Bob Woodward’s new tell-all book, Rage, reveals specific evidence that Donald Trump knew about the severity of Covid-19 (C-19) before it ravaged our nation, killing nearly 200,000 and sinking our economy. Not only did Trump willfully withhold information that he knew would save lives, but he also actively lied about the virus, and continues to invite supporters to mass gatherings against all medical advice. The same is true of Republican political […]
A Plan for Reopening Our Schools
Before he retired in 2019, Keith Law taught philosophy at Merced College. He has many decades’ experience in education. The current debate over how to begin the fall 2020 school year is stuck in a false dilemma between two equally bad options. Parents don’t want to send children to school if they risk infection for them and their families, not to mention the risks to teachers and staff. On the […]
To Educators Everywhere: Teach Global Warming
Keith Law, longtime Professor of Philosophy at Merced College, warns educators in an open letter about the consequences of scientific illiteracy among today’s college students. I am writing to share a concern regarding students’ lack of basic science education in general, and more particularly their lack of understanding of the pending global warming disaster that will occur in their lifetime. I have had a brief discussion on my campus (Merced […]
The “Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations” in California’s Higher Education
Merced College Professor of Philosophy Keith Law has a long history of questioning conventional wisdom and popular opinion. Below, he takes on recent trends in higher education. Ed. “The key to my success is a very simple and time-honored tradition, hard work for teacher and student alike.” Jaime Escalante Readers of this editorial may recall the story of Jaime Escalante (1930 – 2010) from the 1988 film, Stand and Deliver. In the […]
How Governor Brown and California’s Democratic Leadership are Destroying our Community Colleges
Merced College Professor of Philosophy Keith Law has always taken seriously the philosopher’s duty to ask difficult questions and question conventional wisdom. Below, he offers a critique of recent proposals for change in California’s Community College system. According to the California Community College Chancellor’s website, ours is the largest system of higher education in the nation, with 2.1 million students attending 114 colleges. Since opening the first community college in […]
Merced College’s Keith Law Sounds Off on “15 to Finish”
For almost thirty years, Merced College’s Keith Law has been a persistent gadfly, contrarian, and thorn in the side of anyone advancing a proposal that hasn’t been subjected to rigorous academic scrutiny. Law teaches philosophy, and has always been willing to model himself after Socrates and other great philosophers who took their discipline and reasoning into the real world, concerned more with truth and justice than popular approval. Below, in […]