Current Affairs

I've wondered for the past five years why President Bush hasn't asked Americans to curtail their fuel use. Fuel-fueled terrorists didn't prompt him to do it. Katrina came close, but didn't. Now, finally, Rita has prompted a request. The President has asked

They're standing strong, but beleaguered from every side: > A coalition of homosexual activists and atheists plan to march on a Boy Scout camp in San Diego next month demanding the organization open its membership and leadership to them. . . > In previous protests, the group has equated the

The NYT this morning has run a story about a former prison inmate's lawsuit against prison officials. The suit alleges that the officials violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment by refusing to protect him. I try to keep this site reasonably urbane,

Galveston Island has many (hundreds?) of "stilt" homes. These are luxurious homes built off the ground. They rest on huge concrete stilts. The elevation allows water to run underneath them. I wonder how they're faring today? I don't think the picture below "does

This is good, but did you arrest the Communists in Beijing that set up the policy that resulted in these abuses? > Several Chinese health workers have reportedly been arrested or sacked over claims that they forced people to have abortions or sterilisations. > China's state-owned media said

The Washington Post is snickering about the FBI's renewed attempt to stomp on obscenity. It's the standard approach: (1) Indicate that porn has become a huge priority for the FBI, (2) contrast it with a more important issue (here, the need to defend the country against

Interesting piece at The Chronicle of Higher Education. I distrust any analysis that divides people into two classes, but such an approach is often useful to understand a new way of understanding something. > Clarke divides people into probabilists and possibilists. Much modern scientific and governmental policy about disasters, he