__focus-north

George Washington Boston
Boston Public Garden
Photo licensed via Adobe Stock

How The Declaration Of Independence Inspired George Washington’s Underdog Army To Win

Originally published at The Federalist Most Americans celebrating the July 4 holiday today don’t fully realize that the power of ideas in the Declaration of Independence was the critical enabling factor for the Americans to win the War of Independence. Compared to the British professional military, the American colonial army was simply no match—it was undermanned, underfunded, underequipped, inexperienced, and Read More ›

COSM-2019-434A3334-gale-pooley
Photo by Ashlee Best, COSM2019

Leading Economist and Developer of Time-Prices, Dr. Gale Pooley Appointed as a Fellow of Discovery Institute

Seattle — Discovery Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Gale L. Pooley to serve as a fellow with the Institute’s Center on Wealth and Poverty. “Gale Pooley is the world leader in the most important movement in contemporary economics — based on the recognition that wealth is knowledge, money is time, and the only true prices are Read More ›

Meyer_PragerU

Stephen Meyer Gets Animated in New PragerU Video

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 ›
Lincoln_debating_douglas

We Need to Bring Back Real Debates in America

The televised Democratic presidential sound byte pageants will not be true debates by any realistic standard. They are reminiscent of the 2016 Republican primaries that started with 16 candidates preening on a platform and enduring “gotcha” questions by reporters/moderators trying to get themselves into the news story. Until the nominee field narrows, these shows are almost a parody of real debates in the Lincoln-Douglas or Oxford Union manner. That’s too bad. We need to bring back real debates in America, and not just among candidates. Name the issue (climate change, foreign interference in our elections, abortion, immigration, tariffs, privacy online, the future of artificial intelligence, the meaning of “free speech,” whatever): Americans are badly divided. Since media and politicians often operate in inward-looking communities, they tend to ignore or distort views that differ from their own. In this environment, mere calls for greater civility don’t work. What can work is facing issues straight on and together. Read More ›
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Monument near Keystone, South Dakota on July 26, 2013.

Presidents Day: Washington and Lincoln as Relevant Today as Ever

Presidents Day is unique among American holidays in providing the opportunity to remember and appreciate why George Washington and Abraham Lincoln — whose birthdays fall in February — were the two greatest U.S. presidents. While Washington was the founding father of the United States, Lincoln would later save the nation from division and collapse — bringing an end to the Civil War and the scourge of slavery. In short, Lincoln saved the republic that Washington made possible. Read More ›
John-West-Chicago-Kennedy-College
Human Zoos Showing at Kennedy-King College

With Screenings in Chicago, New Documentary Human Zoos Prompts Discussion, Debate

Discovery Institute Senior Fellow John West was in the Chicago area this past week for public screenings of his new documentary Human Zoos at Wheaton College, Olivet Nazarene University, and Kennedy-King College, as well as for the taping of a local TV show about the film. Read More ›
POTUS
President Donald J. Trump waves to the crowd while exiting Air Force 1 at St. Louis Lambert International Airport Nov. 29, 2017. President Donald J. Trump exits Air Force One in St. Charles, MO.
POTUS
U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Chad Gorecki

For President Trump, Better To Focus On Results Than On Appearance

Preoccupation with form over substance combined with denial and avoidance behavior are the chief causes of human failure — from the individual and family right up to the national level. World War II became inevitable because of denial by the British, French and Americans that Hitler meant what he said in “Mein Kampf” and was rearming to carry it out.  Read More ›