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
Few community members, even frequent patrons, realize how much progressive political ideology affects schools and public libraries. To a great extent, this philosophy comes courtesy of the American Library Association (ALA). Even the tiniest bit of research shows just how committed to leftist dogmas the ALA is. So, it is heartening to see that some … Read more
For decades, liberal politicians have ridden a politics of envy into power. These rabble-rousers hold the classic Marxist notion of a class struggle of the rich oppressing the poor. One particular area of concern is the idea that the rich contribute too little to the tax burden and must be made to pay their fair … Read more
It is always tragic to see the leftists when they are forced to confront a position other than their own. They have managed to establish monopolies inside academia, the federal government bureaucracy, the news media, many professions and far too many religious and charitable institutions. Thus, leftists tend to be dismissive of those who challenge … Read more
In a recent article in the Dayton Daily News, Law Professor Charles J. Russo of the University of Dayton argued that schools should allow “After-School Satan Clubs” to meet in public schools. “Without endorsing or condemning Satan Clubs, or banning them, and other clubs, as some boards have done, basically risks ‘throwing the baby out … Read more
