The Dower Power Hour

Okay, so this blog isn’t completely dead. I no longer hold any public office, so in theory I should be more willing to weigh in on societal issues. However, I also still hope to run for an elected office someday, and thus there’s always the concern about having my words come back to […]

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This is really cool. If any of you have 10 minutes to set aside everything and just try to grasp a somewhat difficult concept, I highly recommend you watch this video. It starts with an explanation of the three dimensions that we are most familiar with and then slowly proceeds to ten possible […]

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So today I received an email asking for help on the creation and distribution of a Stop the Genocide in Darfur petition at my college.  Being the student body president, I politely declined any sort of official involvement because Student Government exists to deal with the issues of the students, not world concerns.  (I did […]

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Yes, Gonzales finally resigned. But more importantly, the University of Vermont has installed a gender-neutral bathroom for its transgender and handicapped students. (No, this isn’t meant to imply that being transgendered is a handicap, although I am sure it does make life more complicated.)  “At least 17 colleges and universities have included […]

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How do we judge historical figures: by the standards of their own time or by ours? 
Take Theodore Roosevelt for example.  He was a charismatic President, a prominent conservative who never-the-less recognized the importance of breaking up the monopolies that dominated American industry at the time.  He also pioneered the American conservation movement, starting many of the national parks that remain in […]

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The United States of America has a permanent identity crisis.  This crisis spawns from two core values which are in constant conflict.  The U.S. envisions itself as a place of equality and a place where competition lets the competent rise to the top, in other words, a meritocracy.  Most Americans don’t even perceive the discrepancy.  […]

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I failed to get through “Yellow: Between Black and White.” It was thoughtful and made some good points, but I just couldn’t get involved enough to will myself to sit down and finish it. I got about 2/3 of the way there though and picked up some interesting analysis along the way.
One of […]

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I watched a video on YouTube the other day that sparked some interesting online debate.  A man finds himself in a white room in which he is forced to make a decision.  Either he takes a key and leaves the room never to return.  Or he takes he pushes a button and gets 10 million […]

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