Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, mother of the Boston Bombers, along with her husband, held a press conference yesterday to discuss recent events. She was asked by reporters whether or not she regretted the family’s decision to move to America. She lamented that of course she did, and said that “America took my kids away from me.” Naturally, […]
Archives
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The Boston Bombing and the Nature of Evil
26 Apr 2013
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Educating for a Lifetime or Training for a Job?
25 Apr 2013
This question is at the heart of Michael Hepner’s recent article over at RealClearPolitics. Hepner, a professor at the University of Dubuque, argues that we are failing our students and depriving them of a sound education when we allow them to ignore or skip over their general education requirements and focus on their major courses […]
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Boston & Civil Liberties–VIDEO
23 Apr 2013
There are forthcoming stories, and now video, surrounding the house-to-house search for Tsarnaev in Watertown, MA. The video is interesting for several reasons. First, notice the harshness of the interactions. Citizens are yelled at and berated as soon as they are visible to the law enforcement agents. Second, the use of force is implicit. Everyone […]
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Boston & Civil Liberties
22 Apr 2013
UPDATE: The Obama Administration has decided NOT to try Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant. This is good news for civil liberties. The initial phase of the Boston Bombing investigation appears to be winding down. With one of the suspects killed, and another detained, the F.B.I., according to media sources, is engaged in a wider search […]
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Boston & The News Media
19 Apr 2013
Welcome to the news of the 21st Century, ladies and gentlemen. I was working late last night and flipped over to Twitter and saw it light up with information about the Boston suspects, MIT, and a shoot-out either on or around campus. People were linking to the police scanner, web-pages were transcribing events as they […]
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The Politics of Gun Regulation
18 Apr 2013
The Manchin-Toomey Amendment, which would have expanded national background checks and closed some gun-show loopholes for gun purchases, was defeated in the U.S. Senate yesterday, likely ending President Obama’s push for new gun laws. There are many political lessons to be learned from, and reasons for, the bill’s defeat. The bill had 54 votes (55 […]
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When Politics Should be Put Aside
16 Apr 2013
Whenever we endure a tragedy of the sort in Boston yesterday, there is a constant temptation to politicize the event. After all, attention is focused on one moment for a scant amount of time. Advocates, lobbyists, policy analysts, and politicians all crave this kind of opportunity because they know that triggering events are rare. People […]
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At their best, our Presidents can fill a psychic void that opens in the context of national tragedy. When the Challenger disaster shook America, President Reagan began the healing process by declaring the astronauts had “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.” Our leaders can also become a focal point […]
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The Kermit Gosnell stories keep piling up. I have nothing to add to this column by Kirsten Powers. It is one of those times when I wish I had written it myself.
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IRS and Email “Privacy”
11 Apr 2013
The patter of rain upon my window suggests Spring has arrived. The April showers signal renewal, growth, and TAXES. Yes, tax season–when accountants are sexy and when we, for at least a moment, pause to reflect on the often gross nature of our tax burden in the United States. I complain, of course, though I […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach