As the Worm Turns

So, for any one of my thirty or so readers who thinks that my reduction of politics to psychology seems odd, take a look at this article about a study linking feelings of pleasure to giving money.
Knowing your money is going to a good cause can activate some of the same pleasure centers in your […]

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Earlier I mentioned the importance of distinguishing between relativism and pluralism without ever getting around to defining pluralism; an oversight due to laziness on my part.
Luckily, a recent skerfuffle between Damon Linker and Matthew Yglesias over the late Richard Rorty can act as a nice little primer on pluralism and its grounds. Linker claims that […]

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I like bad arguments. I like them the same way “American Idol” fans like the contestants who can’t sing. The way NASCAR fans secretly like crashes. You’re not supposed to, but you do.
If you’re looking for bad arguments, the internet is the place to be. And on the internet, Human Events and Townhall.com are two […]

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So, what’s the connection between the plotline of “Heroes” and the 9/11 Truth virus?
<Spoilers ahead>
Both involve secret conspiracies to blow up New York for political gain. But what’s the relationship between them? Are the producers and writers of “Heroes” secretly infected with the truth virus? Perhaps trying to make the idea more palatable for the […]

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This has been getting some attention, which is good because Martha Nussbaum kicks ass. She’s one of my favorites. Perhaps a wee bit of a crush, even.
It’s important to keep in mind that the clash between religion and democracy is unique wherever it happens; there is no single globalized conflict with multiple local instances. What’s […]

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Here’s my brief, contrarian question: are we, as a representative democracy, well-served by allowing just anyone to blog about anything they want?
Take the (mal-named) War on Terror: to win this war we need — as opposed to a conventional war where winning just means killing more of them than they kill of us — to […]

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…and yet the world still turns.

What a silly way to fall from grace: a scandal that should have been easily avoided, but because it taps into deep-seated dislike of his management style he gets no benefit of the doubt.
Considering how much we’re all supposed to hate Wolfowitz — because Michael Moore and the DailyKos […]

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On the one hand, we have Andrew Sullivan who damns Falwell with silence:
Since I can think of nothing good to say about him, I’ll say nothing. And pray for the repose of his soul.
On the other hand we have Falwell taken to task for his crimes by Timothy Sandefur at Positive Liberty:
Jerry Falwell was […]

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