“How a Bill(ionaire) Becomes a Law(maker)

August 15, 2012 By 9 Comments

Your Thoughts?

Filed Under: Law, Law & Politics, Politics 9 Comments

How Will The 2012 U.S. Presidential, Congressional, and Local Elections Affect You Tangibly?

August 2, 2012 By 17 Comments

What are the most tangible, specific effects that the upcoming U.S. elections this November might have for your life. Which of your rights do you hope or worry will be affected and how specifically will this alter the course of your specific life–not just potentially, but actually, if they are? And will your career be [...]

Filed Under: Law, Law & Politics, Politics, Politics 17 Comments

Arrested For A Mean Tweet?

July 31, 2012 By 40 Comments

If this is all the relevant information, this English arrest seems unjust to me: After coming fourth in the men’s synchronised 10m platform diving event on Monday, the 18-year-old from Plymouth received a message telling him he had let down his father, Rob. Rob Daley died in May 2011 from brain cancer. A 17-year-old boy [...]

Filed Under: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Law, Law & Politics, News, News Discussion, World Affairs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 40 Comments

Is Religious Circumcision of Male Infants Morally Defensible?

July 27, 2012 By 102 Comments

Last month a court in Cologne, Germany ruled against allowing the circumcision of children too young to give consent. CBS News summarized the facts: a German court ruled that circumcision infringes on a child’s right to be protected from bodily harm. The regional court in Cologne said that circumcision went against the “fundamental right of [...]

Filed Under: Andrew Sullivan, Applied Ethics, Autonomy, Bio-Medical Ethics, Civil Rights, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Morality, News, News Discussion, Politics, Religion, Religious Rights, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, World Affairs 102 Comments

Why The Needs of Gay Kids Deserve Special Attention in Anti-Bullying Legislation

June 4, 2012 By 3 Comments

There is a major piece of anti-bullying legislation which will soon be up for a vote in Ontario, Canada. In the legislation, kids in Ontario Catholic schools will be protected from repeated aggressive behavior that occurs in a context where there is a real or perceived power imbalance between the pupil and the individual based [...]

Filed Under: Homophobia, Homophobia, Law, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics Tagged With: , , , 3 Comments

Colbert on Obama, North Carolina, & Gay Marriage

June 3, 2012 By 14 Comments

Two nights in a row last month Colbert had fantastic coverage of the news of Barack Obama’s “evolved” support for gay marriage and the unevolved decision of the people of North Carolina to even further restrict gay rights than they already had. In case you missed either or both of his segments on these subjects, [...]

Filed Under: Homophobia, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Homosexuality, LGBTQAA, Politics, Politics, Same Sex Marriage, Same Sex Marriage Tagged With: , , , , , , 14 Comments

GOP Congresswoman's Spokesman: "Let’s hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators"

June 1, 2012 By 19 Comments

Trigger warning: Below the fold and down the page a bit there are extremely graphic and disturbing pictures of women victimized by acid attacks. Then there is a disgusting and infuriating news story.

Filed Under: Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics 19 Comments

Is TED Primarily About Assuaging The Egos of the Super Rich?

May 27, 2012 By 3 Comments

TED opted not to air the Nick Hanauer video below in which he talks about the problems with income inequality. Hanauer’s camp caused a big stir by getting word out that this was a talk “that TED doesn’t want you to see”. TED does not release the videos of all their talks online. But Alex [...]

Filed Under: Politics, Politics 3 Comments

Penn Jillette vs. President Obama on Drugs

May 24, 2012 By 3 Comments

The personally drug free Penn Jillette takes Obama to task for his cavalier attitude towards our country’s authoritarian drug laws and the draconian penalties associated with them: Do we believe, even for a second… that if Obama had been busted for marijuana, under the laws that he condones, would his life have been better? If [...]

Filed Under: Law, Law, Politics, Politics Tagged With: 3 Comments

My Thoughts on Obama's "Evolution" Towards Favoring Marriage Equality

May 24, 2012 By 10 Comments

So while I was busy ending the semester, Obama gave a tepid, hedged, politically non-committal, mealymouthed endorsement to same-sex marriage. Over time, no doubt, his expressions of support for gay rights will increasingly feature less pauses, hesitations, stammers, ambiguities, and qualifications as the American public increasingly gives him permission (in the form of polls on [...]

Filed Under: Barack Obama, Barack Obama, Politics 10 Comments