Culture Warriors category archive
Courting Disaster, Creeping Theocracy Dept. 0
Sam and his crew dissect the slow-moving theocratic coup.
Restrictions Need Not Apply 0
Steve M. points out that the rich are different from you and me.
Lies and Lying Liars 0
The American Scholar points out–er– mistatements in Samuel Alito’s abortion rulingwrong concerning American legal and medical history.
Just read it.
When the Right Takes Away a Right . . . . 0
And Elise Kalin writes powerfully of the loss at the Des Moines Register. Here’a little bit of her article:
The Obvious Will Out 0
Emma points out, “Lay in bed with a tiger and it claws your face.”
He laid in bed with a tiger. It (figuratively) clawed his face.
Originalist Sin, Catch-22 Dept. 0
It’s the best catch there is.
Jonathan Wolf explains at Above the Law. Here’s a bit (warning: mild language):
Alienable Rights 0
Michael Paul Williams reminds us that the United States and its Supreme Court have a history of granting, then retracting rights. Here’s just one of the examples he cites (emphasis added):
“Every 15 years, the status of Black people changed according to the Supreme Court,” Perry* said. “Our rights are as firm as the people who vote to protect them.”
The battle is never over.
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*Howard University political science professor Ravi Perry.
Republican Family Values 0
Aside:
When I was a young ‘un, back in the olden days, my mother subscribed to Lady’s Home Journal and McCall’s Magazine (both of which are now defunct). I read them, because I read everything I could get my hands on, even my father’s issues of U. S. News and World Report, which he subscribed to after Time Magazine ticked him off for some reason.
Those ladies’ magazines were not just about fashion and make-up. The death toll from back-alley abortions was a frequent topic. Because I was a young ‘un, I can’t say that I understood the physiology, at least not until later when I was not quite such a young ‘un, but I certainly understood the psychology: frightened women in crisis, feeling imperiled, futures and reputations endangered, desperately taking dangerous chances to protect themselves, their futures, and sometimes their families.
And today’s Republican Party would bring those days back.
The Authoritarian Appeal 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Daniel F. Seidman compares and contrast democracy, authorianism, and laissez faire approaches to making decisions, with particular attention the the first two. Along the way, he discusses what attracts persons to authoritarianism. Much of what he says sounds eerily familiar . . . .
Here’s a tiny little bit:
“A Republic, If You Keep It” 0
Michael in Norfolk points out that that seems to have become very big if.
And I share his qualms.
I can’t shake the feeling that we are in the midst of a slow-motion cour d’etat.
Originalist Sin 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Ira Hyman explores what he refers to as the “The Cognitive Illusion of Constitutional Originalism.” Here’s a tiny little bit of his article (emphasis added):
I commend his article to your attention as a valuable and timely–especially timely–read.
The Rule of Flaw 0
Badtux has a theory about the Supreme Court’s radical disregard of precedent in the two big decisions rendered last week.
Frankly, I don’t think that much planning went into those decisions. I think the conservatives right-wing radicals on the Court were taking advantage of opportunities as they came along. But, as regard the long-term results, I think that Badtux may well be onto something.
We are a failing state.
School Daze, Futile Fortification Dept. 0
Sam and Emma talk with a caller, an architect, who discusses how architects feel about hardening schools from mass shootings.