Category: Ethics, Morality & Religion
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Why become a pirate? Perhaps because other "honest" means of livelihood have been destroyed? Lawlessness is a menace whether perpetrated by pirates or "civilized" governments. So reveals Johann Hari in the Independent. (via 3 QD) Hari also reflects on the rebellious and brutal history of pirates, some of whom were mercenaries for legitimate European regimes. Who imagined that in 2009, the…
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In an e-mail following up on the Iowa Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision, Ruchira mentions the possibility of a challenge to the military. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" means that openly gay (or bisexual?) members of the military are not permitted to serve, but everyone is supposed to just not mention it and look the other way. …
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Yesterday the Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Varnum v. Brien, holding that the equal protection provision of the Iowa Constitution requires the availability of same-sex civil marriage. This is starting to look like a strong, and increasing, trend in favor of state recognition of same-sex marriage. Iowa joins the high courts of…
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In just the past week, I wrote about the overcrowded and sometimes cruel prison system in the US and Joe took President Obama to task for not providing a serious answer to the question of legalization of marijuana. It is important to note that one of the principal reasons for the high rate of incarceration in our country is that…
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The US has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. One recent report puts the number of people behind bars at slightly higher than 2 million (including local jails). That translates to nearly one out of one hundred American adults. Of these, many are in Supermax penitentiaries where prisoners are kept under lock-down 23 hours a day . Inmates…
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If this report turns out to be accurate, I don't see how even the faint hearted Obama administration can avoid seeking prosecution for war crimes … or at least a thorough investigation. (Unless the Obamaites too are using the same killing outfit?) Journalist Seymour Hersh speaking at the University of Minnesota: At a “Great Conversations” event…
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From CNN: A legal advocacy group sued the federal government Tuesday, seeking benefits for 15 gay and lesbian Massachusetts residents who wed after the state legalized same-sex marriage. Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders — the same Boston-based group that successfully argued in 2003 for same-sex marriage rights in Massachusetts — filed the lawsuit Tuesday…
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George W. Bush's aristocratic family boasted several dedicated Yalies, many of whom were members of Yale University's ultra secret Skull and Bones Society, home to a number of movers and shakers of America's establishment ruling class. A decades old adventure of one Bonesman Bush is now the basis for a modern day lawsuit. George Bush's grandfather Prescott Bush is said to have robbed the…
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In a New York Times op-ed, the co-authors (one for same-sex marriage, one against) propose the obvious compromise: replace the federal Defense of Marriage Act with something slightly less beastly, and moderately less constitutionally infirm. Basically, federal civil-union or domestic-partnership law. Same-sex couples still can't get the name marriage for federal purposes, but they can…
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As a concession to the grumbling GOP members of the Congress, President Obama dropped the provision for family planning and contraception for low income families from his economic stimulus package. Not that it did much to garner bipartisan support – no Republican voted for the bill. The conservatives had argued that family planning is not a means of stimulating the economy. As…
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We have recently focused a lot on the greed and self absorption (here, here and here) of the wealthy and the powerful who even with plenty to spare, don't stop to think of others less fortunate than themselves. Here now for a refreshing change is the story of ordinary people who thought of the need of others even in a time of extraordinary…
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The famous Obamaicon with which we recently had some fun on A.B. (here and here) has now become a subject of controversy. The Associated Press is alleging that artist Shepard Fairey used an AP photo to create the image without permission. The AP wants a share of the credit and compensation. NEW YORK (AP) — On buttons,…
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Were you like me, beginning to despair over some of the recent cabinet picks by President Obama? After promising change and the overhaul of the entrenched insider culture of lobbyists and old pols in Washington, his choice seemed to rely heavily on the same old, same old players of the established ruling class. I am disappointed…
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And they are evil. Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said angrily on the senate floor what most Americans are thinking. We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer. They don't get it. These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18…
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