Groucho Marx famously opined, “A woman is a temporary pleasure, while a good cigar is a smoke.” He was certainly not the first (and won’t likely be the last) to attest to the timeless treasure of enjoying a fine cigar. New York City’s cigar culture is one of the most vibrant, if not the...
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Author Archive
Lifestyle: The Cigar Lounges of New York, Part I
Notes from SFL New York 2009
Held at Columbia University’s Alfred Learner Hall, the 2009 New York Students For Liberty Conference brought together such groups as libertarians, classical liberals, free-market capitalists, moderates, conservatives, and the occasional anarchist for a day of political discourse and debate regarding the merits of liberty-oriented governance.
The SFL Conference, jointly held with the Ivy...
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A Trouble of the Modern Age: The Kessler Syndrome
The Kessler Syndrome: What is it? How could it threaten our political stability and human rights? How could it threaten humanity?
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The Death of a Newspaper, the Tumult of an Industry
The world of print journalism will never be the same again. After 150 years of service to the Denver community, the Rocky Mountain News announced Thursday that their final issue would be Friday (February 27, 2009). Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the newspaper had been in financial trouble for months due...
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The Downs File: Comments on IHOP’s Celebration of National Pancake Day
Today, IHOP was nice enough to give away free stacks of pancakes in celebration of National Pancake Day. Those individuals who visited IHOP between 7AM and 10PM could receive three free buttermilk pancakes topped with a dollop of butter. IHOP was also hosting a fundraising drive for the Children’s Miracle Network, which raises money...
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You must never say the N-word!
It was with incredible shock that I heard Senator Dodd casually mention the n-word while appearing as a guest on “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” a Bloomberg Television talk show that airs on Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. That a man could so audaciously use such a powerful, aggressive word in seemingly polite...
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Vote Early and Vote Often: The Genius of the Obama Campaigns use of Text Messaging and Other Forms of Mass Communication
The origin of the phrase Vote Early and Vote Often is usually attributed to Chicago mayor William Hale Thompson, a highly corrupt Republican politician who ruled the city from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1931 to 1935. The phrase itself described how political partisans could easily game the democratic voting process. As verifying...
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Collectivism: The Root of all Prejudice
I remember the exact moment I realized, with some mild bemusement, just how prevalent collectivist attitudes are in modern-day society.
It was an average Perspectives meeting. This weeks topic of discussion was about the then-current crop of frontrunners in the race for the White House. The meeting started spectacularly, with a group of female students...
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Invisible Man: A treasure of the American literary tradition
People always find it strange when I verbally espouse my love for Invisible Man. After all, I am not a black American. How, many ask, could I possibly relate to the central character of this story?
Ralph Ellisons masterpiece, first published in 1952, is the story of a well-educated and ideological young black man who...
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