Politics

Not the death of the Voting Rights Act

Somebody on scotusblog.com was just talking about the “historic” nature of the decision on the Voting Rights Act. The headline on HuffPo says “Supremes Gut Voting Rights Act.” As usual, it’s reasonable to assume that the noise will drown out the truth. I find it personally distasteful that I should find myself not automatically retching at the…
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The 2nd Amendment

Not many people in America give a shit about anything but continuing to live more or less as they did yesterday in America. And that’s not a bad thing. We live in a country that’s wonderful more because of its people than because of its government, and who wouldn’t want to keep the government off…
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Supreme Court rules in favor of Donald Rumsfeld.

The whole point of the suit was to show that Rumsfeld had, in fact, given orders for torture. That his subordinates engaged in it is not debatable; but that was not being argued. The plaintiffs did not get a chance to try their case, which was to bring forth evidence showing Donald Rumsfeld to be…
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Measuring America

Measuring America: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise of Democracy by Linklater Andro My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was one of those books that added much to my understanding of America. Every time I look at a map of the U.S., I marvel at the number of…
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Book Review

Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy by David O. Stewart My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book gave me all the information I wanted on a subject that I knew little about but that I suspected had more importance than normally is accorded it. Suffice it to…
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The Real Issue

Let’s just admit it: the gun control debate is depressingly familiar. One side says add more laws. The other side says the laws restrict legitimate gun owners’ rights. Well, both sides are missing the boat. Gun control