Reasonable Optimism on Iran – Sleep Well
President Trump was frustrated by the military actions of Iran and Israel following his announcement of a ceasefire among Iran,
Read more
Richard E. Vatz https://wp.towson.edu/vatz/ is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of political rhetoric at Towson University and author of The Only Authentic of Persuasion: the Agenda-Spin Model (Bookwrights House, 2024) and over 200 other works, essays, lectures, and op-eds. He is the benefactor of the Richard E. Vatz Best Debater Award at Towson. The Van Bokkelen Auditorium at Towson University has been named after him.
Author: Richard E. Vatz, Ph.D
Mental Illness: Hyperliberalism Run Amuck with Skeptics No Longer in Sight
Colleagues and I have written for decades on the widespread acceptance of the perspectives of psychiatry and psychology and how such starting points have provided the left in our country excuses for bad and illegal behavior.
Read more
The False Pretensions of Today’s Meet the Press
Meet the Press (MTP) has one of the most impressive histories of the Sunday news shows on the major networks. It has been around since 1947, initiated on radio in 1945 as American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press and, in those nearly 60 years since, it has brought to the fore major leaders for sometimes blistering but always informative question-and-answer sessions to promote public awareness of issues of the day – until a number of years ago.
Read more
Political Anger at Trump, Good/Persuasive Writing and The New York Times Columnist Whose Words Fail Him
For over fifty years, I have taught persuasive writing and speaking under the title in my advanced course, Persuasion. I have won a host of teaching awards, lectured widely, and made innumerable media appearances. There is one irrefutable rule: do not let your anger interfere with your writing.
Today, there may be no topic on which this is more applicable than writing about our active president, Donald J. Trump.
Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz Proved Correct: ADHD as Mythological Brain Disease
He didn’t live to see it, but perhaps institutional psychiatry is on the verge of admitting that Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not biologically based.
Read more
The Salvation of Genuine Political Debate, Missing in Action in Political America
We need debates, substantive debates, not monologues including personal attacks, after principals ignore their opponents’ arguments.
Read more
Self-Cancel Culture and Ruth Marcus
Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washinton Post, wrote recently and famously, “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets…We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”
Read more
Eliminating mandatory psychiatric coverage: toughening up America and saving millions of people billions of dollars
If Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are serious and fearless – and one thinks that they manifestly are — about the dual goals of saving the American people money and increasing their independence and control of their lives, they should start by terminating the mandatory health insurance that Americans pay for mental health.
Read more
The Singularly Ignored and Banned Discussion of the Number One Cause of Violence, Educational Deficits, Bullying and Poverty: Single Parent Families
In the relationship between single parenting and the high rate of crime, the cause of having only one parent is due to several obvious articulable connections. A single parent cannot usually control a single male, let alone multiple males, their study habits, friendship choices, living in poverty, and group identification. Gangs are always willing to substitute for absent parents.
Read more
For Election Outcomes, Listen to Those in Political Rhetoric
As I have stated repeatedly and written, Donald Trump is a repellent personality, but Americans will support a candidate – I did — when the alternative and her party are so bereft of good judgment.
Read more