Why So Unserious?
A piece in the The New York Times reviews a recent book by Lee Siegel, Are You Serious?: How to Be True and Get Real in the Age of Silly. Surveying a variety of examples from both high and popular culture, Siegel claims that in
Campus Media Response: Opposition to American ideals, not American hypocrisy, is the root of anti-Americanism
“Why do they hate us?” This is the longstanding question revisited by Jonathan Aylward of The Michigan Daily in his recent column. “They” refers generally to the Middle East, and “hate” to the dismal view of America held by the people there. The author argues
Kansas Conservatives: Enemies of Individual Freedom in Healthcare?
Recently, Kansas has become a center of controversy between conservatives and liberals on the topic of health care regulation. The Kansas state legislature has passed strict regulations on doctors and clinics threatening to prevent them from providing services to patients, thereby severely limiting the freedom
A Moral Operating System: Software for Living
Damon Horowitz begins his recent TED presentation with the following question: What’s better, iPhone or Android? Nearly everyone in the audience immediately raised a hand in favor of one or the other. Then Horowitz asked which moral framework is better: that of John Stuart Mill
Help! The ATMs are Stealing Our Jobs!
President Obama recently sparked controversy when he attempted to explain America's prolonged unemployment as a consequence of automated service technologies: There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers. You
Campus Media Response: Human Rights: Exclusively Human
According to Bolivian President Evo Morales' "Law of the Rights of Mother Earth," your right to life should be defended with equal vigor as the squirrel's in your back yard. In fact, according to this newly enacted legislation, which has also been drafted in similar
40 Years of Protecting Us from Ourselves
This week marks the 40th Anniversary of the "War on Drugs," first declared by President Richard Nixon, who subsequently created the Drug Enforcement Agency. A piece on The Atlantic Wire reminds us about the drug war’s track record of failure, and ponders why it continues: Though
Why Obama is No Longer Cool on Campus
The Atlantic Wire carries a story about a recent poll by the National Journal showing that Obama's popularity ratings have returned to 2008 levels (likely because of the assassination of Osama bin Laden) but that his numbers have actually declined among young people (ages 18
Campus Media Response: Can’t Find a Job this Summer? Take Some Time to Brush up on Economics
In an aptly-titled piece in the University of Florida’s Alligator (“As orchestra plays, U.S. economy sinks”), Chris Ceresa reminds college students about the continuing economic stagnation they’ll face once they graduate. (The recent report of an anemic May job market creates even greater cause for
Opponents of Stem Cell Research: Enemies of Human Life
Minnesota is currently in the thick of an ongoing debate surrounding embryonic stem cell research and its legislature is now considering a bill that would classify such research as a criminal offense rather than as a scientific achievement. In an article in The Minnesota Daily,