Michael Emerson and Laura Essenberg (both at Rice University) recently publicized a white paper on American attitudes toward marriage. The paper is based on a two-wave panel study that examined respondents in both 2006 and in 2012. These sorts of panel data are a gold-standard approach to examining change over time. Most surveys are simple […]
Archives
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The Gay Marriage Debate is Not Over
20 Aug 2013
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NSA Audit Reveals Thousands of Privacy Invasions
16 Aug 2013
The Washington Post has revealed, via Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency has violated existing privacy restrictions thousands of times during the past five years. Barton Gellman’s work uncovers not only the number, but the types, of incursions. Unsurprisingly, a significant number have been accidental. Given the raw number of searches going on, it is […]
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When Race Collides with Political Satire
14 Aug 2013
You have probably seen and heard about the poor rodeo clown, now banned from the Missouri state fair. Our clown’s offense? Wearing a President Obama mask and asking the crowd if it wanted to see President Obama get run over by a bull. According to reports, the crowd cheered the question. I don’t have anything […]
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Voter ID Laws & The Limits of Democracy
13 Aug 2013
Well, that didn’t take long, did it? This evening, Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) signed one of the most extensive voter identification laws in the United States. North Carolinians must now show a government–issued photo i.d. to vote. The act also shortens the early voting period from 17 days to 10, and it eliminates voter registration on election […]
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Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) should resign. The Virginia governor, a self-proclaimed Christian and a graduate of Notre Dame and Regent University, is outspoken about his faith. Upon his inauguration, he called his post a ‘ministry‘, and McDonnell has encouraged the Republicans to be more ‘humble’ and Christ-like in their approach to public life. While seemingly willing to […]
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Will Saletan & Trayvon Martin
18 Jul 2013
I am very, very late to this particular issue, but for those who have not done so, I encourage you to read Will Saletan’s excellent piece at Slate on the Trayvon Martin shooting and the Zimmerman verdict. While I do not agree with all he has to say here, he strikes a good tone and […]
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Scalia/Ginsburg: Opera & Civility
17 Jul 2013
Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Ginsburg see the Constitution quite differently. When it comes to the most salient issues (like gay marriage, abortion, and racial preferences), the antipodes verbally combat and vote on opposing blocs. Scalia is wedded to original understanding, a philosophy that emphasizes both text and historical context, while Ginsburg is more organic, […]
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Politics vs. The Rule of Law
16 Jul 2013
Politics has many definitions. My personal favorite breaks the word down in its parts: poly–many tics–blood-sucking parasites Yes, it is an old joke, but I love it so much I just cannot part from it. Politics is ‘the art of the possible,’ according to Otto von Bismarck. David Easton calls it ‘the authoritative allocation of […]
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From atop Olympus, which now sits at the corner of First and East Capitol in Washington, D.C., Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his infinite wisdom, let loose his latest thunderbolt, United States v. Windsor. In the majority opinion, Kennedy decreed Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (1996) to be unconstitutional, thereby rendering the federal […]
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World War Zzzzzzzz
24 Jun 2013
I have to be honest with you–I have a thing for zombies. I think our current fascination with zombies reveals a good bit about our culture. Zombies are the perfect monsters for our age. They maintain a residue of humanity, which makes them recognizable and relatable, though they are inhuman enough for us to enjoy […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach