Ganahl: The ‘Bob Vila Effect’ — Why Nothing Gets Done
by Dennis Ganahl, Ph.D. For me, 1979 was a big year. I bought my first newspaper, the purchase of which included a farmhouse that needed lots of work. It had an old console TV, so I was able to watch Bob Vila’s first season of This Old House. I also had contracted with my state’s GOP to start and Read the full article…
Schansberg: Coolidge — Overlooked but Above Average
by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. With the 100th anniversary of Calvin Coolidge’s inauguration as our 30th president on Aug. 2, I want to write about his noteworthy presidency. Why has Coolidge continued under the radar of history? In terms of public policy, he was opposed to the growth of government. He thought it was more important to Read the full article…
The Outstater
Criminology for the Clueless WE LOST INTEREST in the gun-control debate a couple of decades ago when one side began piling up incontrovertible data that crime was not the fault of inanimate objects but rather of a society that left fatherless young men aimlessly roaming the streets at night. The pile is about to my waist Read the full article…
Franke: Dumbing Down by Knowing Too Much
by Mark Frank Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? “The Rock” by T. S. Elliot We live in an age of sensory overload. We are tied to gadgets that bombard us with snippets of information which are simply endless data points that never Read the full article…
McGowan: One-Way Environmentalists
by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. My friend, a professor of architecture and design, was a member of his small, Ohio town’s planning council. The council tackled the problem of energy loss by the town’s drafty domiciles, especially trailers. The committee wondered what to do about it. “We should tear them down and replace them with more Read the full article…
Bouchie: Court Dissent Based on Factual Error
by Tanner Bouchie The United States Supreme Court has a history of deciding questions of Equal Protection based on social and psychological studies. Studies, however, are often poorly designed and misrepresented by litigants. Appellate judges are especially poorly situated to evaluate those studies to determine the facts of a case at hand. The Court has Read the full article…
