“Reading a Book is Like Life:
You Live it One Page at a Time.” (Ron Yates)
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About Ronald E. Yates
Author, former foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, and Dean & Professor Emeritus of the College of Media at the University of Illinois, his acclaimed works are now available through this site.
The Latest From My Blog
The Department of Education: A Wasteland of Rot & Corruption
After spending 13 years as a professor, Department Head, and College Dean at the University of Illinois, I learned a lot about higher education, its benefits, and its faults. Don’t get me wrong. The University of Illinois is a first-rate institution. It is home to world-class faculty and facilities, including …
The Roaches are Running for Cover from the Exterminator-in-Chief
During my career as a foreign correspondent, I spent a lot of time in what could only be called roach hotels. It wasn’t out of choice but necessity. I often had no option where I slept at night. You were happy to have a roof over your head in war …
Trump’s plan to restore Hollywood’s Golden Age is a Daunting Task
Lost among the burst of executive orders emanating from Donald Trump’s felt tip permanent marker was his decision to appoint three iconic actors—Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone—to serve as his special envoys to Hollywood. Their mission, Trump said, is to return Hollywood to its former Golden Age. Restoring …
Trump’s Common Sense Executive Orders: What’s Not To Like?
As promised, on day one of his administration, Donald Trump took pen in hand and signed a mound of executive orders in a flurry of cursive penmanship. Here are my favorites. I hope all will become permanent law someday. Of course, that will be up to Congress. In the meantime, …
After Joe Biden‘s Perverse Reign of Devastation, a Muckraker’s Thoughts on a New Era of Common Sense
Looking back on the last four years, I feel like I have been mucking a giant pile of manure out of a barn. The more I shoveled, the higher the pile of manure got. There didn’t seem to be any end to the execrable crap being dispensed by the Biden …
Things I’ve learned from Lincoln, C.S. Lewis, David Foster Wallace, and my friend’s grandmother.
Today, I am reposting a column by author and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan in which she shares some poignant thoughts about life as we enter the new year. This particular column appeared in her Signposts on the Wisdom Trail column. As for me, I will return to posting …
Study Reveals DEI is Ineffective & Harmful
Well, what do you know? A new study by Rutgers University and the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) has revealed what most of us have long suspected—DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) pedagogy is ineffective and doing more harm than good. Of course, our mainstream media has largely refused to cover …
The Left’s War on Truth
I just finished reading a new book by Newsmax anchor Bianca de la Garza that does an excellent job of explaining how the woke mob managed to brainwash at least a few generations of Americans. Her book describes how caustic policies such as DEI (Diversity, equity, inclusion), Critical Race Theory, …
Why the National Association of Scholars Opposes the Cult of Transgenderism
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to reign in the transgender zealots who, for the past four years, have managed to contaminate once-rational minds with bogus notions about gender identity, human biology, settled science, and women’s athletics. Recently, the National Association of Scholars, an organization I belong to …
Paul vs. Tyson 2024: A Pathetic Vestige of Douglas vs. Tyson 1990
Well, wasn’t THAT something? Jake Paul, a 27-year-old social media YouTuber, actor, and fledgling professional boxer, vs. 58-year-old Mike Tyson, the former world heavyweight champion, in an eight-round bout that was essentially a pugilistic travesty. Last Friday’s bout was like watching an exasperated grandfather chase his bratty grandson around the …
The Mainstream Media are in a Financial and Credibility Tailspin
America’s legacy media are in big trouble. Newspapers are losing record print circulation, morning and nightly network news shows are hemorrhaging viewers, and cable news outlets are losing audiences at a record rate. So what’s going on? As someone who spent almost 30 years toiling in the newspaper world and …
Happy Veterans Day to my Fellow Vets
Today is Veterans Day. Given that only 6 percent of the people of this nation have ever put on a uniform–including those currently serving–I am not sure many Americans have any idea why Veterans Day is a holiday. Yes, it means schools and most government offices are closed. But it …
