Free Republic

A single sentence, uttered in the trial of George Zimmerman for the shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin, has catapulted an issue into the national spotlight. When asked if she could read a letter in court, witness Rachel Jeantel, her head bowed, murmured with embarrassment, "I don't read cursive," according to court testimony. Is it any surprise that cursive -- the looped, curvaceous style of handwriting that's been a mainstay of education for generations -- is all but dead? [15 Weird Things We Do Everyday, and Why] "Cursive should be allowed to die. In fact, it's already dying, despite having been...

Last June, a pulp-fiction thriller was published in Paris under the title “Le Chemin de Damas.” Its lurid green-and-black cover featured a busty woman clutching a pistol, and its plot included the requisite car chases, explosions and sexual conquests. Unlike most paperbacks, though, this one attracted the attention of intelligence officers and diplomats on three continents. Set in the midst of Syria’s civil war, the book offered vivid character sketches of that country’s embattled ruler, Bashar al-Assad, and his brother Maher, along with several little-known lieutenants and allies. It detailed a botched coup attempt secretly supported by the American and...

This week the Enquiring Hitchhiker has several new interviews. The first of these is with  Dr. Gregory Benford. Dr. Benford is one of the leading authors of hard science fiction working today. His novel In the Ocean of Night was one of my first introductions to the idea of artificial intelligence.

... what then makes for good entertainment and what qualities does that entertainment have? What causes me to like something when I watch it? What excites me enough to drop money on something and go watch it? ...

Will ya? For the past six months or so I have been meeting each week with a young Chinese economics scholar from mainland China, discussing life in the United States, and helping him with his English which is excellent as far as vocabulary and grammar, but rather dismal in the pronunciation department. This is my volunteer work contribution to the betterment of mankind, as I tend to avoid those typical volunteering activities such as "teaching children of prisoners to read", preferring instead, as has been my habit in other areas, to try to subvert the dominant paradigm. (Today, seeing a...

When asked for their John Hancock, future generations might print it in block letters or scrawl some scribbles across the page. But odds are, they won't sign their name in cursive. They might not even be able to read it. Cursive, with its graceful loops and perfectly joined letters, seems soon to join the typewriter, VCR player and flip-phone as relics of a past age. Keyboarding skills, not cursive, were included in the Common Core, a set of national academic standards adopted last year by more than 40 states, including Florida.

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Israel is urging the international community to continue aid to the Palestinians just as U.S. lawmakers are contemplating an aid cutoff if the Palestinians press for statehood at the United Nations. An Israeli government website on Thursday carried a report saying the Palestinian Authority already faced economic and fiscal woes, in part due to a decline in donor aid. "Israel calls for ongoing international support for the PA budget and development projects that will contribute to the growth of a vibrant private sector, which will provide the PA an expanded base for generating internal revenue,"...

(CNN) - Republican Sen. Jim DeMint said Sunday he wants a jobs plan in writing from President Barack Obama, not just another speech. "I am so tired of his speeches, it's going to be hard for me to watch," DeMint said on CNN's "State of the Union." A written proposal from the president would enable Congress to decipher the cost and the American people and businesses to weigh the plan, said the South Carolina Republican who is a favorite of tea party conservatives. "Without sending something in writing, the president makes all of these grand gestures, and then it doesn't...

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2011 Results

chicagotribune.com Illinois erases state's last writing exam 11th-graders will no longer take the test — saving state $2.4 million By Tara Malone, Tribune reporter July 6, 2011 Illinois high school juniors no longer will be tested on writing skills during the state's standardized tests every spring, eliminating the last Illinois writing exam and shaving about $2.4 million amid budgetary shortfalls. While students might welcome being spared the sweating over topic sentences and persuasive verbs, many educators worry the essential skill could get short shrift in Illinois classrooms as a result.

Feds must stop writing gibberish under new lawBy CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press Updated: May 19, 2011 2:34 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal government is rolling out a new official language of sorts: plain English. That's right: Pursuant to regulations promulgated thereunder and commencing in accordance with a statute signed herein by President Barack Obama, the government shall be precluded from writing the pompous gibberish heretofore evidenced, to the extent practicable. That sentence contains 11 new language no-nos. Obama signed the Plain Writing Act last fall after decades of effort by a cadre of passionate grammarians in the civil...

So you finally decided to take the big step, to wade into the debates of the day, and lend your ever-so-wise voice to the great political public square. You’ve decided to become a political blogger. Now what? And what can you learn and expect as you step forth to ideological battle and proclaim the truth as you know it? I have blogged from a conservative point of view for many years, both as an individual as well as in a group blog format, and in that time I like to think that I’ve learned a few things about blogging along...

The ability to speak, to use verbal representations of our thoughts, is one of the most striking differences between humans and animals. True, animals communicate with each other but there is no reason to suppose they are sharing anything more than an expression of feelings. It is not language in the sense humans use language, their thoughts. Since we also use language to to explain our thoughts, to ourselves and others, we should also be concerned with the clarity and skill with which we use language. With that in mind I would direct your attention to what two writers said...

Colleges and universities pride themselves on producing erudite citizens. Nevertheless, by nearly available benchmark, they are failing in this regard, although they don’t seem to realize it. “While M. B. A. students’ quantitative skills are prized by employers, their writing and presentation skills have been a perennial complaint,” Diana Middleton wrote in The Wall Street Journal on March 3, 2011. “Employers and writing coaches say business-school graduates tend to ramble, use pretentious vocabulary or pen too-casual emails.” “Meanwhile, the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the Graduate Management Admission Test, says average essay scores on the GMAT fell to 4.4...

The talking heads continue to yap about the source of the savagery driving Jared Lee Loughner. Many on the left have tried, and failed, to pin the blame for the Tucson massacre on the Tea Parties or, just as ridiculous, on Sarah Palin. Meanwhile, the 900-pound gorilla in the interrogation room remains unquestioned and unchallenged. Its name is "deconstructionism." Deconstructionism is historical relativism on crack cocaine. The "theory" is being freely and openly distributed to almost every college student in America. Courses in most of the humanities typically include the works of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. In fact, it...

(CNN) -- A senior U.S. law enforcement official has told CNN that U.S. intelligence believes the principal author of the new online al Qaeda magazine is an American citizen who left for Yemen in October 2009. The magazine -- called "Inspire" -- appeared last week. Running to nearly 70 pages online, it included articles on bomb-making and encrypting electronic messages, as well as an interview with fugitive Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al Awlaki.

When you’ve been writing weekly for 16 years, occasionally the question comes up: what on God’s green Earth am I going to talk about now? I was going to write about the Jones Act. That Act requires that ships operating in American waters be American-owned with American crews. Not stated in the law is its real purpose. The maritime unions have a headlock on American shipboard workers. So, the Jones Act requires, in reality, that all ships operating in American waters generate dues for the unions which translate into funds to elect Democrats. Skimmer ships are sitting idle in foreign...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Sarah Palin has taken to her Facebook page to complain about her new neighbor—a writer penning a book about her. Author Joe McGinniss has taken up residence in a house next to Palin's lakeside home in Wasilla. McGinniss previously wrote a critical expose on Palin and her natural gas pipeline plan for the Conde Nast publication Portfolio last year, and is planning a book about the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate. It's tentatively titled, "Sarah Palin's Year of Living Dangerously" and could be on the shelves in the fall of 2011.

Recently, the new head of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, gushed that "if you accept the premise, and I do, that the United States is the most powerful country in the world, then Barack Obama is the most powerful writer since Julius Caesar." He skipped right over Calvin Coolidge.

Cursive Writing Is Fading Skill, But So What? Fewer school emphasize ‘penmanship’ as computer use increases A student practices both printing and cursive handwriting skills at a classroom at the Mountaineer Montessori School in Charleston, W.Va. . Bob Bird / AP [Pic in URL] CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Charleston resident Kelli Davis was in for a surprise when her daughter brought home some routine paperwork at the start of school this fall. Davis signed the form and then handed it to her daughter for the eighth-grader's signature. "I just assumed she knew how to do it, but I have a piece...