The Huffington Post has put up a feature it calls “Fundrace,” which allows users to search by address, city, name, occupation, or employer to find out who has made campaign donations of $200 or more, of which federal law requires public disclosure. On a whim, I did a vanity search for my name, even though [...]
David Hume said humans, in observing pain, experience that pain, too. Therefore, we want to alleviate the pain of other people, to ameliorate the suffering it causes within us. This empathy for our fellow humans constitutes the basis for treating them decently.
Hume’s best friend Adam Smith, in his 1759 work The Theory of Moral Sentiments, [...]
Given the results of the 2006 elections, one could wonder whether scandals actually matter for electoral outcomes. Senator Conrad Burns of Montana, who used a subcommittee chairmanship to fulfill the requests of Jack Abramoff in exchange for cash,1 did lose his seat, but only by such a slim margin several days of vote counting were [...]
An R next to a politician’s name might as well be a scarlet letter in 2006.
Voters have tired of Republican President George W. Bush for his ignorance of reality in Iraq and abuses of power at home. And Americans have soured on Republican custodians of Congress for lining their pockets with lobbyists’ bribes and concealing [...]
In the upcoming elections, Democrats have the strongest chance of seizing control of the House of Representatives since 1994. Perhaps they will take the Senate as well.
Republicans, after all, have left the door open for Democrats: They have pushed an unpopular war in Iraq. They have tainted themselves with the stench of Jack Abramoff. They [...]
President George W. Bush’s penchant for cronyism has achieved infamy by now. Apparently, he thought a friend with no judicial experience and simplistic legal reasoning, Harriet Miers, a dandy choice for the Supreme Court. The highest court in the land isn’t for brilliant thinkers, after all, but long-time pals.
Also, of course, the President believed a [...]
As anyone who has opened a newspaper or watched the news over the past few years knows, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been pursuing nuclear capability. Iran’s government insists its only goal is to develop nuclear power plants that would not threaten anyone. The United Nations, though, is concerned Iran might instead covet nuclear [...]
Thanks to the prestige and importance of the Supreme Court, throngs of people awake at ungodly hours of the morning to stand in line for the Court’s limited capacity audience seating. Also, the novelty of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito attracts even more people. All this makes witnessing oral arguments before [...]
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