On Monday, SEPTA’s police chief made a stunning and scathing announcement: That a train full of people witnessed a sexual assault, didn’t intervene, didn’t call 9-1-1, and some filmed instead of helping. This all seemed like the Kitty Genovese story that many of us have read about. The Kitty Genovese story Here is how The … Read more
Another day, another person related to the NFL making a terrible point about Covid-19 vaccines… On Saturday, former Kansas City Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman said that using different wristbands in training camp to show who is or isn’t vaccinated was like racial segregation. Analogies can be powerful if they are used properly. They can also … Read more
I was pretty surprised to see articles saying that the majority of Republicans think that voting is a privilege and not a right. That seemed a little extreme. Plausible, but still extreme. So, I dug deeper: What the Pew Research Center’s poll said According to the Pew Research Center, 42% of the people polled agreed … Read more
Although we’re pretty good at identifying a terrible argument when we hear it, we’re often persuaded by weak arguments. What’s a weak argument, and why does it matter? Let’s dig deeper: Does it matter if an argument is weak? If you care about being right, the strength of an argument really does matter. The problem … Read more
On Sunday afternoon, a friend sent me an article about how a massacre at the All-Star game was averted by a hotel maid. That sounded pretty shocking, so the first thing I did was dig deeper: The headline “Hotel Maid Thwarts Potential Major League Baseball All-Star Game Massacre” by Bruce Haring on Deadline.com1 Haring wrote … Read more
The purpose of critical reading and critical thinking is getting a better understanding of ideas and to get closer to the truth. In our Critical Reading Toolbox series, we’ll be covering resources and ideas that will help guide your process. Critical Reading and the importance of Healthy Skepticism Merriam-Webster defines a cynic as being “a … Read more
UPDATE (7/06/2021): TMZ reported that Spears’ attorney, Sam Ingham, plans on filing a request “to be dismissed as Britney’s court-appointed lawyer.” During her in-court statement last month, Britney Spears told the world about how her freedom has been limited under the conservatorship. Not being able to get married, have babies, or work under the terms … Read more
Brandeis University has been in the news this past week because of a student-written list. At the end of June, Robby Soave published a quick post titled, “Trigger Warning Now Counts as Violent Language at Brandeis University.” In the post, Soave identified phrases that Brandeis University’s PARC listed as being problematic. He went on to … Read more
When I first saw the news coverage about Critical Race Theory (CRT) last year, my first reaction was: “People are seriously caring about CRT? Interesting.” Because CRT is a legal theory and, from what I’ve seen, the media seems to be pretty ambivalent towards esoteric legal theories. And the media is often exceptionally terrible at … Read more
Another anthem protest, another round of politicians and commentators insisting that athletes and progressives hate America. In the June 28th the Wall Street Journal published Gerard Baker’s “Progressives Disdain America but Love Being Free to Do So.” In the column, Baker contends that protesting progressives don’t love the US and implied that Olympic track and … Read more