University of Virginia English professor Mark Edmundson has written a fascinating essay entitled “Do Sports Build Character or Damage It?” The short answer is “both,” or “either.” In the course of his discussion, which draws on his own experience playing football, he points out Plato’s
A long-time educational myth is exploded: For decades, the prevailing wisdom in education was that high self-esteem would lead to high achievement. The theory led to an avalanche of daily affirmations, awards ceremonies and attendance certificates — but few, if any, academic gains. Now, an
If you try looking something up today on Wikipedia, you won’t be able to. The ubiquitous online encyclopedia is shutting down as a way to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) currently before Congress. Other sites, such as Reddit and Boing Boing are also
Pro-abortion advocates are claiming that what pro-lifers and Republicans in general really want is to outlaw birth control. As evidence they are citing Rick Santorum’s stated belief as a Roman Catholic that he does not believe in contraception (even though he underscored that he is
Arguing for Christian observances to the point of denying they are Christian: A lawsuit against the Sussex County Council in Delaware alleges that by reciting the Lord’s Prayer before meetings, the council “has publicly aligned itself with a single faith” in violation of the First
For all that I love my native Oklahoma, education is not one of its strong points. Harold Cole, writing in the Daily Oklahoman, gives an example of the mindset that keeps holding it back: A group of school superintendents recently expressed concern that about 6,000
I have been complaining that only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul qualified to get on the Virginia primary ballot. But candidates, except for those two, are also having ballot problems in Ohio, Illinois, D.C., Missouri, and Arizona: Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who came within
A conclave of leaders of social conservative organizations and evangelical political activist groups voted to rally behind Rick Santorum: A week before the pivotal South Carolina primary, Rick Santorum’s quest to emerge as the chief alternative to Mitt Romney received a boost Saturday from a
Our relationship with Iran is getting more and more dangerous. As more and more of that country’s nuclear scientists are getting assassinated–with most people blaming Israel’s spy agency Mossad possibly with the collusion of the CIA–Iranian leaders are threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz,
I’ve been in my native Oklahoma last weekend to see my new granddaughter and to be there for her baptism. Localists have a point: There really are regional differences. It’s nice to be back in my old stomping grounds. It’s interesting to read the local
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