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Jason Stevens is a Ph.D. candidate in Politics at the University of Dallas.

May 19, 2015|Free Speech, Political Correctness, Zev Chafets

The Politically Correct Should Not Own Graduation

by Jason Stevens|2 Comments

graduation

Graduation season is well underway. With all the excitement and regalia of the annual event, it might be easy to overlook the commencement address, an American tradition as old as the graduation ceremony itself. These addresses—and, in particular, the speakers invited by high schools and colleges to deliver them—have at this point become a regular source of controversy, protest, and even, on occasion, borderline violence.

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February 25, 2015|adjunct teachers, Jacques Berlinerblau

Lumpen Proletariat on Campus

by Jason Stevens|8 Comments

adjunct

Today is “National Adjunct Walkout Day.” If you did not know this, or even what an adjunct is, you’re not alone. The word “adjunct” means something added to another thing but not really a part of it. In this case, we’re talking about adjunct instructors, who are part-time university and college teachers who carry a hefty portion of the educational load on America’s campuses.

National Adjunct Walkout Day is a nationwide proposal for adjuncts to bring attention and reform to abusive working conditions by refusing to teach, or some other similar remedy.

For the record, I’ve been employed as an adjunct instructor at four different colleges and universities over the past five years. In that time, I’ve taught almost 30 different classes. I am paid anywhere between $1,500 and $3,500 per semester class.

Although I’ve considered writing about this topic for some time, I’m doing so now for two reasons. First, I’m concerned about the direction of recent events, especially National Adjunct Walkout Day. Second, I seek to challenge the prevailing opinion that adjuncts are somehow the victims of unfair employment practices.

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December 12, 2014|Calvin Coolidge, Roger Ascham

Eloquent Pointers from “Silent” Cal

by Jason Stevens|Leave a Comment

Coolidge

Ulysses S. Grant and Calvin Coolidge are two U.S. presidents known for their taciturnity. They also happen to be the two who left the best memoirs. Grant’s having been brought out as a Library of America edition is a sign of its status as an acknowledged classic. The same treatment ought to be accorded the Chief Executive known as “Silent Cal.” His Autobiography, published in 1929, has many virtues, as did the man, and one of its greatest is what it says about its author’s education, and education in general.

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April 21, 2014|50 Core Documents, Alexander Hamilton, American Founding, American Political Thought, Declaration of Independence, James Madison, Progressivism, Ronald Reagan, The Federalist

A Republic Formed from Reflection and Choice

by Jason Stevens|Leave a Comment

The Constitution that emerged from the Philadelphia Convention on September 17, 1787 meant nothing. But after a period of mature reflection and calm consideration, the American people, through their state ratifying conventions, deliberately chose to preserve that Constitution from the ash heap of history and establish, for themselves and their posterity, a republican form of government, meaning one that was ultimately responsible to the people in accord with their highest judgment and reason. In an effort to encourage ratification among the people, Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 1 that it was “reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct…

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October 5, 2013|John Ford, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, The Walking Dead, Zombies

The Walking Dead and John Ford

by Jason Stevens|1 Comment

It’s hard to believe that the zombie apocalypse makes for good TV.

Now in its fourth season on AMC, The Walking Dead is extremely popular, due mostly to the initial creative development of Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). We’ve discussed the many virtues of current television programming on this site before: I wrote about How I Met Your Mother here, and the estimable Ken Masugi discussed The Big Bang Theory here. Zombies, however, may be a first.

The Walking Dead puts a modern spin on the classic western genre, which has been in decline since the 1960s.

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August 15, 2013|How I Met Your Mother

“How I Met Your Mother” Studies and the Pursuit of Happiness

by Jason Stevens|Leave a Comment

The hit CBS show, “How I Met Your Mother,” is the story of Ted Mosby’s eight-year search for a wife. Now in its ninth and final season, Ted’s search is almost over. And as the series comes to an end, we find that the show’s major characters – Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney – are all drawn to marriage and children. A show that began with five, single, twenty-somethings is now set to end with three happily married couples. But married life comes only when every other alternative path to happiness is exhausted, including career, money, and casual sex. In the end, therefore, “HIMYM” is about the inescapable futility of the pursuit of happiness under the modern, progressive way of life.

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April 28, 2013|Barack Obama, Calvin Coolidge, Declaration of Independence, fiscal policy, Income Tax, Limited Government, Redistribution

Silent Cal’s 6 Simple Rules for a Confused President Obama

by Jason Stevens|28 Comments

Coolidge's Inaugural Address, March 24,1925

In his new book, Why Coolidge Matters: Leadership Lessons from America’s Most Underrated President, Charles C. Johnson claims that ‘Silent Cal’ wasn’t so much silent as he was silenced. But today, thirty years since Tom Silver’s underrated book about America’s underrated thirtieth president, Coolidge and the Historians, that is changing. In addition to Johnson’s book, we also have Amity Shlaes’s new biography, Coolidge, a prequel of sorts to her bestseller, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression. Undoubtedly, there is growing interest in Coolidge that, although somewhat delayed, is especially timely for the present. Here are six lessons for President Obama from the not-so-silent Cal Coolidge.

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Book Reviews

A Compelling and Compassionate Book about Epilepsy

by Theodore Dalrymple

Our knowledge of the human brain is limited, but neuroscientist Suzanne O’Sullivan’s observation of her patients yields astute insights.

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Andrew Roberts Takes the Measure of the “Populist” Aristocrat, Churchill

by Joao Carlos Espada

Yes, there is something new to be learned about Winston Churchill, and it's in the new 1,105-page biography by Andrew Roberts.

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Liberty Classics

Bringing Natural Law to the Nations

by Samuel Gregg

If sovereign states ordered their domestic affairs in accordance with principles of natural law, the international sphere would benefit greatly.

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Belloc’s Humane Defense of Personhood and Property

by James Matthew Wilson

Perhaps the memory of that metaphysical right to property informs our fears, and could lead to a restoration of human flourishing.

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Podcasts

Born-Again Paganism: A Conversation with Steven Smith

A discussion with Steven D. Smith

Steven Smith talks with Richard Reinsch about his provocative thesis that a modern form of paganism is becoming public orthodoxy.

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"Slouching Towards Mar-a-Lago:" A Conversation with Andrew Bacevich

A discussion with Andrew J. Bacevich

Andrew Bacevich discusses his new book Twilight of the American Century

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Bureaucracy, Regulation, and the Unmanly Contempt for the Constitution

A discussion with John Marini

John Marini unmasks the century-long effort to undermine the Constitution's distribution of power.

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Beautiful Losers in American Politics: A Conversation with Nicole Mellow

A discussion with Nicole Mellow

Nicole Mellow on the beautiful losers in American politics who have redefined the country.

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Recent Posts

  • Government by Emergency: Are Two Generations of Crisis Enough?

    The oldest emergency proclamation dates to the Carter Administration, 40 years ago. Two generations of crisis are enough.
    by Greg Weiner

  • The President’s Emergency Declaration Is the Congressional Check on Presidential Power

    President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency is the check on executive prerogative, not the exercise of it.
    by James R. Rogers

  • Completely Unjustified Occupational Licensing

    Occupational licensing is dangerous and we should almost always rely upon certification.
    by Mike Rappaport

  • Harold Ramis, Unlikely Prophet of Trump

    Nobody stopped to think these films were not just comedy, but also stories about a coming class conflict in America.
    by Titus Techera

  • Judicial Statesmanship versus Judicial Fidelity

    Since the boundaries of left and right are always changing, a court focused on retaining its political capital would have the constancy of a weather vane.
    by John O. McGinnis

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