The liberal press is abuzz over Target’s decision to limit—but not eliminate—merchandise related to “Pride Month” across the 2,000-store chain. If that sounds like last year’s news to some readers, there is a reason for that. Target based its decision on the retailer’s 2023 experiences. Trying to Avoid an Old Problem Last year’s so-called Pride … Read more
Ask many teachers to identify the biggest problem in classrooms today, and one answer comes almost immediately—cellphones. A Worldwide Issue Legitimate complaints come in from teachers nationwide. They relate instances where students contact students in different classes to set up rendezvous in the restrooms. Even when the phones are in “silent” mode, the vibrations are … Read more
Ever since the Cuyahoga River caught fire on June 22, 1969, the media have exposed Americans to a lot of environmental news—the majority of it bad. Even when the reports are speculative—as in the case of “climate change”—the assumption is that the real story is bad and destined to get worse. An Atmosphere of Pessimism … Read more
This coming school year, we may see a unique institution opening in Oklahoma. Saint Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School is slated to admit its first students. Barring court interference, the school will be a charter school, meaning its funding will come from the state. Virtual Charter Schools Two terms need to be clarified. First, … Read more
On October 29-30, 1840, a remarkable debate took place in New York City. On one side were the representatives of the Public School Society—the predecessor of the current New York City Public School Board. On the other side was Bishop John Hughes, a great lion of American Catholicism. The most striking element of Bishop Hughes’s … Read more
California’s “Racial Justice Act” threatens to turn the very idea of justice on its head. The Act is a product of the overheated summer of 2020, an indirect result of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis the previous May. Self-Congratulation When he signed the Act, Governor Gavin Newsome’s celebratory press release contained a quotation from the … Read more
“Gambling has an almost uniquely corrupting influence on governments…” That arresting line introduced a recent article from The Dispatch. It pointed out that many governments “count on gambling to produce a fairly reliable stream of revenue.” An Atmosphere of Attractive Risks Evidence of state-sponsored and tolerated gambling is everywhere. Among the fifty states, only Mississippi, … Read more
A new expression is increasingly appearing in the education press—student disengagement. This phenomenon takes two forms. Disengaged students are either not mentally prepared to learn in class or stay away from school altogether. The School as Therapy “Disengaged behavior” is nothing new. “Skipping school” is a practice that is as old as the schools themselves. … Read more
On paper, this could be many people’s dreams come true. A multinational corporation wants to build a $2.4 billion EV Battery plant on 270 acres of land in Green Charter Township, Michigan. It promises to create over two thousand jobs. It could be the key to economic prosperity for this rural area, roughly an hour’s … Read more
My email box contained an interesting bit of news this morning under the engaging title “DEI, Left to Die.” These encouraging words were from the National Association of Scholars (NAS), a right-of-center group of academics who work to retain some sanity in America’s ivory towers. The NAS’s task is not enviable. The lounges where professors … Read more
