The Quintessential Curriculum

Many writers have described Aristotle’s fifth element as a kind of invisible light or fire. In the Middle Ages. The quinta essentia has evolved to stand for anything so perfect that it seems to surpass the limitations of earth. Today we generally use quintessential rather freely to describe just about anything that represents the best … Read more

Tensions are Bubbling Up at Thirsty Farms

. . . foreign firms are “mining our natural resource to grow crops such as alfalfa … and they’re shipping it overseas back to their country where they’ve depleted their water source.” Gary Saiter, board chairman and general manager of the Wenden Domestic Water Improvement District, said utility records showed the surface-to-water depth at its headquarters … Read more

Friedrich Fröbel (1782–1852)

Best known for creating the concept of kindergarten or “garden of children,” Friedrich Fröbel held that improvement of infant education was a vital preliminary to comprehensive educational and social reform. The Baroness of Marenholtz-Bülow, carried his ideas to educators in England, France, and the Netherlands. Later they were adopted by other countries. In the United States, the Froebelian movement achieved … Read more

Falling Leaves

This parable is based on the 1912 movie Falling Leaves. It illustrates the conditions of effective prayer. Watch Video Voice-Over Transcript 0:00 This is a parable nested within a movie titled Falling Leaves. It was shown in theaters during 1912. 0:04 Our story opens with Winifred on the piano as she and her younger sister, … Read more

An Augmentation Ministry

When Jesus gave us a promised helper, the Spirit of Truth, he made it possible for us to enjoy his presence continuously. This gift, from the Way, the Truth, and the Life is fully capable of leading us; along the Way, into all Truth, so that we may enjoy the most abundant Life possible; just … Read more

Restoring Legitimacy – The “American” Corporation

On August the 19th in 2019, Business Roundtable members issued a Statement on The Purpose of a Corporation. In it, the signatories said “While each of our individual companies serves its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders.” Among the stakeholders listed were customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders. People, … Read more

Restoring Legitimacy – The United States Supreme Court

On December the 1st in 2021, during oral arguments about a Mississippi abortion case, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor addressed the court’s politically motivated willingness to abandon precedent and thereby sully the rule of law. She posed a question: “Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the … Read more

Too Poor to Pay Attention

On the streets of Asheville, North Carolina, most major intersections feature weathered individuals who are flying signs that read “Anything Helps!” At the break of each day, the doorsteps of small retail shops host sleeping people who have been conditioned to believe their entire net worth is contained within the knapsack they use for a … Read more

The Truth is Not in Them

While the magalomanic cult that has captured the Republican party feigns reverence for the Way, the Truth, and the Life, it embraces the opposite. A boisterous few have reached a level of discord that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards nailed with the lyric: Just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints; As … Read more

Full Transcript of the June 28 Hearing on the Insurrection

BENNIE THOMPSON: The Select Committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol will be in order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare the committee in recess at any point. Pursuant to House Deposition Authority Regulation 10, the chair announces the committee’s approval to release the deposition material presented during … Read more