Joe Carter

Obama’s Position on Gay Marriage Faces New Test , The New York Times (Sheryl Gay Stohlberg) Let Freedom Ring: The Muslim Call for Religious Freedom Public Discourse (Abdullah Saeed) Technology, Free Speech and Children , The New York Times (Emily Bazelon) Must N.Y. Business Say ‘I . . . . Continue Reading »

In The Australian , Frank Furedi, a professor of sociology at University of Kent, argues that “the cultural elite’s support for gay marriage is more about distinguishing themselves from homophobic plebs than fighting for equal rights.” From a sociological perspective, the . . . . Continue Reading »

In his book The Future of Marriage, David Blankenhorn, a liberal, gay-rights-supporting Democrat and self-professed “marriage nut,” offers this sociological principle: “People who professionally dislike marriage almost always favor gay marriage.” As a corollary, Blankenhorn adds: “Ideas that have long been used to attack marriage are now commonly used to support same-sex marriage.” Blankenhorn provides almost irrefutable proof that this is the expressed agenda of many”if not most”professional advocates of same-sex marriage. … Continue Reading »

Former FBI supervisory special agent Ali Soufan reviews Glenn Carle’s new book The Interrogator: An Education : A persistent and damaging national-security myth is that in the years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks a dispute developed between the FBI and the CIA over the use of so-called . . . . Continue Reading »

Mark Bauerlein discusses a correlation that I hadn’t considered before: the race and reading habits of teenagers . When we look at the results broken down by race, more concerns arise. Table 11 doesn’t separate racial groups into age groups, but the racial groups in general show marked . . . . Continue Reading »

San Francisco Considers Ban on Sale of All Pets, Including Fish , USA Today (Douglas Stanglin) Gay Marriage Supporters Target Amendment in Minnesota , The Washington Times (Patrick Condon and David Crary) New Monastics Share Community, Offer Hope , USA Today (Caty Hirst) Jury Finds Blagojevich . . . . Continue Reading »

While I agree with almost everything Alan Jacobs has to say on the topic of Internet anonymity, I want to specifically endorse this section : The problem is that over the years I have heard from many people who insist on anonymity in order to protect themselves from “reprisals” when in . . . . Continue Reading »

The Supreme Court rejected a California ban on selling violent video games to children : The Supreme Court on Monday struck down on First Amendment grounds a California law that barred the sale of violent video games to children. The 7-to-2 decision was the latest in a series of rulings protecting . . . . Continue Reading »

Sign of the Times of the Day: Swedish preschool bans gendered terms. At the Egalia preschool, staff avoid using words like “him” or “her” and address the 33 kids as “friends” rather than girls and boys. From the colour and placement of toys to the choice of . . . . Continue Reading »

His novels have won the National Book Award (twice), the National Book Critics Circle award (twice), the PEN/Faulkner Award (thrice), and a Pulitzer Prize (once). So what fiction is Philip Roth currently reading ? “I’ve stopped reading fiction. I don’t read it at all. I read other . . . . Continue Reading »