C.S. Lewis
I finally watched Star Wars Episode III yesterday, and must say that the preview of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was worth the cost of admission. The upcoming on-screen adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s original masterpiece is something I’ve been looking forward...
SCOTUS’ Impeccable Timing
OK, you may now grin smugly and say “inmates in Ohio have more religious freedom than law-abiding parents in Indianapolis.” Despite my doubts that Judge Bradford’s decision in Marion County is the “most obvious violation of the Free Exercise clause ever,” SCOTUS’s...
Gulag? Are you sure?
I’m just now getting around to catching up on Amnesty International’s annual report. If you’ve not yet heard, it famously referred to detention facilities in Guntanamo Bay, Cuba, as the “Gulag of our times.” There is no doubt that Amnesty International plays a critical...
In Memoriam
This piece from the Indy Star had the greatest impact on me of all Memorial Day tributes on TV, radio, or print. In one list, and without great fanfare, you can visualize all who have sacrificed for this country. Dramatic soundtrack optional.
Indy’s New Face
Yesterday rookie sensation Danica Patrick gave an inspiring run at the Indy 500 crown and may have opened the door for her sport’s comeback. Once upon a time the Indy 500 was the mecca of racing and a must-see television event on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Millions tuned in to watch A.J....
Iconoclasts
Britain’s Prospect magazine features a debate over the prospects of the iconic building and the “starchitects” whose brands overpower their work. Iconic buildings, the antagonist in the debate proposes, are now divorced from their surroundings–architectural one-liners thrown into...
The Slippery Slope
I’ll be the first to admit that the “slippery slope” argument is used far too often in public policy debates. There is always the potential for a slope, but the degree of slipperiness is often overstated. Slippery slope arguments may be most popular in the area of civil liberties. If...
Anglo-phoney
I’m going to have to second Radley Balko’s endorsement of Prof. Boudreaux’s trivial complaint about talking heads in the media adopting fleeting Spanish accents when pronouncing proper nouns: You know what I mean. If reporter Jones of CNN or ABC is reporting on some goings-on in, say,...
Daily Web Digest
“Survey: Northeast has dumbest drivers” [CNN Money]: Test shows 1 in 10 licensed U.S. drivers don’t know basic rules. In the East, 20 pct. fail quiz. “Feds Eye Viagra-Blindness Reports” [CBSnews]: Federal health investigators are looking into reports that some men who used...
Gambling and Politics
In 2002, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell included in his election campaign a plan to legalize slot machines in the state and use the revenue to fund property tax cuts for homeowners. The initiative passed last summer. Slot machine parlors will soon be operating in the state that began as William Penn’s...

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