Category Archives: Politics
So you want to talk about race
So you want to talk about race By Ijeoma Oluo Seal Press, New York, 2018 In the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis, and the nation-wide protests that followed, many white people, … Continue reading
Gorsuch Surprises, Alito Spews, Scalia Haunts in Bostock v. Clayton County
On Monday, June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects homosexual and transgender individuals from job discrimination. This decision has been hailed as a major victory for … Continue reading
Supreme Court Upholds Limits on Attendance at Church Services
At about midnight last night the United States Supreme Court, in a 5.4 decision, upheld California’s restrictions on the number of people who can attend church services during the coronavirus emergency. Scotusblog has posted the written decision. The South Bay … Continue reading
The Storm Before the Calm
The Storm Before the Calm By George Friedman Penguin Random House, New York, 2020 I can’t decide whether George Friedman is a genius or a crackpot. Friedman has made a career of geopolitical forecasting. He’s founded a couple of consulting … Continue reading
How To Be An Antiracist
How To Be An Antiracist By Ibram X. Kendi One World, New York, 2019 Donald Trump says he’s not racist. In fact, he claims to be the “least racist person that you have ever met.” In his latest book, How … Continue reading
Diversity Explosion
Diversity Explosion By William H. Frey Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 2018 (Revised edition) In 2011, more minority babies were born in the United States than white babies for the first time. In 2015, 24 of the largest 100 metropolitan … Continue reading
Fast Train to Mordor: Trump v. Hawaii
Reading through the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Hawaii – the Muslim travel ban case – is like drifting off to sleep on an ordinary commuter train headed for home and then being jolted awake when it shudders to … Continue reading
Carpenter v. United States
Today, instead of a book review, I’m going to take a plunge into law review. I want to look at the decision of the United States Supreme Court in a case called Carpenter v. United States announced on June 22. … Continue reading
Fascism: A Warning
Fascism: A Warning By Madeleine Albright HarperCollins, New York, 2018 When she spoke to an adoring, packed house at Seattle’s Paramount Theater on the evening of April, 24, 2018, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright stated clearly that she was … Continue reading
Enlightenment Now
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and ProgressBy Steven PinkerViking, New York, 2018 We seem to be living in a time of perpetual crisis. It feels like the whole world is going off the rails. Everything decent seems … Continue reading
