Category Archives: Uncategorized

“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do.” — Philip Larkin, “This Be The Verse” This blog is dead as a doornail.*  But because, over a year ago, I made a case … Continue reading →

One night in the week following the attacks on Paris, Los Angeles had a small windstorm.  It wasn’t an emergency, by any means, but at one point the winds got fast and violent enough to shake the thin, loose windows of … Continue reading →

One thing I didn’t mention in my post about calls to lift the gun carry ban on military bases is the little-discussed link between guns and suicide. This is important, because the military has, since the start of our recent … Continue reading →

Following a series of mass shootings at military facilities, some members of Congress have proposed allowing soldiers to carry weapons on base: Congressional leaders said Friday they will direct the Pentagon to allow troops to carry guns on base for … Continue reading →

My friend Matt Price (a filmmaker here in L.A. — check out trailers for his latest horror-comedy) sent me this interesting Volokh Conspiracy post-mortem on Los Angeles v. Patel, a case involving an L.A. ordinance requiring hotel operators to keep … Continue reading →

In the runup to Independence Day, Sam Goldman argues at Crooked Timber that the Declaration of Independence loses its force if you leave out God: [T]here is no good reason to treat “Nature’s God” as the key to the Declaration’s … Continue reading →

The Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges is being praised both for its practical outcome — making same-sex marriage, like opposite-sex marriage, a constitutionally-protected “fundamental right” — and for Justice Kennedy’s warm language celebrating and defending marriage: No union … Continue reading →

The group Women on 20s has recently gotten some pretty good press for the idea that Harriet Tubman should replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Personally I always favored John Ross for the twenty, just to really stick it … Continue reading →

I have more thoughts on presidents, war, and voting that I hope to get to soon. But at the moment the eruption of violence in Baltimore seems more urgent. On Sunday I posted this well-intentioned Mic article to Facebook: On … Continue reading →

Ah — the season for browbeating progressives into submission has arrived! Here’s an essay by Allen Clifton in the old familiar style: Let me list a few numbers for everyone: 78 80 80 83 Those are the ages that Supreme … Continue reading →