Happy Birthday America (Whatever's Left of You)

Is a Philosophy Degree Worth It?

I thought this was funny even if it's not quite true:

I say it's not quite true because an undergraduate degree in philosophy is often a gateway to graduate degrees in law, medicine, theology, and a host of other careers. Even if a student doesn't wish to take a degree in philosophy, taking philosophy courses can be, depending on how they're taught, a richly rewarding experience.

About eight years ago I wrote a post for VP in which I discussed the value of an undergrad philosophy degree, either major or minor, for anyone who has the intellectual interest and is strongly attracted to the life of the mind.

You can read that post here. If you're a high school student who enjoys ideas and is wrestling with whether you should go to college and, if so, what you should take when you're there, check it out.

Vultures

There are two species of vultures commonly seen in eastern North America: the turkey vulture and the black vulture. California condors are a third species of vulture that are found in the American west.

Vultures are aesthetically unattractive to look at up close, but they're marvelous to see soaring on thermal updrafts in large groups called "kettles." They're also environmentally important carrion-eaters as this lovely video explains:

The next time you look up and see one of these birds wheeling in the sky overhead, remember that you're watching an aeronautical and biological marvel.

One of the Two Most Important SCOTUS Decisions in Decades

Last Thursday night's disastrous debate performance by our president has consumed most of the attention of news commentators in the days since but maybe an even more gratifying development for conservatives was the SCOTUS ruling that overturned the infamous 1984 Chevron decision.

In a nutshell, Chevron had deferred to federal agencies the authority to determine what regulations should be imposed on businesses when the actual law was ambiguous. This has resulted in a massive increase in federal power over the last forty years.

The Supreme Court has now taken that authority from the federal government and given it to the courts where it belongs. Courts, not bureaucrats, are to interpret the law. Courts are more likely to be disinterested and objective; unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats are more likely to have ideological agendas.

Paula Bolyard writes at PJ Media:

Today, the Supreme Court voted to overrule the so-called Chevron deference in a 6-3 decision. The ruling is a HUGE victory for those who hate the massive power the administrative state has amassed in recent decades.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, concluded: "The Administrative Procedure Act requires courts to exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, and courts may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous; Chevron is overruled."

In the most basic terms, the Chevron deference (also called the Chevron doctrine) allows the courts, through a two-step process, to defer to "reasonable" administrative agency interpretations if a federal statute is unclear or ambiguous. It was essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card for presidents and agency hacks who liked to claim that a law says whatever they want it to say.

It gave federal agencies broad authority to regulate everything from health care to immigration to women's sports to COVID jabs.

Bolyard has much more information on this decision and the rationale for it at the link.

Tossing Chevron into the dumpster was a necessary first step in cutting big government down to size and returning government to its constitutional role as a servant of the people, not our master. This decision stands with Dobbs as perhaps the two most important decisions SCOTUS has made in decades.