Category Archives: Academia
Trump and the Blood Libel
I have said before that Trump has intentionally evoked thinly veiled white supremacist rhetoric. I’ll cover a few instances of this before noting what I found most disturbing in his speech from Tulsa. One example that might easily be missed … Continue reading
Chiropractic is not Medicine
Because I am sick to death of having this argument and having to find these sources over and over, I’ve assembled them in one place. Bottom line is, sure, you can spend your money however you like, but do NOT, … Continue reading
Why Religion in Education Matters: Basic Science Literacy
I posted about this photo below a while back. (Larger photos at the album linked below.) The web is oddly ambivalent about whether this is really part of a science textbook; even Snopes won’t come down and confirm it. (http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=62120) So … Continue reading
Review: Constantine’s Sword
James Carroll’s Constantine’s Sword, or Constantine’s Sword 2007, Storyville Films/First Run Features A historical documentary film on the relationship between the Catholic Church and Jews. Directed and produced Oren Jacoby, inspired by former priest James P. Carroll’s 2001 book Constantine’s … Continue reading
Review: The Black Death; A Personal History
(John Hatcher, Da Capo Press, 2008) There seem to be two types of readers of history; those who love history, and those who tolerate it as a necessary evil. Writing for the first group requires thoroughness, organization, solid research, and … Continue reading
Happily never after: Subverting the romantic in David Mackenzie’s Asylum
Originally submitted 14 Feb, 2013 If any culture as wildly diverse as America’s can be said to have a central value, it is most definitely the romantic ideal. All the core American values—family, the American dream, the triumph of the … Continue reading
Review: Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class
(Ian Haney López, Oxford University Press, 2014) On the one hand, I love this book, and I think it’s terrifically important. On the other, I was disappointed in its lack of scope. That conflict makes this a hard book to … Continue reading
The worst kind of violence
In the last week or so, I’ve come across two largely unrelated news items that have gotten me thinking. I suspect they are not unique, nor are the they sort of headline that typically gets everyone talking. But I can’t … Continue reading
Review: PBS Secret Files of the Inquisition, Episode One: The Land of Error
(2006, PBS) I am a big fan of PBS in general. So when a documentary series covering the history of the Inquisition and some of the major heretical movements in medieval Europe showed up on my Netflix recommendations list, I … Continue reading