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^{Scott S. Powell
November 23, 2019
Citizen Leadership}

Is America on a Slippery Slope Toward Becoming a Banana Republic?

_{Scott S. Powell
November 23, 2019
Citizen Leadership}

Who would have ever thought the United States could lose its way and find itself on a slippery slope to becoming a banana republic in which political power is typically determined by coups rather than elections? But it appears many in the Democratic Party are willing to go down this road and risk the nation’s continuity and stability in a desperate effort to regain power and control. Since there is simply no greater crime against the United States, its Constitution and its people than subverting the government that is duly elected by the people, Americans need to clearly remind Washington that the legitimacy of our government comes exclusively from the people. Think about it... why should Democrats in Congress be ignoring their legislative responsibilities and wasting their time and the nation’s scarce resources with impeachment proceedings less than a year away from the next presidential election? And why would Democrats think impeachment a wise course to follow, particularly after putting the country through nearly two years of the Mueller investigation? Read More ›

Delicious roasted whole chicken or turkey on plate with cutlery and sauce , harvest grilled vegetables on dark rustic background, top view, banner, frame. Thanksgiving Day food

^{Jay W. Richards
November 21, 2019
Discovery Institute, Religion and Civic Life}

One Person’s Journey to a Fasting Lifestyle: Week One

_{Jay W. Richards
November 21, 2019
Discovery Institute, Religion and Civic Life}

In my forthcoming book Eat, Fast, Feast (available for pre-order now), I describe a six-week plan to help Christians make fasting a rewarding part of their lives. Most of us don’t really fast. Catholics do residual fasting — an hour before Mass, for instance. And we eat a little less on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. These are really partial abstinences. The harsh truth is that we’ve abandoned the fasting discipline that defined most of Christian history and replaced it with excuses. Some evangelicals and evangelical churches fast, but it’s not anchored in the calendar or long-standing practice. So, it tends to go in and out of fashion, rather than becoming a permanent spiritual practice. Really the only Christian communities that have retained serious fasting are the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite churches. They have something to teach the rest of us. Read More ›

^{Gregory Scruggs
November 19, 2019
Cascadia}

Why Experts Say the Pacific Northwest is a ‘Perfect Laboratory’ for Autonomous Technology

_{Gregory Scruggs
November 19, 2019
Cascadia}

The hype cycle for autonomous vehicles may have slowed down after the March 2018 fatal accident involving a self-driving Uber car, but for AV booster Bruce Agnew, the Pacific Northwest offers a wide range of applications for the technology that go far beyond passengers traveling big-city streets. As director of ACES — a Madrona Venture Group and INRIX-backed network promoting autonomous, connected, electric, and shared vehicles — Agnew sees the diverse geography and economic opportunities of the region as ripe for those four trends to converge in transportation. While much of the attention on autonomous vehicles thus far has focused on their urban applications, as the everyday car driver imagines what it might be like to relinquish the wheel, that’s not where the technology is heading first, experts say. Read More ›

^{Scott S. Powell
November 12, 2019
Uncategorized}

Veterans Day: Celebration of a Greater Love

_{Scott S. Powell
November 12, 2019
Uncategorized}

Veteran’s Day had its origin at the end of World War I in 1918, a conflict so horrendous that it was dubbed, “the Great War,” or “the war to end all wars,” with the United States playing the decisive role in the Allied powers’ final victory. It was first known as Armistice Day, celebrated on November 11 because that was Read More ›

^{Center on Wealth & Poverty
October 31, 2019
Economics}

Discovery Institute Fellow Chrisopher Rufo Set to Release New Documentary Next Year on American Poverty

_{Center on Wealth & Poverty
October 31, 2019
Economics}

Discovery Institute research fellow Christopher F. Rufo is set to release his latest feature-length documentary, America Lost, which tells the story of life in three “forgotten American cities” — Youngstown, Ohio, Memphis, Tennessee, and Stockton, California. America Lost reveals the dramatic decline of the American interior through a combination of emotional personal stories and thoughtful conservative commentary. Filmmaker Christopher F. Rufo spent Read More ›

^{Christopher Rufo
October 21, 2019
Economics}

The “Supermarket Sweep”

_{Christopher Rufo
October 21, 2019
Economics}

When I was a kid, a television show called Supermarket Sweep featured teams of middle Americans bolting through grocery store aisles and filling their carts with food, household products, and pet supplies. The show’s premise was that, for two minutes, the rule of law—in this case, the law against shoplifting—would be suspended. The team with the largest haul could take home their bounty of groceries, win prizes, and compete for the championship. Today, in some West Coast cities, the Supermarket Sweep isn’t a game show—it’s a dark reality, fueled by addiction, crime, and bad public policy. From Seattle to Los Angeles, a “shoplifting boom” is hitting major retailers, which deal with thousands of thefts, drug overdoses, and assaults each year. Since 2010, thefts increased by 22 percent in Portland, 50 percent in San Francisco, and 61 percent in Los Angeles. In total, California, Oregon, and Washington reported 864,326 thefts to the FBI last year. The real figure is likely much higher, as many retailers have stopped reporting most shoplifting incidents to police. Read More ›

^{Andrew McDiarmid
October 21, 2019
Intelligent Design}

Stephen Meyer Gets Animated in New PragerU Video

_{Andrew McDiarmid
October 21, 2019
Intelligent Design}

Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection has, with some modifications, been embraced as unassailable by the science community over the last century. So much so that evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has famously stated that “If you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane.” But is that right? In a new PragerU video, Stephen Meyer answers that question by presenting two big reasons to doubt the evolutionary account of life’s origins – the Cambrian explosion and the DNA enigma. The animated video is a nice summary of Meyer’s book-length treatments of those two problems. And at under 6 minutes, the video makes a great conversation starter! Read More ›

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence participate in a roundtable with CEOs in the Cabinet Room of the White House Monday, March 30, 2020

^{Scott S. Powell
October 21, 2019
Citizen Leadership}

Like Him or Not, Trump is Uniquely Suited for Such a Time as This

_{Scott S. Powell
October 21, 2019
Citizen Leadership}

With the constant drumbeat from the mainstream media, Democrats now hope that the whirlwind in Washington of the so-called impeachment investigation will spread so much smoke that people won’t be able to see what’s going on, except to subliminally conclude that with all that smoke around Donald Trump, there must be a fire, and that it’ll die down with his removal from office. Read More ›

^{Tom Alberg and Bryan Mistele
October 18, 2019
Cascadia}

Raising Taxes on Ride Sharing Harms the Public

_{Tom Alberg and Bryan Mistele
October 18, 2019
Cascadia}

Call it a head tax on wheels. The recently announced plan to triple the Seattle city taxes on all ride-share trips — to 75 cents from 24 cents, which would create the highest flat ride-share tax in the U.S. — is out of the same playbook that brought us the 2017-18 tax on jobs. It would hurt working people and Read More ›

Young female hands hugging old woman, closeup

^{Wesley J. Smith
September 27, 2019
Human Exceptionalism}

Congress Should Pass the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act

_{Wesley J. Smith
September 27, 2019
Human Exceptionalism}

Unfortunately, the bill is opposed by some opponents of assisted suicide, people who are my friends and whom I respect for their commitment to defending the practice of ethical medicine. This makes no sense to me. The more confidence people have that their loved ones will be cared for properly through palliative and hospice techniques — as my mother was — the less they are likely to turn in desperation to support for assisted suicide. Indeed, euthanasia advocates engage in ubiquitous fearmongering to convince people that their binary choice is allowing assisted suicide or abandoning their loved ones to a potentially agonizing death. In this sense, public support for legalizing assisted suicide can be interpreted as a declaration of no confidence in the ability of doctors to properly care for people. Read More ›