My friend Glen Whitman has an excellent essay over at Cato Unbound that takes aim at what’s been variously called “new” or “soft” or even “libertarian” paternalism. I’ve been relatively open to at least some of the ideas circulating under those banners—at least as libertarians go—but Glen’s arguments certainly provide ample reason for severe skepticism.  […]

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I’ve suggested before that the best version of progressivism—by which I mean, the most internally coherent version—would not include a distinct right to health care for competent adults as a moral or theoretical right, though it may in practice recommend that some degree of access to publicly provided or subsidized health care be afforded as […]

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This story’s at least a year old, but since I only just saw it, I figure it’s worth reposting. The officer responsible appears to have gotten off with a slap on the wrist, as usual:

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Yglesias has a good point on the proposed French burqa ban: [T]his sort of ban seems extremely unlikely to actually help anyone who’s genuinely in need of help. A woman whose husband and/or other male relations have enough power over her to force her into a burqa against her will is only going to be […]

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What Radley said.

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Via To the People, I find a Fox News “sexpert” detailing the signs your partner may have a porn problem. This bit seemed rather striking: Many people are completely in the dark that their partner likes porn, much less has a serious relationship with it. Ignorant as to any issue, they trust their lover unconditionally. […]

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Andrew Sullivan notes this bit of news from the Netherlands: The Dutch cabinet has proposed a ban on the sale of all hallucinogenic “magic” mushrooms because they could induce life-threatening behaviour. A bill will now pass to the Dutch parliament, where a majority of lawmakers are expected to back a ban after a teenage French […]

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Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler’s notion of “Libertarian Paternalism” has already occasioned plenty of blogospheric debate, but their recent LA Times op-ed has reopened the floodgates. Jonah Goldberg has a crop of posts, and Jim Manzi and Will Wilkinson also take shots. I’ve been at least somewhat more open to the idea than some of […]

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A couple weeks back, I returned to my old alma mater to serve as a judge at the school’s annual parliamentary debate tournament. As invariably happens at these events, I spent a fair amount of time waxing nostalgic with other former-debaters (or “dinos”) who were on the circuit when I was. (Fun factoid: The team […]

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Is nothing sacred?

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