Philosophy
Today is the 51st anniversary of the ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution which granted the residents of Washington, D.C. the ability to vote electors for the Presidency to the electoral college. Folks who live in the District are American citizens who pay taxes and live by the same laws, yet who have no voting representation in the Congress. They have limited home rule because their budget is overseen by Congress and as a result, representatives from places very distant will use the power of the purse strings overturn democratically supported initiatives from the citizens because these representatives have ideological agendas they want to force upon them. The irony, of course, is that those who keep their clutches on Washington are also ones who crow the loudest about "freedom" and "democracy."
Washington D.C. has a larger population than the entire state of Wyoming and about the same as Vermont. Should they get Congressional representation? Should they be attached to Maryland or Virginia? To have the capital of a representative democracy not be represented in that democracy ought to be a point of embarrassment. How should the situation be resolved?
- Continuity Of Self
Today is my birthday and it is fun to look at all of the greetings on Facebook from folks I've known over the entire range of my life. Some who know me only as a graying department chair and others who knew me as a member of the red group in...
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Are historians scientists? They frame hypotheses about the causes and effects of real events and use empirical evidence to support their accounts. But they don't do not look for regularities to make into laws; to the contrary, they account...
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On Presidents' Day, let's think about what Presidents of the United States have said. Perhaps the most powerful part of the position is an informal power, the bully pulpit. When presidents speak, we listen. What are the most...
- Grammar Curmudeons
Had a student ask yesterday about grammatical pet peeves. His was "irregardless." My big three are: 1) "Quote" used for "quotation." Quote is a verb. You quote someone. What you write down is not a quote, but a quotation. ...
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On the heels of the Iowa caucus, let's ask about the requirements to be President of the United States. It is written into the second article of the Constitution that to be eligible for the position, one must be thirty five years old. ...
Philosophy
DC Congressional Representation
Today is the 51st anniversary of the ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution which granted the residents of Washington, D.C. the ability to vote electors for the Presidency to the electoral college. Folks who live in the District are American citizens who pay taxes and live by the same laws, yet who have no voting representation in the Congress. They have limited home rule because their budget is overseen by Congress and as a result, representatives from places very distant will use the power of the purse strings overturn democratically supported initiatives from the citizens because these representatives have ideological agendas they want to force upon them. The irony, of course, is that those who keep their clutches on Washington are also ones who crow the loudest about "freedom" and "democracy."
Washington D.C. has a larger population than the entire state of Wyoming and about the same as Vermont. Should they get Congressional representation? Should they be attached to Maryland or Virginia? To have the capital of a representative democracy not be represented in that democracy ought to be a point of embarrassment. How should the situation be resolved?
- Continuity Of Self
Today is my birthday and it is fun to look at all of the greetings on Facebook from folks I've known over the entire range of my life. Some who know me only as a graying department chair and others who knew me as a member of the red group in...
- Historians, Archaeologists, And Scientists
Are historians scientists? They frame hypotheses about the causes and effects of real events and use empirical evidence to support their accounts. But they don't do not look for regularities to make into laws; to the contrary, they account...
- Most Important Presidential Words
On Presidents' Day, let's think about what Presidents of the United States have said. Perhaps the most powerful part of the position is an informal power, the bully pulpit. When presidents speak, we listen. What are the most...
- Grammar Curmudeons
Had a student ask yesterday about grammatical pet peeves. His was "irregardless." My big three are: 1) "Quote" used for "quotation." Quote is a verb. You quote someone. What you write down is not a quote, but a quotation. ...
- Presidential Age Limit
On the heels of the Iowa caucus, let's ask about the requirements to be President of the United States. It is written into the second article of the Constitution that to be eligible for the position, one must be thirty five years old. ...