Civil Liberties
Douthat on Abortion
[Note: I intended to reply immediately to Ross Douthat’s NYT op.ed. last week on abortion, but a computer disaster caused delay. Hopefully you will agree that my post today is better late than never.] For Ross Douthat, the case against ...
Read MoreCancel Culture at MIT
I was disturbed to read about MIT’s recent cancellation of a lecture by the highly reputed geophysicist Dorian Abbot of the U of Chicago. Abbot’s lecture was to be on the subject of climate change and the possibility of human ...
Read MoreAbortion Rights Follow-up
A reader has responded to my post of yesterday with some useful information, which I am passing on: Following up on your suggestion re supporting organizations that fund transportation and other expenses for women who have to travel to obtain ...
Read MoreA Nightmare Scenario
Just a quick post today, to pass on an important reading recommendation. Vox’s Matt Yglesias has sketched out a grim view of the prospects for Trump‘s America, focusing not so much on policy as on the threats that a Trump ...
Read MoreFacebook Should Just Say No
In a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. John Thune has voiced concerns that Facebook’s “Trending Topics” section is biased against conservative viewpoints. Thune wants Zuckerberg to explain its organizational structure and processes for “Trending Topics” and ...
Read MoreAbortion: A Note on The Language We Use
Cecile Richards did a generally good job of defending Planned Parenthood in an interview last night with Chuck Todd, but I was disappointed to watch her decline to push back on one badly loaded question. Todd put it to her ...
Read MoreFree Speech and Bigotry
There should be no question that Pamela Geller had a right to organize the contest that became a target for two jihadist would-be assassins. There can be no excuse for the jihadists’ assault, which surely qualifies as an act of ...
Read MoreTorture: Effectiveness vs. Morality
In my post following the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on torture, I raised some doubts about the committee’s finding that torture had never been effective since 9/11. I suggested that the majority Democrats on the committee may have overstated their ...
Read MoreJ Edgar Hoover RIP (Not)
We’ve known for a long time what a twisted, dangerous character J Edgar was, but this is incredible. The FBI building by act of Congress bears his name. A change in that name is long overdue. Somebody needs ...
Read MoreSnowden and the Surveillance State
A combination of ambivalence and uncertainty has kept me up till now from posting on the Snowden/NSA affair. I was prompted to give some new thought to the matter by the latest issue of The Nation, whose cover story/lead editorial reports ...
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