …
