If People Can Make You Believe the Illogical, They Can Make You Do the Unthinkable

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” ― George Orwell, 1984 George Orwell’s vision of Hell on Earth was a totalitarian government mandating irrationality—insanity, really. As a fan of logic, I have to admit I find it pretty terrifying myself. We aren’t quite to the point of the government brainwashing people to think […]

Limiting Free Speech to Save It: A Critique of ‘Speechless’ by Michael Knowles

Michael Knowles gained some notoriety by publishing a joke for his first book “Reasons to Vote for Democrats“, which consisted of 250 blank pages. Very clever. It also ironically foretold the antagonist in his second book, “Speechless” which took aim at the illiberal left and their war on speech. In his first earnest book, Knowles […]

Agreement in the Time of Zika

2015 was pretty bad for the concept of agreement. Religious differences spurred despicable terrorist attacks; protests across the US resulted in antagonism between racial minorities and police; and caustic political vitriol seemed to be at an all-time high across the globe. As one commentator wrote, “If you ask 100 different people how we should fix this […]

Paradoxes and the Purpose of Lent

I know paradoxes are compelling and provocative and mystical and all that good stuff, but I’m not a big fan. Sure, they’re not contradictions in that they are impossible and make no sense, but they are seeming contradictions, and they often have the effect of cheap Eastern theological thrills playing on the problem-solving region of […]

The Logic of Life: A Scientific and Logical Defense of the Pro-Life Position

Each year, thousands of people march on the US Supreme Court to peacefully protest one of the most critical decisions that body has ever made. In 1973, the court decided that a woman’s right to privacy trumps the right to life of a fetus she may be carrying, essentially legalizing abortion at any time for […]

Believe It Or Not, You Believe In Miracles

When I was a kid, I had a best friend everyone called Booby. His real name was Bobby, but we called him Booby because he was a little chunky and he had man-boobs. He was all right with us calling him Booby instead of Bobby. What he wasn’t okay with was coming down with a […]