“But even if we take matrimony at its lowest, even if we regard it as no more than a sort of friendship recognised by the police…” —Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque.
Civil unions and straight marriage
Arthur Goldhammer’s excellent blog on French politics and society points to this article on the French pact civil de solidarité – [...]
Glenn Greenwald, thoughtful as always.
What the Supreme Court got right
The Supreme Court yesterday, in a 5-4 decision, declared unconstitutional (on First Amendment grounds) campaign finance regulations which restrict the ability of corporations and unions to use funds from their general treasury for “electioneering” purposes. The case, Citizens United v. FEC, presents some very difficult free speech questions, and [...]
New to me: How to believe is a series in the Guardian (“Join our experts as they blog great works of religion and philosophy”). Here’s a summary of the topics so far (follow the link for more detail); looks good to me. Next up: Giles Fraser on Wittgenstein.
How to believe
Franklin Lewis: Rumi’s influence has long [...]
Marx: The Poverty of Philosophy — Chapter 2.1
Economists have a singular method of procedure. There are only two kinds of institutions for them, artificial and natural. The institutions of feudalism are artificial institutions, those of the bourgeoisie are natural institutions. In this, they resemble the theologians, who likewise establish two kinds of religion. Every religion [...]
IOZ on confusion over the reasons behind Obama’s drop in popularity:
Merkwurkdigliebe
… The great persistence of the commentariat … in conflating supporters with backers is the problem. …
I most sincerely hope that it’s possible to get a look at this system. I’m completely fascinated.
Gone with the wind: Tubes are whisking samples across hospital
Every day, 7,000 times a day, Stanford Hospital staff turn to pneumatic tubes, cutting-edge technology in the 19th century, for a transport network that the Internet and all the latest [...]
Andrew Brown:
Will Self, Sebald, the holocaust
… It seems to me that the moral significance of the holocaust is not so much that Jews were the victims, as that Germans (mostly) were the perpetrators. In many ways, the German-speaking world in 1913 was at the summit of Western culture. If all that civilisation could not withstand [...]
Not long ago, Sister Juliann called my attention to this line, attributed to William James:
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
The attribution is all over the web, but with no source, and it doesn’t really sound like him, does it? Hard to prove the negative, but you’d [...]
This from Adam B at DKos. In the long run (hopefully not that long), the answer must be public campaign finance.
SCOTUS Set To Overturn Corporate Speech Restrictions
It’s anticipated that the Supreme Court of the United States will be handing down its long-awaited opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission tomorrow morning.
…
D. [...]
Wow.
A new approach to China
… These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring [...]
Kevin Drum:
The Vicious Cycle of Stagnant Wages
Here’s my capsule view of the great financial meltdown of 2008: For the past couple of decades, the benefits of economic growth have gone almost entirely to the rich. But the middle class still wanted to prosper, so the rich loaned them money to continually improve their lifestyles. That [...]
Richard Posner considers its shortcomings (interesting reading) and ends up saying, “No, but…”:
Should We Jettison GDP As an Economic Measure?
… But it is necessary to emphasize that it is just a starting point. I disagree with economists who say the “recession” ended in the third quarter. The depression (as I think we should call it [...]
…will apparently cost you €25,000.
Irish atheists challenge new blasphemy laws
… The new law, which was passed in July, means that blasphemy in Ireland is now a crime punishable with a fine of up to €25,000 (£22,000).
It defines blasphemy as “publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by [...]
Bruce Schneier.
Is aviation security mostly for show?
… We should treat terrorists like common criminals and give them all the benefits of true and open justice — not merely because it demonstrates our indomitability, but because it makes us all safer.
Once a society starts circumventing its own laws, the risks to its future stability are much [...]
With apologies for the rather large image size, here’s a depressing graphic from the National Geographic via Andrew Sullivan, who comments:
This National Geographic chart, which I stumbled upon while reading that magnificent magazine on the airplane, truly blew me away. If anyone can look at this and not see a simply insane way to distribute [...]
Read James Wolcott’s review of the new movie first; the correction second.
The trouble with fMRI.
Science News: Trawling The Brain
The 18-inch-long Atlantic salmon lay perfectly still for its brain scan. Emotional pictures—a triumphant young girl just out of a somersault, a distressed waiter who had just dropped a plate—flashed in front of the fish as a scientist read the standard instruction script aloud. The hulking machine [...]
NY Times.
Children on Medicaid Found More Likely to Get Antipsychotics
New federally financed drug research reveals a stark disparity: children covered by Medicaid are given powerful antipsychotic medicines at a rate four times higher than children whose parents have private insurance. And the Medicaid children are more likely to receive the drugs for less severe conditions [...]
What Robert Reich says.
Slouching Toward Health Care Reform
… Is the effort worth still worth it? Yes, but just. Private insurers will have to take anyone, regardless of preconditions. And some 30 million people who don’t now have health insurance will get it. But because Big Insurance, Big Pharma, and the AMA will come out way [...]