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Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge'.
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Politics-Government
False confession? How is that possible?
In various studies of U.S. legal cases involving confessions, more than one quarter of the confessions are found to be false, and nearly all of those resulted in conviction. These same studies show high rates of suspects who waive their Miranda rights. Why would someone admit to something they didn't do, particularly if they would go to jail or be executed as a result? Why did they not avail themselves of the Miranda rights to refuse interrogation?Â
The ghost of Schaeffer past
Book Book Review, Title How Now Shall We Live?, Author Charles Colson, Rating 2.0,
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How Now Shall We Live? Charles Colson Book Review |
By the time Charles Colson got out of prison in the mid-70's, having been convicted for acts of political skullduggery during the Watergate scandal, he had converted to Evangelical Christianity. How Now Shall We Live was his best-seller, an homage to Francis Schaeffer's view of Western history. Schaeffer was a presuppositional millennialist who in the 1970's left the quiet life of a Christian intellectual to help lead the evangelicals to the heights of political activism we see today in the U.S.
The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration
Book Book Review, Title The new Jim Crow, Author Michelle Alexander, Rating 5.0,
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The new Jim Crow Michelle Alexander Book Review |
Knives? Guns? Or Disarm?
"The rationale of the National Rifle Association (NRA) is to never bring a knife to a gunfight. The preeminent concern of those most affected by violence is to insure that there is no gunfight in the first place."
- Jelani Cobb, regarding Perceived Threats, a discussion about the contrasting views of the NRA and the black community.
Hearts and minds
Book Book Review, Title Born Again, Author Charles W. Colson, Rating 2.5,
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Born Again Charles W. Colson Book Review |
During his years as a Republican political operative, Charles Colson prominently displayed an old Marine Corp saying in his home: 'When you’ve got ’em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.' Colson described those years and the hard crash that followed in his book Born Again as a mid-life autobiography precipitated by a mid-life crisis. After his role as a self-described 'hatchet man' for Nixon White House was slowly exposed during the Watergate scandal, he converted to Evangelical Christianity, and after being convicted of obstruction of justice, he spent some time in prison.
How should we then live?
Book Book Review Part IV, Title How Should We Then Live?, Author Francis A. Schaeffer, Rating 2.5,
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How Should We Then Live? Francis A. Schaeffer Book Review Part IV |
The fourth and final part of this review of Francis Schaeffer’s How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture suggests an alternative answer to the question regarding how we should then live, and attempts to answer the original question posed in part I: How did this book influence U.S. Evangelical Christians to become more politically active?
Christianity good, secularism bad
Book Book Review Part II, Title How Should We Then Live?, Author Francis A. Schaeffer, Rating 2.5,
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How Should We Then Live? Francis A. Schaeffer Book Review Part II |
The second part of this four-part review of Francis Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture examines the author's historical approach, and evaluates his comparison of Christendom and secular society.