Vladimir Davidiuk, University of St. Thomas

Work is a Beautiful Thing

Posted by Vladimir Davidiuk | Oct 3, 2014 | Economy, Industry |

Recently, an awesome, powerful new ad from Walmart, narrated by Mike Rowe was released on the company’s website and Youtube channel. “At one time I made things and I took pride in the things I made,” Rowe’s voice says in the video, speaking from the perspective of the factory as related images play out across the screen, providing a visual backdrop for the crippled domestic manufacturing industry. As lights turn on and machines begin to whir, the tone becomes more positive and uplifting. The commercial ends with onscreen text reading, “Over the next ten years, we’re putting $250 billion...

Same-Sex Marriage Fundamentally Transforms Society

Posted by Vladimir Davidiuk | Sep 1, 2014 | Homosexuality, Ideologies, Society |

It is deeply troubling and disappointing that as a culture, we have now arrived at the point in which a person who believes in the importance and cultural significance of traditional marriage (1 man + 1 woman = marriage), a position that even Barack Obama shared until his recent “evolution,” is now expected to defend their position on the grounds that it is discriminatory, bigoted and homophobic. This was not the case just six years ago: during the 2008 campaign, at a forum held by Pastor Rick Warren at the Saddleback Church in California, then-Senator Obama declared: “I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, for me, as a Christian, it is also...

Beheading Children Beneath the Black Flag

Posted by Vladimir Davidiuk | Aug 18, 2014 | Middle East, World |

“I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them” —Qur’an, Surah 8:12 – Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. —Matthew 24:9 There is an unambiguous contrast drawn between the two statements of faith quoted above. In one, we see ostensibly fundamentalist words that are currently being used by groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS, also seen as IS and ISIL) and...

Movie Review: Dinesh D’Souza’s “America”

Posted by Vladimir Davidiuk | Jun 30, 2014 | Media, Society |

What defines our nation and makes America great? Do the people who helped shape American history deserve to be considered heroes, or monsters? These are the questions that have come to define American culture, our view of ourselves as both a people and as a nation, and America’s response to the world. Dinesh D’Souza, the creator of 2016: Obama’s America, and Gerald Molen, the Academy Award-winning producer of Schindler’s List, offer an invitation to history that cannot be refused. In America, they bring us face-to-face with the heroes who suffered, bled, and sacrificed their lives in order to build a great nation: Christopher Columbus crossing an ocean...

Time to Eliminate the Minimum Wage

Posted by Vladimir Davidiuk | May 26, 2014 | Commerce, Economy |

It was unsurprising but disappointing to encounter an article titled “Raising Minimum Wage: An Issue of Maximum Importance” in the March 6, 2014 edition of the University of St. Thomas student newspaper, The Summa. Given the target audience, one could hazard a guess that few university students could find fault with the author’s trite and threadbare conclusions, especially such gems as “the proposed bill is certainly popular,” and “we have an alarmingly low minimum wage,” and “change is needed.” Sadly, there is no mention of the imposition created for employers who would be required to pay more for those of minimal skill. No mention of the...