The Case Against Kids

The Case Against Kids (The New Yorker 4-9-12)

In “Why Have Children?: The Ethical Debate” (M.I.T. Press), Christine Overall tries to subject that decision to morally rigorous analysis. Overall, who teaches philosophy at Queen's University, in Ontario, dismisses the notion that childbearing is “natural” and therefore needs no justification. “There are many urges apparently arising from our biological nature that we nonetheless should choose not to act upon,” she observes. If we're going to keep having kids, we ought to be able to come up with a reason.

David Benatar, a professor at the University of Cape Town, also turns to philosophy to determine the ideal family size. He gives away his answer in the title of his book, “Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence” (Oxford). The volume is dedicated to his parents, “even though they brought me into existence,” and to his brothers, “each of whose existence, although a harm to him, is a great benefit to the rest of us.” (It's fun to imagine what family reunions with the Benatars are like.)

Sexual assault an intractable problem across the country--Cover Up at Notre Dame

Sexual assault an intractable problem across the country—Cover Up at Notre Dame Alleged (Naitonal Catholic Reporter 2-26-12)

The most recent issue of Notre Dame Magazine includes a long piece called “Anything but clear,” about sexual assault at the university, my alma mater. Yet its 3,936 words do not include these two: Lizzy Seeberg. She was the 19-year-old freshman at St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind., who committed suicide in the fall of 2010 after accusing a University of Notre Dame football player of sexual assaulting her.

“The number of sexual misconduct allegations in the 2010-11 academic year was consistent with past averages,” the alumni magazine story says near the top, “but a course of events drew widespread attention at Notre Dame and elsewhere.”

End of sentence, end of paragraph, and end of story; nowhere else does the piece even obliquely allude to what these mysterious events might have been.

Nowhere in the article, either, does it explain that the revamped assault policy it describes was negotiated as part of a settlement agreement with the federal government after the Seeberg case led the civil rights office of the Department of Education for the first time in at least 30 years to launch an investigation without waiting for a formal complaint to be filed.

Black pastors take heat for not viewing same-sex marriage as civil rights matter

Black pastors take heat for not viewing same-sex marriage as civil rights matter (Wash Post 2-23-12)

All of a sudden, they are bigots and haters—they who stood tall against discrimination, who marched and sat in, who knew better than most the pain of being told they were less than others.

They are black men, successful ministers, leaders of their community. But with Maryland poised to become the eighth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, they hear people—politicians, activists, even members of their own congregations—telling them they are on the wrong side of history, and that's not where they usually live.

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism-A Korean economist critiques the conventional wisdom about the secrets of economic growth (Mercator Net 2-28-12)

Cambridge economics professor Ha-Joon Chang believes a lot of conventional wisdom in his field is widely off the mark. His recent book, 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, is an excellent primer for the average reader. According to Chang, a bit of common sense, a familiarity with history and a desire to prosper are often a better guide to economic development than the ruminations of economists—of either the Keynesian or the free trade variety.

Chang is on solid ground pointing out in Thing #7 that “Free-market policies rarely make poor countries rich.” Indeed, the world's wealthier nations didn't achieve success by sticking to free-market dogma. England, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea used a combination of protectionism, subsidies and even state-controlled industries in the early stages of development.

The Materialist Fallacy by David Brooks

The Materialist Fallacy by David Brooks (NY Times 2-13-12)

Liberal economists haven't silenced conservatives, but they have completely eclipsed liberal sociologists and liberal psychologists. Even noneconomist commentators reduce the rich texture of how disadvantage is actually lived to a crude materialism that has little to do with reality.

I don't care how many factory jobs have been lost, it still doesn't make sense to drop out of high school. The influences that lead so many to do so are much deeper and more complicated than anything that can be grasped in an economic model or populist slogan.

This economic determinism would be bad enough if it was just making public debate dumber. But the amputation of sociologic, psychological and cognitive considerations makes good policy impossible.

Animal charity sues SeaWorld on behalf of five 'slave' whales

Animal charity sues SeaWorld on behalf of five 'slave' whales (UK Telegraph 2-7-12)

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller called the hearing in San Diego after SeaWorld asked the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) that names five orcas as plaintiffs in the case.

PETA claims the captured killer whales are treated like slaves for being forced to live in tanks and perform daily at its parks in San Diego and Orlando, Florida.

“This case is on the next frontier of civil rights,” said PETA's attorney Jeffrey Kerr, representing the five orcas.

Colbert v. the Court

Colbert v. the Court (Slate 2-2-12)

The Supreme Court has always had its critics. Chief Justice John Marshall had to contend with the temper of President Andrew Jackson (“John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!”). And Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes went toe-to-toe with FDR, who wouldn't let up with the court-packing. But in the history of the Supreme Court, nothing has ever prepared the justices for the public opinion wrecking ball that is Stephen Colbert. The comedian/presidential candidate/super PAC founder has probably done more to undermine public confidence in the court's 2010 Citizens United opinion than anyone, including the dissenters. In this contest, the high court is supremely outmatched.

Citizens United, with an assist from a 1976 decision Buckley v. Valeo, has led to the farce of unlimited corporate election spending, “uncoordinated” super PACs that coordinate with candidates, and a noxious round of attack ads, all of which is protected in the name of free speech. Colbert has been educating Americans about the resulting insanity for months now. His broadside against the court raises important questions about satire and the court, about protecting the dignity of the institution, and the role of modern media in public discourse. Also: The fight between Colbert and the court is so full of ironies, it can make your molars hurt.

A former model delves into the industry

A former model delves into the industry (Boston Globe 1-15-12)

To write the book, Mears spent more than three years doing research and interviewing models, agents, and clients. Pricing Beauty describes the industry as glamorous, yes, though marked by a particular kind of struggle. The pay can be low, the working conditions harsh, and the workers' expectations often unrealistic. At the same time, it is sustained by a glut of laborers—many of them imported from abroad—who are willing, or resigned, to work for little more than the promise of glamour and fortune. It's a winner-take-all setup, with few participants reaping the rewards. For every Kate Moss, Mears writes, there are literally thousands of other girls and women who have sacrificed years of their youth and come away with very little. Many are in debt to their agencies for essentials like housing and visas before they even begin to work, and the physical requirements are intense. Mears describes models who, though not the norm, feel enough pressure to stay thin that they turn to extreme exercising, high-protein low-fat shakes, unhealthy diets, or pharmaceuticals such as Adderall, which suppresses appetite. And the older a model gets, writes Mears, the more she “exudes failure.” There's no shortage of models washed up by their mid-20s.

India's UID scheme

India's UID scheme-

Opposition to the world's biggest biometric identity scheme is growing (The Economist 1-14-12)

FOR a country that fails to meet its most basic challenges-feeding the hungry, piping clean water, fixing roads-it seems incredible that India is rapidly building the world's biggest, most advanced, biometric database of personal identities. Launched in 2010, under a genial ex-tycoon, Nandan Nilekani, the “unique identity” (UID) scheme is supposed to roll out trustworthy, unduplicated identity numbers based on biometric and other data.

Could You Be A Criminal? US Supports UN Anti-Free Speech Measure

Could You Be A Criminal? US Supports UN Anti-Free Speech Measure (Forbes 12-30-11)

While you were out scavenging the Wal-Mart super sales or trying on trinkets at Tiffany and Cartier, your government has been quietly wrapping up a Christmas gift of its own: adoption of UN resolution 16/18. An initiative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (formerly Organization of Islamic Conferences), the confederacy of 56 Islamic states, Resolution 16/18 seeks to limit speech that is viewed as “discriminatory” or which involves the “defamation of religion”—specifically that which can be viewed as “incitement to imminent violence.”