Mike Dwyer

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Heritage Hunting

by Mike Dwyer on May 25, 2012

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I load my rifle, put on my game bag and lock my truck 30 minutes after sunrise. After walking a few yards I bend down to hide my keys in a clump of mustard weed growing near the road. Proceeding up a steep hill, covered in tall grass, my pants are wet from dew by the time I reach the top. I should have worn my knee boots today. Continue reading this post…

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Minorities Now in the Majority

by Mike Dwyer on May 17, 2012

Recent census figures show that for the first time more than half the children born in the U.S. were minorities. Continue reading this post…

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The Teenage Heroics of John Howard Griffin

by Mike Dwyer on May 11, 2012

“1. When I was 15, I was taking the El late at night in Chicago. While I was waiting, I saw two very young children, a boy (about 6) and a girl (about 4), walk up to the station on the opposite side of the tracks. Continue reading this post…

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Bullygate

by Mike Dwyer on May 11, 2012

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There was a quote from some political pundit a few years ago that talked about the price of being president. I am paraphrasing here but the point was basically that we, as Americans, elect a President who becomes the most powerful man in the world. The price we charge for that lofty office is that we spend six months doing our best to destroy that person first. Continue reading this post…

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Summer Movies

by Mike Dwyer on May 10, 2012

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The kids and I went to see The Avengers last night. This was the official beginning of the summer movie season for us. The movie itself was a perfect start. It was big. It was loud. It was fun and it had a happy ending. Continue reading this post…

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Derby Day Jukebox

by Mike Dwyer May 5, 2012

See you at the track!

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Walking in the Footsteps of Pioneers

by Mike Dwyer May 2, 2012
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“Patrick Henry Esq., Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, to all whom these presents shall come greeting. Know ye that by virtue and in consideration of a land office treasury…there is granted by the said Commonwealth unto Francis Taylor a certain tract or parcel of land containing one thousand acres

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More on Medical Marijuana

by Mike Dwyer April 27, 2012

The Nick Diaz saga, which I first wrote about here, continues: He was placed under temporary suspension when a post-fight drug test revealed the presence of marijuana metabolites in his system.

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Debt and Career Choices

by Mike Dwyer April 26, 2012
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The President wants to keep student loans cheap. Because I believe in higher education with all of my heart and soul, it would seem natural for me to support this proposal. As the parent of a child that starts college in the fall this proposal would assist our goal of giving her a quality education. But it doesn’t. While I am not willing to go so far as to say the government should do away with school loans, I would like to ...

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Addressing Income Inequality

by Mike Dwyer April 23, 2012

From Ross Douthat: And this is where I think the American left falls short. I agree with Yglesias that most liberals who care about inequality care about immobility as well.

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Gaming the Police

by Mike Dwyer April 20, 2012
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The UC-Davis pepper spray incident has come back into the news lately. Far be it from me to ignore. Back in November I left this comment on  a post here at The League. I think it still holds up (with minor editing). What I will say first though is that obviously some mistakes were made at UC-Davis.

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A Brave Foot Forward

by Mike Dwyer April 13, 2012

Nicole Pamby is an old blogging friend of mine. She mostly blogs about her career as a freelance writer but today she shared some of her personal life.

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Role Reversals

by Mike Dwyer April 9, 2012

Elias’ latest post gave me a little epiphany this morning. He mentions social Darwinism as a feature of the Paul Ryan budget proposal, the not-so-subtle subtext of course is that conservatives believe in social Darwinism

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The Roots of Scandal

by Mike Dwyer April 3, 2012
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The clergy-abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic church throughout the last decade has probably gained the most attention regarding the criminal way that problem priests were moved around and never turned in to authorities. What has been given far less attention is just what lead to the abuse in the first place. A new report sheds some light on the problem.

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Looking for Small Comforts in the Suburbs

by Mike Dwyer March 28, 2012
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The older I get the more I love the suburbs, or in our case the exurbs. I like the immediacy of all the amenities we need in one direction and the closeness of our rural neighbors in the other direction. We truly have everything at our fingertips and this includes various doctors and services.

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Near-Tragedies in Civillian Police Work

by Mike Dwyer March 26, 2012
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Two short stories: Sometime in my late 20s I was up late at my brother’s apartment with some friends. We were having an impromptu band practice and enjoying a few beers. We heard a noise outside and when we poked our heads out we saw someone sitting in my sister-in-law’s car in the parking lot. Without a word five large white guys were tearing out the door and in hot pursuit of the would-be thief.  We caught up with him about 100 yards later.

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Final Four

by Mike Dwyer March 24, 2012
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Suddenly that ludicrous pick for my Cards in the finals for the League basketball pool doesn’t seem quite so crazy… What a game!

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Economic Benefits of Marriage

by Mike Dwyer March 22, 2012
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In 2011 Pew Charitable Trusts published an interesting study showing just who is falling out of the middle class. – Compared with married women, women who are divorced, widowed or separated are between 31 and 36 percentage points more likely to fall down the economic ladder. In turn, never-married women are 16 to 19 percentage points more likely to be downwardly mobile than married women. – Men who are divorced, widowed or separated are 13 percentage points more likely to drop ...

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Walking Dead Season Finale: Open Thread (Spoiler Alert)

by Mike Dwyer March 19, 2012
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What an episode! All those that have been complaining about a lack of walkers or action this season should be happy after last night. I thought the finale was handled beautifully and they did a great job of setting up next season.    

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St.Pat’s Jukebox

by Mike Dwyer March 17, 2012
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When St.Patrick’s Day falls on Saturday it’s always a special kind of awesome with my crew of friends. Like all good Catholics we’ve had some epic St.Pats over the years but the Saturdays remain shrouded in a fog of Guinness, corned beef and cheap green beaded necklaces. This year I will be wise enough to take a nice nap before we head out and my wife will be along to make sure I behave. To my fellow Leaguers a toast, “May ...

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Space

by Mike Dwyer March 14, 2012
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The other day David posted a video of Neil deGrasse Tyson. Tyson has become a passionate and outspoken advocate for NASA and continued space exploration. His distinct voice, his intellect and, I daresay, his race, have made him extremely popular on the speaking circuit. Someone put together a video that collects many of his quotes and it is a powerful piece. See below:

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