At the end of the Cretaceous Period, an asteroid, seven miles wide, ripped through the black expanse of outer space After traveling millions of miles, after following the orbits of greater masses, after collisions with other pockmarked rocks, there was a pull toward Earth The asteroid’s impact off the coast of the Yucatán blotted out the horizon, smothering dinosaur eggs into ash, rippling heat through the land and the oceans

the eternal mystery, the infinite order, the illimitable spirit revealed in astronomical arrangement Excerpts from Albert Einstein’s “The World as I see It,” Galileo’s “The Essential Galileo,” Isaac Newton’s “The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy,” and Richard Feynman’s “The Pleasure of Finding Things Out”

In “Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda,” Noam Chomsky examines the development of propaganda in the United States. He begins by asking his readers what kind of a democracy they want to live in (Chomsky 9). His first definition of a democracy is one in which citizens can “participate…

I write for a few hours when I wake up on Saturday mornings. I write in between shifts at work. I write before I go to sleep (which usually makes me too hyper to go to sleep). I write on vacations. I write before weddings and after funerals. I write…

The term “Liberalism” comes from “Liber,” the Latin root for “Liberty” and “Freedom” (Smith 9). It later became associated with qualities such as tolerance, generosity, and open-mindedness. Classical liberalism was a humanistic outlook rather than merely a political doctrine. Classical liberals emphasized the need for freedom. Freedom was their “polar…

To follow the Bodhisattva path, we have to practice for the liberation of all beings everywhere. If we are practicing for only ourselves, or for an abstract idea of enlightenment that is apart from everyone else, we are not following the Buddha’s teachings (39). While we don’t have to be…

Name: David Goggins Born: February 17, 1975 Occupation: ultramarathon runner, triathlete, author, public speaker, wildland firefighter, retired Navy SEAL Accomplishments: ultramarathon athlete (winning third place at Badwater 135), former Guinness World Record holder for pull-ups in 2017, author of two inspirational books, retired Navy SEAL who was “the only member…

Oscar Wilde was a poet and playwright. He wrote “The Soul of Man Under Socialism” in 1891. Peter Kropotkin, an anarchist historian and philosopher, influenced his political views at that time. Helping Within the System: Altruists want to help the poor. While some people have benefited, the root cause of…

“Monks, a friend endowed with seven qualities is worth associating with. Which seven? He gives what is hard to give. He does what is hard to do. He endures what is hard to endure. He reveals his secrets to you. He keeps your secrets. When misfortunes strike, he doesn’t abandon…