Make sure to read this excellent article by Stanley Fish, Law Professor and New York Times opinion contributor. This gist of his observation is this:
“If the bad act is committed by a member of a group you wish to demonize, attribute it to a community or a religion and not to the individual. But [...]

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
[...]

Bullying has been in the news a lot lately, unfortunately due to a teen’s suicide in a small Massachusetts town and the ensuing prosecution of some of the kids who were involved for statutory rape and civil rights violations.
That particular case is a tragedy all the way around. The behavior of the kids involved [...]

I have no idea why 10 Americans, in Haiti on a humanitarian mission, thought it would be a good idea to take 33 Haitian kids to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. No one that I have seen has suggested that they were paid or had any insidious motive. My guess is that [...]

The Supreme Court will soon hear a series of cases on whether or not juveniles can be sentenced to life without parole for crimes that aren’t murder.
Personally, I think it is silly to sentence a juvenile to life without parole for any crime.
Take this quote, which is actually a defense of the practice by the [...]

There is an article in the New York Times today that I think raises an interesting question: how many times must a harmless act be repeated to become hurtful?
Here’s the background information on the lawsuit: In Minneapolis area there are two elite private high schools, Breck and Blake. They are both small, extremely expensive, [...]

I apologize for my extended absence. I could tell you a story about taking care of a two-year old, getting the flu, and then working on a book (all of which are true), but the greater reality is that I simply allowed myself to get out of the habit of posting here. But [...]

Sit down in a circle everybody, because Uncle Mike is going to tell the story of the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., with editorial comments injected. (I’ve been taking care of a two year old all week, sorry.)
Our story begins with Professor Gates returning from a trip to find himself locked out of [...]

In an internet Q&A with President Obama last week, he was asked about the beneficial effects on the economy and/or fiscal health of the nation if marijuana were legalized and taxed. I’ve seen this argument before, so I thought I might run through some back-of-the-envelope calculations to see if there is any merit to [...]

Here’s a question for the audience to ponder: to what extent is the belief that “men shouldn’t hit their wives (girlfriends/children/etc.)” a sexist notion?
I bring this up because domestic violence is once again in the news the last couple of weeks, with the Chris Brown assault on his girlfriend, Rihanna. Brown is an R&B [...]