Month: April 2013

In Sarah’s recent post The Tangle of Privilege, she discusses the difficulty of being yourself in a culture where you don’t fit in. It doesn’t matter if it is your culture. That brought to mind a piece I just wrote for ECN How to manage creative types (with a minimum of fuss). My original title…

A few days ago I ran into an interesting paper on omega 3 fatty acids, endocannabinoids and crime. I had been meaning to blog it and so here it is. Recent findings suggest that some criminal and aggressive behaviors are closely correlated with low serum omega-3 levels, which are linked to lower levels of altruism,…

I’ve written before on the state of racism in America saying that of course it exists – it will exist so long as America is populated by human beings – but it’s not racism as defined by law (or news, or entertainment) nor even some kind of thing that can be identified and mitigated by…

Now that the second Boston jihadist has been caught, I have a lingering question. Is it possible that the Boston Marathon bombing represents the birth of an American Al Qaeda? If it does, then the arguments over whether this is “home grown” terrorism seem silly.  And if it does not, is that because it is only…

Really? The man who said that was dead Boston jihadist Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who seems to have believed that the word “values” means those values which agree with his own. The man was a teetotaling religious and sexual prude and accomplished athlete who was obviously very proud of himself. He looked down on Americans, and no doubt considered…

Eric Holder is weighing the pros and cons about what to do about States that legalize marijuana. He says he is thinking of the children. And organized crime. Well one of his supporters believes the best way to send messages to children is with armed men. “Your department could choose to attempt to overturn those…

He doesn’t seem to know much history, either.  Racism wasn’t so much a Southern trait as a Democrat trait, and it doesn’t require any particular contortions to understand turn-of-the-century progressivism was synonymous with racism. So I posted a couple comments pointing out the Democrat strategy has always been to garner as many votes as they…

Along with thousands of others in Ann Arbor, my power is out. Which sucks. Fortunately, I have a small generator, which will keep the poor fish alive and let me check email. Here’s how it looks, purring along. It’s an older Honda, not terribly powerful, but pretty reliable. I have a transfer switch so I…

During my recent struggle over the question of white privilege (something I have of course acknowledged having, whether I like it or not), my thoughts turned to Aurora shooter James Eagan Holmes, whose alleged conversion to Islam — including strict adherence to Islamic dietary requirements and prayer five times a day — has been reported in the British…

Michigan Medical Marijuana Patient Refused Placement In Prison Medical Facility Despite Judge’s Recommendation. Late last week, 53-year-old Michigan medical marijuana patient Jerry Duval received a Justice Department order to surrender to federal authorities on June 11thto begin serving a 10-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Elkton, Ohio. Although Duval is a kidney-pancreas…

The Illinois Medical Marijuana House Bill HB1 has passed. The Illinois Senate needs a companion bill. Passage of HB1 by the House comes only a day after nearly 250 Illinois physicians pledged their support for legalizing medical marijuana in the state. Three physicians held a press conference Tuesday, calling on policymakers to push through legislation.…

An article at Salon.com expressed the hope that the bomber is a white man. The reasoning? If recent history is any guide, if the bomber ends up being a white anti-government extremist, white privilege will likely mean the attack is portrayed as just an isolated incident — one that has no bearing on any larger policy debates.…

The politics of abortion: Politics: women tend to be on the left. Men on the right. Women are 51% of the population. Men 49%. How do you think this issue will move the polity? And if it moves the polity in a direction where you can’t get what you want by politics maybe it might…

Commenter Frank makes a point I have made before but he makes it so much more eloquently than I ever did (and I have been told by more than one person that I have a way with words) that I think it bears repeating. The topic is abortion. ==== Neil: The problem is that we…

When you appeal to force and enforcers to solve your problem it is an admission of weakness or worse laziness. It is ALWAYS a Devil’s Bargain. I find it wise to be well acquainted with the Devil. Conversant with him even. But I never ask him for anything.

There’s an interesting article in the May issue of Reason titled “The End of Power“: Insurgents, fringe political parties, innovative start-ups, hackers, loosely organized activists, upstart citizen media outlets, leaderless young people in city squares, and charismatic individuals who seem to have “come from nowhere” are shaking up the old order. These are the micropowers:…

The above video is suitable for pre-med students. The above video is also suitable for pre-med students.

  Who in their right mind would outlaw an anti-aging drug that kills cancer and is found in mother’s milk? Dr. Robert Melamede Associate Professor at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, discussing cannabis/marijuana.  

From Naked Lunch I managed to keep up my habits performing cut-rate abortions in subway toilets. I even descended to hustling pregnant women in the public streets. It was positively unethical. The question of abortion has been with us for at least 2,500 years. No law yet passed has made it go away. However, with…

I’m seeing these headlines: Two explosions near finish line… COPS: 2 dead, 23 injured… ‘Somebody’s leg flew by my head’… ‘Like War Zone’… AFTERMATH FOOTAGE…**WARNING: Graphic** NY POST: Suspect questioned… Saudi national under guard at hospital… CBSNEWS: SAUDI WAS ACTING SUSPICIOUS… NBCNEWS: ‘YOUNG PERSON HERE ON STUDENT VISA’… Bombs were inside trash cans… WBZ-TV LIVE……