Recent Posts

  • Political Calculus and Secularism

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    Editors’ Note: Reposted from The New York Times, August 29, 2021.  As the nation’s population dynamics continue to reorganize electoral maps, other social forces shift and shape to affect political outcomes. By Ryan Burge There’s no more politically unified religious… Read More ›

  • Send in the Clowns

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    The clown figure in culture is far too often dismissed or  ignored, but most often misunderstood. In the United States, there is a tendency to pigeonhole the clown largely to circuses or children’s shows or birthday parties. At another extreme,… Read More ›

  • Rigged?

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    By Frank Blechman Why do incumbent elected officials usually win reelection? Critics would say they win because the elections are “rigged.” For me, that’s a question of semantics. Yes, in the past, gerrymandered districts have favored incumbents, not just by… Read More ›

  • Who’s On First, Virginia?

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    In 1938, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello created the iconic dialogue referencing baseball in which Bud announces that he would be joining the Yankees as manager. Invited to New York to be part of the team, Lou inquires about the… Read More ›

  • Beyond Our Border

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    TEXAS The Lone Star State has been, over recent months, at the forefront of national news ignoring mask and vaccine warnings, banning abortion accessibility, and crimping voting rights. As voluminous as national attention has been on Texas, not every resident… Read More ›

  • A War on War

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    Although the United States may be said to have been born into existence by a war, there exists strong reason to conclude that it was not bred for war. In a radical few words, the framers of the Constitution departed… Read More ›

  • Outside the Novahood

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    VA POLICE RANK-AND-FILE SUPPORT BAN ON TICKET QUOTAS The Virginia Police Benevolent Association is working with state lawmakers to draft legislation banning ticket-writing quotas for law enforcement agencies across the state. Virginia State Police, which the PBA says uses the… Read More ›

  • 9/11 Changed Some Things

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    By Frank Blechman The media, with appropriate solemnity, has spent the last week revisiting the events of September 11, 2001, when four hijacked planes crashed into American landmarks and a field killing thousands, and shaking America’s sense of invulnerability. Endlessly,… Read More ›

  • The Price of Peace and War

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