thoughts in and out of season
It’s an issue: We’re Losing Our Civil Liberties for Nothing. If enough was known pre-September 11 to stop the hijackers, why all the special measures to advance the “War against Terrorism”?
The reason, of course, is equality. If everyone must be treated the same, and odd behavior of conspicuous people overlooked because that would … More ...
On reading the Upanishads: they have a certain prestige in the modern world because on their face they are philosophical speculations and not divine revelation. There is no irrationality in them, just profound thought about the most basic issues. The prestige and apparent rationality come at a price, however. As the most sacred scriptures of … More ...
A good summary of the influence of political correctness on the events leading up to September 11: Stop frisking crippled nuns, by Mark Steyn.
It’s worthwhile looking at the details to see just how totalitarian “inclusiveness” is. Here’s an account of the specifics involved in the duty to promote race equality imposed in Britain by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
All public agencies, including colleges and universities, professional bodies, libraries and museums, have to do whatever they do … More ...
Good news all over:
Is turning America into a religion the original sin of modern American conservatism? As a pre-1968 schoolboy I was taught faith in America. It wasn’t altogether clear what that meant, but it’s what I was taught and it’s what the revolution of the ’60s attacked. Popular American conservatism and neoconservatism are still mostly a defense … More ...
The ever-useful Paul Craig Roberts on a couple of recent books, one by Rothbardian Hans-Hermann Hoppe on monarchy and one by a Finnish Darwinian on ethnic conflict as genetic nepotism writ large. Libertarians and Darwinians can be single-factor ideologues, but they’re not always at their worst and there’s a lot to be learned from … More ...
An interesting issue: Catholic campuses head for showdown over episcopal certification for teaching Catholic theology. Most academics object, on the grounds that would make them subject to the judgment of someone other than colleagues (Catholic or otherwise), their school’s administration, accrediting agencies, professional associations, various civil rights and equal opportunity authorities, etc.
Presumably the bishops … More ...
Some numbers from the 2000 census on how things are going in the Southwest: In Texas, 31.2 percent said they speak a language at home that is not English, up from 25 percent in 1990. 6.4 percent of the state’s entire population entered the United States between 1990 and 2000. In Arizona the number … More ...
The saga of multiculturalism in Europe continues: Michel Houellebecq charged with inciting racial hatred. The reporter’s a nitwit, but the facts seem reasonably clear: a leading French writer says Islam is “the most stupid of all religions,” so he has to answer in court to charges of “inciting racial hatred.” In a way, Houellebecq … More ...