More on the birth control flap

The fuss over the rule that religious institutions that employ and serve the general public do not qualify for an exemption to providing free birth control services to their employees seems likely to go away, now that the Obama administration seems to have outmaneuvered opponents on this issue by saying that while the religious institutions do not have to pay for the cost of birth control, the health insurers must absorb the cost. While this can arguably be said to be a mere accounting trick, it does undermine the religious freedom argument considerably.

If they are smart, the Catholic Church and [Read more…]

Alan Moore on the influence of V for Vendetta

When the above film based on Moore’s 1988 graphic novel series came out in 2006, it immediately struck a chord with me. (See my review here and later reflections in the light of the Arab spring here.) I felt that it would become a cultural icon and so it has proved, with the Guy Fawkes mask becoming a ubiquitous symbol of popular uprising against an entrenched oligarchy.

Moore reflects on how the ideas for his book and [Read more…]

Matt Taibbi on the Republican race

In a piece written just after Newt Gingrich surprisingly won the South Carolina primary and before Rick Santorum even more surprisingly eclipsed him just a week later, Taibbi hits the mark, pointing out that the most entertaining part of the Republican party nomination race is not who wins eventually but to see the oligarchy desperately trying to reassert control of a system that is being threatened with an insurgency by the peasants.

They may be shit for choosing a good candidate for the presidency, but say this for the Republican primaries: They’re fast turning into the most luridly entertaining political [Read more…]

Stripping prizes

The award of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to president Obama was initially a big surprise and has since become a major embarrassment as his atrocious record on war and civil liberties becomes more apparent. A past award to Henry Kissinger, who really should have been charged with war crimes, was another major embarrassment.

A formal inquiry is now underway against the officials who [Read more…]

Why we must defend and expand freedom of speech

Via Jerry Coyne, I learned about a debate in 2006 in which Christopher Hitchens gave a full-throated defense of freedom of speech and on the evils of religion, and how religion survives by restricting or intimidating speech. His talk lasts about 20 minutes and is in four parts, the first of which is below, with the rest being prompted at the end.

I am becoming more and more of a First Amendment absolutist on free speech. I can [Read more…]

Insane warmongering rhetoric

Listen to Newt Gingrich speaking yesterday in Cleveland:

“You think about an Iranian nuclear weapon. You think about the dangers, to Cleveland, or to Columbus, or to Cincinnati, or to New York,” Mr. Gingrich said. “Remember what it felt like on 9/11 when 3,100 Americans were killed. Now imagine an attack where you add two zeros. And it’s 300,000 dead. Maybe a half-million wounded. This is a real danger. This is not science fiction. That’s why I think it’s very important that we have the strongest possible national security.”

He’s right when he says that this is not science fiction. No self-respecting [Read more…]

The Santorum also rises…

… and will set soon.

The Republican nominating race continues on its bizarre trajectory.

I wrote a couple of months ago during the first Newt Gingrich surge that Rick Santorum had a right to feel aggrieved with his god because although he is a true believer, god had not granted him his moment in the sun the way that he had with all the other candidates (Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry) who also felt that god wanted them to be president. It is true that god being so fickle and a bit of a tease pulled the rug from under all of them, like he did with Tim Tebow, but at least they all briefly enjoyed the limelight. Even Donald Trump, of all people, briefly rose to the top of the polls, even though he never declared his candidacy.

But his god has answered Santorum’s prayers. Although none of the caucuses and [Read more…]