Nancy Salvato

Academic Freedom

An article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education reflects the notion that academic freedom means being allowed to advocate a personal point of view in the classroom.

Direct Election v. Electoral College

The constitutional amendment process is a complicated and lengthy affair. This is because we cannot be certain what consequences might arise from a seemingly minor alteration of the Constitution. To be sure, exchanging the electoral-vote system for direct election would adversely impact the entire constitutional and political structure of the United States.

A More Perfect Union Rests on a Balance of Ideas

“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” – James Madison, Federalist #51

The Confluence of Religion & Freedom

“Textbooks today are trapped in an ideological straitjacket that, in contrast to the surrounding popular culture, restricts content and sterilizes social realities.” – The Mad, Mad World of Textbook Adoption

Promoting Alternative Energy for the Right Reasons

Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich are featured together in a television commercial which focuses on how conservatives and liberals can come together to find solutions for problems caused by climate change.

Shackling the Individual by Imposing Racist Pride

An avid reader, I’ve learned much about individualism and freedom by reading about what life is like when these are taken away from groups of people.

A Superhero Without Special Powers

I missed the train today...again. The nitwit in front of our car let out her husband at the stop sign instead of making her way through the three-way stop and across the tracks. By the time they finished their goodbye, the brief window of opportunity to pass through the intersection had passed and the gates were down. This happens for a combination of reasons.

While The Cat’s Away, The Terrorists Will Play

Now that the present administration’s 150 billion dollar economic stimulus package has caused a substantial portion of the population worry about the economy taking a nosedive and an ensuing recession, there is less incentive to discuss the more immediate threat of securing our borders from those who mean to cause our country substantial harm.

Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting an Establishment of an Education System

As an education reformer, I read about education every day. I read about ways to hold institutions of higher learning accountable for their education curriculum, I read about how important it is to have highly qualified teachers, and I read how students not receiving an equitable education should be afforded the right to attend private schools or charter schools with the tax dollars set aside for public education.

What Does the Progressive Left Stand For?

I’ve come to the conclusion that the United States is having a midlife crisis, an identity crisis. And this is a huge problem because if we don’t know who we are, what we stand for, or how we arrived here, how can we know how to navigate the 21st century while maintaining the freedom and standard of living we’ve come to take for granted?

Beware of Chinese Bearing Gifts

China makes the little voice inside my head nervous. China has surpassed India in having the largest population in the world with no other country coming remotely close to a billion in number.

Slow Down and Savor the Moments

Food is everywhere. Advertised between mind numbing sitcom television shows and radio programs; interspersed between articles about diet and fitness to fight flab; or posted on billboards along our nation’s streets and highways, it is hard not to be reminded about what to consider eating next.

What If the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Was Relative?

For thousands of years, people have pondered the age old question, why I am here and what happens when I die. Depending on the answers a person hears during this time on earth, there can be a variety of different explanations. For many of us, there is the notion that we are here to serve a higher purpose. For others, life is simply what we make of it and it’s over when our bodies cease to function. Which answer is correct and how do we know?

In Defense of Freedom

According to "Devilstower", a blogger on the DailyKos website, human rights are more important than national security. She explains, “Even if it was sure to be lost in a terrorist attack today, my life is not worth the Constitution. The life of my child is not worth the Constitution.” This same blogger believes that presidents Bush, Roosevelt, and Lincoln set aside their duty to uphold the constitution in exchange for the illusion of security.

Someone Is Telling the Truth but No One Is Listening

It’s a timeless story, The Boy who cried Wolf, one I can remember reading many times as a young child perusing Aesop’s Fables long past my bedtime, while the rest of the house was sleeping. It’s a simple moral, “There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.” My love of these fables had an enduring effect; imprinting their many lessons on the direction my life has taken.

“E Pluribus Unum”

My sons are both in high school and are under the common teenage misconception that they are liberals. They parrot what they hear from their teachers, their friends at school, and their father from my first marriage. They don't necessarily want to engage me in debate about my conservative beliefs.

Doctor Shortage, the Next Pandemic

According to the AMA, in many communities around the United States, there is a physician shortage, which presents a serious health care problem.