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Reflecting on violence — and how different cultures understand it

Every spring, I share a couple of stories from Heinrich Hoffmann’s children’s book “Der Struwwelpeter” (“Slovenly Peter”) with my students to practice the German past tense, and every time, students express their surprise at the level of violence displayed in these stories. The same happens every Halloween when I bring Wilhelm Busch’s children’s book “Max and Moritz” to class. Both books are classics, and like so many other German-speaking children, I grew up with them. “Der Struwwelpeter” was published in 1845. Hoffmann, a physician who loved writing, wan-ted ...

Governor keeps betraying poor children

Immanuel Christian School is in dire straits, but not for lack of students who want to go there. Demand is high for the K-12 school’s limited number of seats, reflecting the sorry state of nearby public schools. Yet in this predominantly low-income and nonwhite eastern Pennsylvania community, many families struggle to afford tuition, and the school nearly shut down permanently in December. Not long ago, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro promised to pass a scholarship program to help students in struggling communities afford schools like Immanuel. Now the governor seems willing to abandon ...

Should we worry if the cure will kill the patient?

When experimental treatments are given to patients, there is a requirement for a special kind of informed consent indicating that the cure may kill the patient. When my father went in for his hip replacement surgery, he was high risk because of a cardiac condition. He was told that he had a 25% chance of dying. He decided to have the hip done anyway, and he survived another 20 years. Every time a lawyer goes into court, the attorney knows that there is a chance of winning or getting nothing for his client. Every business school in the world teaches about the importance of allocating ...

Americans need to understand tariffs

Let’s try to understand what President Trump’s new tariffs are, what they mean, who will pay for them. Also their impact on the American economy, on individual U.S. citizens, and America’s relations with the rest of the world. Tariffs used to be called “import duties.” They are paid, not by the nation that exports, but by the nation that imports. They are a tax, now between 10 and 60%, that American companies, large and small, must pay whenever they buy something from abroad. A great many American companies, we know from reading the labels, have their products manufactured ...

When condemned buildings aren’t secured, safety put at risk

About two weeks ago, while I was addressing a burning complaint, I discovered an abandoned house that I had previously never noticed. It appeared empty and unkempt…sort of dilapidated. The front and side doors were double..triple locked with screws, boards and padlocks. Walking around the side of house, I could see that the property had placards on it from the codes department: Condemned. When I reached the rear of the house, I was surprised to see the rear door wide open. “Oh wow…it’s unsecured?!?” Concerned about this discovery, I stepped through the door and into the rear of ...

Penn State’s faculty should be wary

Higher education’s future seems bleak. The national decline in enrollment has forced countless colleges and universities to tighten belts and make hard choices. Penn State — where enrollment is down 30% since 2010 —recently announced plans to close several of its 20 campuses across the commonwealth. Naturally, Penn State faculty feel vulnerable. But their desperation may push them into the wrong hands. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the nation’s most powerful government unions, is in the early stage of “organizing” these faculty members. The ...