With a long-term war in progress and threats of further terrorist attacks on American soil, is it mere escapism to go to movies such as Harry Potter? Not at all; such movies provide something just as essential to winning a war as weapons and soldiers. Harry Potter...
CULTURE
A nation’s culture is the sum of the intellectual achievements of individual men, which their fellow-citizens have accepted in whole or in part, and which have influenced the nation’s way of life. Since a culture is a complex battleground of different ideas and influences, to speak of a ‘culture’ is to speak only of the dominant ideas, always allowing for the existence of dissenters and exceptions. — AYN RAND
Bob Hope: A Uniquely American Archetype
When comedian Bob Hope died on Sunday, at age 100, the media unleashed old clips and canned obituaries and the world has been getting to know him again ever since.
America: Under Rights or “Under God”?
Does the assertion that individuals possess inalienable rights square with the belief that a nation should be “under God”?
Liberal Segregationists in the Schools
The spirit of George Wallace is alive and well -- among left-wing zealots in some of America's most "progressive" taxpayer-funded schools. In Oberlin, Ohio, local school board president Tony Marshall argues that only black high school teachers should teach "black...
The New York Times: Poster Child for Inaccurate Reporting
Say what you want about The New York Times, but it still makes more news than any other paper in the United States. By this, I don't mean in the sense of printing the news, as other papers do, but rather in the sense of news about the Times itself. Consider these...
Marilyn Monroe: Through Your Most Grievous Fault
Marilyn Monroe on the screen was an image of pure, innocent, childlike joy in living.
Christianity’s Contribution to Women
American women were baptized into the workforce decades ago. Today they're running their own businesses, launching their own product lines, are managers, directors, VPs and CEOs. That's why the recent Southern Baptist Convention's in-fight over the issue of women in...
The McWilliams Special, Part 3 of 3
Just how McWilliams felt we had no means of knowing; but we knew our hearts would not beat freely until his infernal Special should slide safely over the last of the 266 miles which still lay between the distressed man and his unfortunate child. From McCloud to...
The McWilliams Special, Part 2 of 3
On the West End we had all night to prepare, and at five o'clock next morning every man in the operating department was on edge. At precisely 3.58 A.M. the McWilliams Special stuck its nose into our division, and Foley-pulled off No. 1 with the 466 -- was heading her...
The McWilliams Special, Part 1 of 3
It belongs to the Stories That Never Were Told, this of the McWilliams Special. But it happened years ago, and for that matter McWilliams is dead. It wasn't grief that killed him, either; though at one time his grief came uncommonly near killing us. It is an odd sort...
Dealing with School Violence
Marc Epstein teaches history at Jamaica High School in Queens, N.Y. He wrote the summer 2003 issue of Education Next's feature story, titled "Security Detail." If an American, who passed away as late as 1960, were somehow resurrected, he'd probably think Epstein...
Independence Day and American History
On this, our great national holiday, let us rededicate “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor” to the greatness of America.
The Failure of Middle East Studies
The U.S. Congress broke with a 45-year tradition last week: It permitted a dissident to critique the federal funding for the study of foreign language and cultures - to suggest that the program often serves the very opposite of academia's goals or the nation's...
Patriotic Books for Children
Giving kids a better grasp of what America means usually begins with a good book. The combination of appealing pictures and exciting ideas may spark a young person's interest to learn more about a topic. Several classic children's books offer reasons to celebrate...
Overwhelmed By Lack of Confidence
Q: I know people who do more than I do yet don't seem to get overwhelmed. I feel overwhelmed most of the time, yet I do less than these people. What's my problem? A: It's not how much you do; it's how you view what you do that determines your overall emotional state...
New York Times and the Child Tax Credit
Conservatives everywhere were celebrating last week with the announcement that Howell Raines was forced out as executive editor of The New York Times. Raines had pushed the paper yet further to the left and had done so in ways that were intended to be as irritating to...
Graduation Day Values
As you start out on your careers and your adult lives, we urge you to hold two ideas as absolutes, never to be breached or compromised: that reason is your means of knowing reality, and that your life belongs only to you.
When Hollywood Went to War
Once upon a time there was a vicious attack on America — an act of war — and Hollywood’s biggest stars had plenty to say — and do — about it. With the war in Iraq practically over and Hollywood liberals making themselves scarce, it’s time to put Hollywood and war in perspective.
God, Buggery, and Mister Rogers
Here's what George Bernard Shaw said about religious fundamentalists: "There are scores of human insects who are ready at a moment's notice to reveal the will of God on every possible subject." A few carloads of those insects were swarming recently outside Heinz Hall...
Trying to Please Everyone
Q: How can I overcome the problem of wanting everybody to like me? A: Imagine for a moment that you were liked by everyone. This would most certainly mean that you're doing something wrong. Why? Because it would be impossible to please everyone. People, first of all,...
Conservatives for the Separation of God and Religion
The House of Representatives passed a resolution last month recognizing "the public need for fasting and prayer in order to secure the blessings and protection of Providence for the people of the United States and our armed forces." On Bill O'Reilly's Fox News show...
The Reagan Legacy
Ronald Reagan was one of our most successful Presidents in part because he fervently believed in, and acted on, a small number of important principles. To be sure, he knew how to compromise to advance his legislative agenda. But in the process he always kept sight of his essential principles.
Introduction to “The Capitalist Manifesto”
An Excerpt from the first draft of the Introduction to Andrew Bernstein’s forthcoming book The Capitalist Manifesto.
Daniel Pipes Visits Hamilton College
On January 27, 2003 the Hamilton College Objectivist Club, Chaplaincy, Hillel, Dean of Students' Office, Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, and government department brought Dr. Daniel Pipes to Hamilton College. Dr. Pipes began his visit with a Q&A seminar on the...
Twin Disasters: Teacher failure and Student failure in Education
When critics point out the abysmal performances of schools in ghetto neighborhoods, teachers defend themselves by pointing out the disinterested, disruptive, and sometimes dangerous students they have to deal with. But teacher failure and student failure are not...
Roman Polanski and R. Kelly: Pedophilic Celebrities are Above the Law
Polanski plied her with champagne and Quaaludes before raping her in Nicholson’s whirlpool.
Black History Month: Celebrating Race-Based Achievement is Racism
The unchosen physical characteristics that make us automatic members of one race or another must always come secondary to those characteristics that we do choose.
The Immoral Defense of ‘Amateurism’ as the Primary Virtue of College Sports
Consider the following scenario: A junior at a major university is majoring in marketing. She is one of the department's most successful and intelligent students. All of her professors agree she will rise to the top of her profession someday. Now suppose this...
Drexel University: A Modern Business?
Drexel University is very often accused by students and faculty of being "run like a business" while pointing to its shortcomings and ignorant "customer service" as proof of it. When one hears of so many bad experiences with the Drexel administration and considers the...
Give Minority Youngsters a Lousy Education and Then Admit Them to College By Quotas
It has been said that, when Ronald Reagan was governor of California, someone told him that admitting students to the University of California on individual performance alone could mean that all the students at Berkeley might be Asian Americans. "So what?" was the...
The State of the Discipline of History
An excerpt from the afterword of the second edition of The Killing of History: How Literary Critics and Social Theorists Are Murdering Our Past.
No Preschooler Left Behind
Thomas Watkins, Michigan's superintendent of public schools, is on a mission to expand his authority beyond the traditional K-12 boundaries. If given his way, every child in the state--practically from birth--would become the exclusive property of state authorities....
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