A Blog on McConnell Center Life

FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF | Ron Chernow's Washington:  A Life (New York:   Penguin Books, 2010) “If he does that, he will be the Greatest Man in the World”     Those were the words of an astonished King George III, when he heard that General George Washington was returning his military commission to the Confederation Congress following the American victory in the Revolutionary War.   The British monarch was not alone in viewing with awe Washington’s decision to surrender power and return home to his farm at Mount Vernon. The Virginian was widely looked upon as an eighteenth-century Cincinnatus.   As one would expect of Ron Chernow, his treatment of this pivotal episode in Washington: A Life is sure-handed, reflecting his consummate skill as a biographer.   Chernow is best known for his work about Alexander Hamilton that spawned the famed Lin-Manual Miranda musical.   Written six years afterward, Chernow’s book on the Fi...

By Garrett Kasey On Monday, November 11, I turned twenty-two years old. The week before, I had made plans to workout, have a nice dinner, and spend time relaxing to celebrate, but none of those things ended up happening. My birthday began with an early morning spent working on economics homework and a business communications assignment. After attending my classes, I spent the rest of my day in meetings trying to forget the fact that I was spending the majority of my birthday away from friends, family, and enjoyable tasks. Finally, around 9 PM, I was able to return to my apartment and get ready to go to bed in preparation for my 8 AM class the following morning. As I walked into my room, I noticed a nice bottle of bourbon and a birthday wish from one of my roommates. While I had spent my day pouting about everything my birthday was not, I had a great friend who was thinking about one of the ways he could make my birthday better. Needless to say, this gift brought up my spi...

By Eric Bush Last week, bureaucrats in New Jersey handed Uber a $650 million fine, insisting that Uber drivers should be considered employees, not independent contractors. This is just the latest attempt to regulate away opportunities for hard-working Americans looking to get ahead.  Democrats – ranging from Andy Beshear to Kamala Harris – have repeatably insinuated that people who drive for Uber, whether it be to take their kids on vacation or pay a few bills, are actually victims . God forbid someone might voluntarily provide a useful service while enjoying the fruits of their labor! Ironically, Harris’s now defunct campaign racked up more than $14,000 in Uber expenses – hope she tipped! This war on the freelancing is a favorite tactic of the left. Well-meaning democrats insist Uber drivers be considered regular employees instead of contractors, which would require Uber to provide drivers sick leave and health care benefits, not to mention pay a slew of ...