I ask that Smith College stop reducing my personhood to a racial category. Stop telling me what I must think and feel about myself. Stop presuming to know who I am or what my culture is based upon my skin color. Stop . . . Continue reading →
political correctness
Critical Theory Is A New Species Of Gnosticism
Now, what Voegelin saw in these ideologies is manifestly present in Critical Race Theory and the rest of the “woke” insanity now spreading like a cancer through the body politic. But it is also to be found in certain tendencies coming from . . . Continue reading →
Everything Is A Construct
The deconstructionists have a point: everything created is a construct. Continue reading
On The Etymological Fallacy, Semantics, And Defining Reformed
I have been thinking a bit about the etymological fallacy, which seeks to define words and other things by their origin.
After Independence Day: The State Of Free Speech In The USA
One hundred and forty-six people in Halifax, Nova Scotia wait on a list to borrow a library book. A question hangs over them: Will activists let them read it? The book is mine — Irreversible Damage — and it is an investigation . . . Continue reading →
This Is A Trap
Dear pastors and elders. No matter how well intended, I'm rather afraid that your words are not always heard the way you think. Here, let me translate.(If you'd like to educate yourself, you can start here: https://t.co/U1lM9kfHTF) pic.twitter.com/AWoCL40zMi — Greg Johnson | . . . Continue reading →
Medical School Professors Denying The Reality Of Biological Sex?
During a recent endocrinology course at a top medical school in the University of California system, a professor stopped mid-lecture to apologize for something he’d said at the beginning of class. “I don’t want you to think that I am in any . . . Continue reading →
Matt Taibbi On The State Of Free Speech In The USA
The guests for NPR’s just-released On The Media episode about the dangers of free speech included Andrew Marantz, author of an article called, “Free Speech is Killing Us”; P.E. Moskowitz, author of “The Case Against Free Speech”; Susan Benesch, director of the . . . Continue reading →
Wilentz: Taking Down Jefferson Is A Symbolic Take Down Of The Declaration
Removal of the David D’Angers statue of Thomas Jefferson from City Hall would be a direct attack on a symbol of the democratic values New Yorkers hold dear. The statue specifically honors Jefferson for his greatest contribution to America, indeed, to humankind: . . . Continue reading →
Shrier: One Need Not Be A Troll To Find Oneself At The Center Of Controversy. One Need Only Refuse To Submit To The Mob
I began writing a few op-eds for our local Jewish paper, one of which was spotted by a Wall Street Journal editor, who invited me to submit to the Wall Street Journal. I did, and in the course of that year, published . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: What To Do With Dead Sinners Redux?
Cancel culture shows no signs of abatement. The Spectator in Britain ended the year speculating on whether comedy itself will now be a thing of the past. Cancel culture is incompatible with comedy and humor. Meanwhile, the venomous reactions to those who . . . Continue reading →
When Elite Law School Students Reject Free Speech In Principle And Practice
The people who dominate American public life come from a few elite schools. Yale Law School (YLS) is one of those institutions. Continue reading
The Dynamics Of Conformity Lead To Death
Everybody needs to learn about the dynamics of conformity. Blatant censorship, hostility to free speech, and campaigns to demonize mainstream American views were all unthinkable scenarios for most Americans just a few years ago. But here we are. When we start self-censoring . . . Continue reading →
New In Print: Stella Morabito, The Weaponization of Loneliness
How Tyrants Stoke Our Fear of Isolation to Silence, Divide, and Conquer
Just out today from Stella Morabito, The Weaponization of Loneliness: How Tyrants Stoke Our Fear of Isolation to Silence, Divide, and Conquer from Bombardier Books/Post Hill Press. The publisher writes, Do you keep your opinions to yourself because you’re afraid people will . . . Continue reading →
A Kansas Supreme Court Justice On The State Of Free Speech At KU Law
So you will understand why I was disappointed to hear from KU Law students who recently came to me to express concern over administration actions surrounding a lunch-hour event sponsored by the student chapter of the Federalist Society. My understanding, from participants, . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Orwell Contra “Orthodoxies”
These are some of our favorite Heidelquotes. Something to think about from the Heidelcast. If you are subscribed to the Heidelcast or the Heidelblog (see below) you will receive these episodes automatically. All the Episodes of the Heidelcast How To Subscribe To Heidelmedia . . . Continue reading →
With Presbycast On Cancel Culture And Calvinist Pirates
As always we had a good time on the old Presbycast Hayride, Jamboree, and Barn Dance. Chortles told us the story of the Huguenot Pirates—real pirates, not “piratical” pretenders hitting defense flower vases with baseball bats or setting harmless grass alight—and the . . . Continue reading →