Eugene Volokh reports on the 9th Circuit’s just released decision in Harper v. Poway Unified School District. Short story of the ruling: A student wore a t-shirt which said on the front “Be Ashamed, Our School Embraced What God Has Condemned,” and on the back “Homosexuality is Shameful,” at school during the national “Day of Silence” (where gay and pro-gay students refuse to speak to protest against anti-gay prejudice and discrimination). The student was...

Progress is a never-ending quest. We aren’t in a utopian society now, weren’t in 1950, and won’t be in 2050. The nostalgia we find for a non-existent, idyllic past is, I think, due to exhaustion of never having a philosophical resting point. That’s understandable. But the past was not perfect. And when we erase the terrors innate in our history, we inevitably distort the quest for true justice. More here at The Debate Link.

I hadn’t. Maybe it’s a product of being part of the post-Vietnam generation. An Army helicopter pilot, Thompson intervened in the My Lai massacre, placing his chopper in the line of American fire and pointing his guns at the butchering US troops in order to protect terrified Vietnamese civilians, eventually stopping the killing. In 1998, he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal for his actions. Anyway, he died several months back. But I think he deserves to be saluted, now and forever,...

I had no idea that Iran used child-martyrs in the Iran/Iraq war. I placed “soldiers” in quotes because they weren’t really fighting. They were marched in straight lines to be either mowed down or to blow up mines with their bodies. This is a terrifying tale of humanity at its lowest. But it must be told.

I point you to an interesting set of critical articles on Whiteness; you point me to other scholarly sources on minority views of Whiteness, White privilege, and related fields.

The founder of DailyKos reveals how his time in military changed him from a rock-ribbed Republican to a Democratic stalwart.

Armando of DailyKos and Josh Trevino of Red State/Tacitus have co-founded their own blog, entitled Swords Crossed. Both are unabashed partisans, which in the current climate makes their friendship and commitment to honest dialogue all the more impressive. Certainly, the statement of purpose given by Armando is heartening: To me, this is the important first principle that allows for honest engagement on issues and politics. I hope that participants at this site can take that approach as well. While...

Check out Hilzoy on the latest Gitmo catastrophe. Basic story: two Chinese Muslims are still rotting away in Guantanamo, despite the fact that the military already cleared them of being enemy combatants, and despite the fact that a US District Court already held that their continued detention was illegal (but he had “no relief to offer”). Many of the issues surrounding detaining enemy combatants during a war of indefinite length are tough. This is not one of them.

Threat to global security, or threat to commit genocide? Or both? Or neither?

How the West was really won.

A Black Republican says that the Dems should nominate another Black candidate (in this case, Kweisi Mfume) to go up against the Republican candidate, Black Lt. Governor Michael Steele. I don’t think his logic holds up. To be clear, I’m not endorsing Benjamin Cardin (the other Democrat) over Mfume. I’m just saying that I’m not convinced by this piece that Mfume is a must-select.

I missed this when it happened, but a few weeks back Justice Kennedy decried the world’s inaction in the Darfur crisis. Good for him. I’ve always liked Kennedy. He strikes me as a perfect example of what a moderate member of the judiciary should be–prudent, but not so cautious as to let it override his passion for justice.

Well this definitely cuts against the grain. Oxblog’s David Adesnik, a moderate Republican now says he regrets his vote in the 2004 election. “Bottom line, there is no question that I have egg on my face. How could I endorse a candidate whose values are so diametrically opposed to my own?” Unlike virtually every other blogger in his position, however, he’s talking about Kerry. Worth a read.

Further thoughts on Cathy Young’s wonderful immigration piece (thanks to Joe for the original tip!).

Michelle Cottle, on a Washington Post article on DC pharmacies placing their condoms behind locked doors to prevent shoplifting: [I]n a piece about stores erecting contraceptive barriers … for people who have clearly already made the decision to have sex, this line of argument [abstinence-only] sounded even more absurd than usual. Yes, the double pun was intentional (as she makes clear in the ellipses).

The same pharmacists who object to filling emergency contraception prescriptions are now refusing to fill prescriptions from any woman’s clinic that conducts abortions–regardless of what the prescription is. That includes vitamins and antibiotics. Whoa.

Andrew Sullivan accidently (and incorrectly) “ins” the editor of a gay publication.

Threshold standards in evaluating philosophy via narrative (yeah, it’s me being academicky. Deal.).

Take this quiz and find out if you’re a blueneck! (like redneck, but from blue states). H/T: Rachel’s Tavern

There is an old debate in constitutional law about whether or not constitutional protections “follow the flag,” that is, if they apply only in the territorial United States, or any place the American flag flies (for example, the Philippines after the Spanish-American war). I don’t want to go into the specific legal framework of the debate. But I’ve always said that “American” does not refer to who was born here and who wasn’t, or who can navigate the bureaucratic...

…as claiming that modest military endeavors like air patrols over Darfur villages are “unnecessary at this time.” With all due respect, when will it [expletive deleted] become necessary?

I was a failed Spanish student in high school, and even I can’t see anything more American than that phrase. The immigrant protests for American ideals continue unabated.

One interesting anti-racist tactic I just stumbled upon was encouraging Whites to develop “empathic approximation experiences.” In simple terms, start thinking of things in their own life that might approximate the racism minorities feel, in order that they can better empathize with their plight (instead of viewing it as paranoid insanity, which seems like how many White people view minority claims of the continuance of racism in America). For example a Jew who experiences anti-Semitism...

Yet another example of how bad legal precedent legitimizes racism in our government (unless, of course, you have a spare $60,000 lying around).

Lots of useful insights, that’s what.