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The moral blackmailing of the American people

In Springfield, Illinois, in 1838, a young Abraham Lincoln delivered a powerful speech decrying the “ravages of mob law” throughout the land. Lincoln warned, in eerily prescient fashion, that the spread of a then-ascendant “mobocratic spirit” threatened to sever the “attachment of the People” to their fellow countrymen and their nation. Lincoln’s opposition to anarchy of any kind was absolute and clarion: “There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law.” Unfortunately, it seems that every few years, Americans must be reminded anew of Lincoln’s ...

Tragedy and reality in Minnesota

Renee Good died on Wednesday in Minneapolis. She had been attempting to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents engaged in federal law enforcement activities. Along with other protestors, Good involved herself in what federal agents were doing and used her car to block them. Confronted by federal agents, Good accelerated with an agent in front of her car. He pulled his gun, she accelerated and struck him, he opened fire and shot her. She died. Watching the video footage, it is clear she accelerated with an agent directly in front of her car and struck him. Close observers ...

‘Halftime’ between semesters

The pine tree branches outside my window are heavy with falling snow, and the wind feels cold even from the warmth of the house. Writing this column a few days ahead of its distribution, the holiday break has provided both solace and perspective as we prepare for the upcoming spring semester at Davis & Elkins College. The calendar turns to a new year, often synonymous with fresh starts and resolutions. However, if I may borrow a sports analogy, for those of us in higher education, the pause at the end of the calendar year is less a brand-new game and more of a “halftime.” With the ...

In full swing

The new age of interventionism is now in full swing. Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela reinforced a trend that has been growing since the attack on the World Trade Center. Before that, you had the Iraqis’ invasion of Kuwait, America’s response, and George H.W. Bush’s intervention in Panama in 1989. Under Bill Clinton, you saw the dubious war that fractured Yugoslavia. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the United States relentlessly tried to make the Russian Federation a supplicant nation. Russia was plunged into chaos, leading President Boris Yeltsin to appoint Vladimir Putin ...

Our brains can change — and so can we

Have you ever heard or read a word that’s either new to you or that you’ve not encountered, and suddenly it starts cropping up everywhere? This is true for me with the word neuroplasticity.  It describes the brain’s ability to change and adapt by forming new neural connections and reorganizing existing ones in response to experiences, learning, or injury. It is the process of allowing new skills and/or changes in skills and abilities, as well as the opportunity to change dysfunctional patterns of thinking and behavior. This means that the brain is not a “fixed” organ and ...

Murky politics

Donald Trump’s decision to snatch Nicolas Maduro and his wife completed a largely smooth military operation. His choice of General Dan Caine as the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff appeared to be an excellent decision. Technically, it went off without a hitch, but the politics are murky. What Trump did, however, was not without precedent in American history, even of the most recent variety. Joe Biden’s administration did not recognize Maduro’s government because they believed it was illegitimate due to vote rigging. Trump added the charge of drug trafficking even though he ...