The lobotomy factories

One has to wonder what the argument for public school is supposed to be when four out of five of the GRADUATES of a major public school system can’t read, write, or do math: It’s an education bombshell. Nearly 80 percent of New York City high school graduates need to relearn basic skills before they […]

Inflation vs Deflation I

Since I agreed to start the debate, I did not go back and re-read Nate’s initial and inadvertent post on the subject to which I linked last week.  This is not a response to that post, but as will soon become readily apparent, is a reversion to the foundation for our difference of opinion. There […]

In defense of “extremism”

Frank Bruni complains about the loss of the media monoculture in the New York Times: America these days is an immoderate land of fixed opinions and outsize fixations. More and more we wallow: in our established political philosophy; in our preferred interest group; in our pastime of choice; in whichever health routine we’ve turned into […]

Defying King Cuomo

Will the shooting start in New York?  New York gun owners have no intention of complying with King Cuomo’s attempt to disarm them: Assault-rifle owners statewide are organizing a mass boycott of Gov. Cuomo’s new law mandating they register their weapons, daring officials to “come and take it away,” The Post has learned. Gun-range owners […]

The real reason for the gun bans

“The first notable is that the two rates track closely, so that whatever is driving changes in the one is likely (but not certainly) driving changes in the other. The second remarkable feature is the abrupt increase in the turbulent 1960s, and the subsequent decline as the people responsible for these cultural excesses began to […]

A failure in mass propaganda

The New York Times gives up on the global warming scam: The New York Times will close its environment desk in the next few weeks and assign its seven reporters and two editors to other departments. The positions of environment editor and deputy environment editor are being eliminated. No decision has been made about the […]

SFWA Platform: the first five points

As some of you already know, I have declared myself to be a candidate for the SFWA president in the next election, which takes place this spring.  Here are the first five points of my platform; I’m interested in any ideas for improving them: SPLIT THE NEBULA AWARDS: Science fiction is not fantasy. Fantasy is […]

Manning vs Brady

The Sports Guy considers the question posed by a reader: “Two months from now, it’s very possible Tom Brady will have 3 NFL MVPs, 6 Super Bowl appearances and 4 rings. Wouldn’t that clinch him as the greatest QB of all time? It’s just as possible that two months from now, Peyton Manning will have […]

Juxtaposition

I happened to read two articles describing the same thing from very different perspectives earlier this week. Item One: Though few may doubt that Jewish life in America could be threatened, Gordis effectively explains why this luxury is precisely because of the modern state of Israel. In the most powerful passages of the lengthy piece, […]