Scribbling, scribbling, scribbling on the Internet.
In the aftermath of last week's Supreme Court ruling on Obergefell, I have engaged in some online debates with people of goodwill regarding the issue of same-sex marriage. I expect that those debates will continue for some time to come, but in the event that it is useful, here is a comprehensive outline regarding where …
Continue reading "Thoughts and Clarifications on the Issue of Same-Sex Marriage"
Notwithstanding the paranoid fantasies of some religious conservatives, no church or clergy in the United States will be compelled to perform same-sex marriages, any more than they are compelled to perform remarriages or interreligious marriages. Neither will religious teachings about sexuality and marriage be penalized; Kennedy’s opinion reaffirms this obvious point. Kennedy moreover steps away …
The United States Supreme Court has come out with two major opinions, in as many days. The first concerned Barack Obama's health care law, and featured a bad outcome based on poor reasoning. The second concerned the issue of same-sex marriage and featured a laudable outcome based on less-than-good reasoning. We'll take the health care …
Continue reading "The Supreme Court Bats .500. Legal and Political Analysis Follows."
In the wake of the absolutely horrific shooting in South Carolina that left nine people dead, attention has swiftly turned to the display of the Confederate flag in the state, given that the murderer, Dylann Roof, was pictured wrapped in the flag, and given the (to put matters mildly) problematic history behind the flag. As …
For any other candidate for the highest office in the land, the publication of this story should and would lead to an ignominious exit from the race: New problems have arisen for the Hillary Clinton campaign following an exclusive interview with WMUR that aired on Sunday. The controversy involves the sale of a Canadian company, …
As anyone who follows the news is aware, Barack Obama's biggest legislative goal for his second term is to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. He may well get fast-track authority in order to push for passage of the agreement, and the agreement may yet pass. I hope that he does get fast-track authority, and …
Continue reading "The Democratic Party’s Failure on Trade Policy"
For those who had hoped that Canada would be far too polite and civilized to allow itself to be infected by anti-Semites, some very bad news: Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada skyrocketed over the last year and have now hit the highest levels “ever recorded” by human rights groups tracking the number of anti-Jewish episodes, according …
Continue reading "Kind of Defies Certain Ignorant Assertions, Eh?"
I am most emphatically not one of those people who freaks out upon hearing that jobs have been outsourced to other countries. "The outsourcing bogeyman" is just that; a bogeyman whose supposed ill effects on the American economy are wildly overstated, and the evolution of the economy means that certain jobs will be outsourced--something we …
Continue reading "More Horrifying News on the National Security Front"
Let us all collectively resolve the following: Donald Trump is a goofball and a lunatic who does not merit any attention whatsoever. To give him attention is to feed the troll, and if we have learned anything at all from being on the Internet, it is that we should never feed trolls. If you really …
Continue reading "I Would Call Donald Trump a Sideshow, But That Would Insult Sideshows"
This story is filled with references to anonymous sources, so I am trying my hardest to take it with a grain of salt. But it still reads as being plausible, which is why it still worries me: UK intelligence agents have been moved because Russia and China have access to classified information which reveals how …
Continue reading "Bad Times for the Good Guys on the National Security Front"
Pejman Yousefzadeh 