Pressing News from Great Britain
The press will no longer be permitted to fulfill its legitimate function without explicit permission from the rulers of the state: Unless they register with a “press register” (established by Royal Charter), anyone who makes publishes “news-related material” will be liable for “libel damages” with huge fines. Even if they register, they can still be liable if in the government’s opinion they were not punished by their “regulator” sufficiently. This ends the legal right of publishers to publish without censorship or attack by the government, which was established by John Wilkes back in 1771. While a press which largely parrots….
Of Tribes and Respect
Sarah Hoyt has a good, discursive piece on culture groups and related matters which ends as follows: I’ve never introduced myself as Portuguese-American. I renounced previous allegiances when I naturalized. Yes, of course, my origins are Portuguese, and it shaped a lot of my thought. So it’s not like I hide that I grew up in Portugal. But when the chips are down, I know who my tribe is. My name is Sarah A. Hoyt, and I’m an American. I’m increasingly impressed by the reality that first-generation Americans are far more appreciative of what we have–and what we have to….
There’s a Question?
Do tax increases kill jobs? Minnesota soon to find out I’m flabbergasted.
Misunderstanding Peace
Once again, we hear about the state of the peace process in Israel. We’ve become so inured to that phrase that I believe we are overlooking the obvious. Peace is not a process. How many years (decades by now) have we been hearing about a peace process where there is no peace?
Truth, Power and Human Ills
In the books which I read as a child and not-quite-an-adult, heroes were relatively easy to pick out: Natty Bumpo, Tell Sackett, Frank and Joe Hardy, Bilbo, Tommy and Tuppence, King Henry V, Uncle Tom . . . and the list goes on. While none of these characters were perfect, they all had that special something which allowed me and millions of others to recognize that they were the good guys, the ones we could back as the story got rough, the ones who wouldn’t let us down. The older I got, the more confused, conflicted and downright evil the….
Envy Explained
Bill Whittle takes on a giant, and explains everything beautifully.
Meet Bob
Bob is a racist. You probably are, too. If you aren’t, I’m certain you have a friend or family member who is. Watch the following video so you will be able to recognize racism when you see it.
Convention
I enjoy breaking words apart, including the word convention. The con means “with” or “together.” The vention is from the Latin venire, which means “to come.” So, a convention is literally a “coming together.” And, generally speaking, we only have a coming together if there is a common purpose as the goal. Nothing in there dealing with whether or not such a coming together is convenient.
Minnesota Correction
Minnesota has two constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall which drew the attention of the not-very-conservative secretary of state. They are a law which would require ID for voting and a law which would affirm the moral, historical definition of marriage. The secretary of state changed the names of the measures to ensure that they were not saying what the legislature had originally intended: On Voting Original: “Photo Identification Required for Voting” Modified: “Changes to In-person & Absentee Voting & Voter Registration; Provisional Ballots” On Marriage Original: “Recognition of Marriage Solely Between One Man and One Woman” Modified: “Limiting….
Welfare Not Related to Economy?
An article in the Atlantic begins as follows: Why are Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan talking about welfare so much? It doesn’t have anything to do with the economy. It’s not a big part of the budget. And the claim that President Obama “gutted” the requirement that recipients try to find work is false. Yet they’ve mentioned it in several speeches, and the campaign has released ads about it. Excuse me. I’ve got to go blow my nose. Happens sometimes when I laugh so hard I cry.
