The Grand Canyon spread its magnificent sandstone expanse upward and away, colors swirling in its impossibly steep walls, contrasting the distant pale blue sky, an immense reverse river wending its way for unseen miles. I sat there, exhausted, beat up, and in exaltation, feeling about as significant as the sand below me, waiting for its turn to … [Read more...]
Sunday Poem: How Did You Die? by Edmund Cook
May 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Explore the Sunday Poem archives here. How Did You Die? Edmund Cook Did you tackle that trouble that came your way With a resolute heart and cheerful? Or hide your face from the light of day With a craven soul and fearful? Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce, Or a trouble is what you make it. And it isn’t the fact that you’re … [Read more...]
Unintended Consequences of Arizona’s Recent Immigration Law
May 5, 2010 by 37 Comments
In 1850, French economist Frederic Bastiat penned the essay "That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Unseen" to illustrate how lack of foresight relates to the law of unintended consequences. Through a series of examples, including the parable of the "Broken Window," Bastiat demonstrated that we tend to view only the immediate visible effects of … [Read more...]
Reviving the “McGuffy Paradigm”
May 4, 2010 by 1 Comment
Have you heard of the McGuffy Readers? Do you know there were 120 million of them sold in the middle part of our nation’s history? They were the standard educational text for America for a hundred years. So what's in them? Well, the first page of the first book talks about cats and rats, the second page shows the cat eating the rat, the third … [Read more...]
Sunday Poem: The Builders by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
May 2, 2010 by 2 Comments
Explore the Sunday Poem archives here. The Builders Henry Wadsworth Longfellow All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of Time; Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme. Nothing useless is, or low; Each thing in its place is best; And what seems but idle show Strengthens and supports the rest. For the … [Read more...]
Postmodern Politics: Individualist or Relationship-Based?
April 26, 2010 by 6 Comments
Confidence in human institutions is fading. Modernism is slowly losing its foothold as many human beings are seeing that institutions are unable to deliver the happiness they claim to provide. In fact, many are beginning to see the authoritarian nature of most human institutions as a limit to their pursuit of happiness, an encroachment on … [Read more...]
Sunday Poem: Diary of an Old Soul by George MacDonald
April 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Explore the Sunday Poem archives here. Contribute your thoughts on the poem to the community by commenting below. Diary of an Old Soul George MacDonald (Excerpt, Read the Full Diary Here) How many helps thou giv'st to those who would learn! To some sore pain, to others a sinking heart; To some a weariness worse than any smart; To some a … [Read more...]
Changing Lanes, Part 5: Future Leaders
April 24, 2010 by 1 Comment
This is part 4 of a 5-part article. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 2 Here Read Part 3 Here Read Part 4 Here Thus far, I have proposed a specific solution to a specific problem. This trend towards federalism, and the opportunity it provides jurists and scholars to empower mediating entities gives me hope for a unified America. But I … [Read more...]
Changing Lanes, Part 4: The New Federalism
April 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This is part 4 of a 5-part article. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 2 Here Read Part 3 Here But there is hope. Some of the institutional safeguards compromised away, such as federalism and the Tenth Amendment, are making a comeback in modern Supreme Court jurisprudence. Supreme Court decisions over the last decade have again invoked the … [Read more...]
Changing Lanes, Part 3: The Historical, Jurisprudential Shift To Individualism
April 22, 2010 by 1 Comment
This is part 3 of a 5-part article. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 2 Here Mediating entities are the glue that holds society together. For Tocqueville, the “intellectual and moral associations” provided by these mediating entities were so important that “nothing . . . more deserve[d] attention.” How then did we get to the point in modern … [Read more...]
