The Laughing Spaniard

Racial justice and demagoguery: the case of the Jena Six

The Laughing Spaniard — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:26:32 +0000

Justice is not man’s deepest longing — for better and worse. Yet it is the form in which our powerful and selfish desires most often disguise themselves, in operations obscure even to ourselves. There will always arise ambitious leaders ready … Continue reading →

The paradox of faith

The Laughing Spaniard — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:12:20 +0000

The merriness of the Christmas season contrasts sharply with the anger of several prominent atheists, such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, who attack the belief in God in their recent bestsellers. Is faith a good thing? Psychology Prof. Jonathan … Continue reading →

Specialism as anti-ambition

The Laughing Spaniard — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:43:04 +0000

>I’m going to practice intellectual property law – patents, trademark, copyright – which, in my unbiased opinion, is crucial to the progress of humankind. So, in that field, I don’t expect to lose my soul. Crucial to the progress of … Continue reading →

Getting our cut: an open letter to Sen. Jim Webb on Obamacare

The Laughing Spaniard — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:22:33 +0000

Dear Mr. Webb, I am disappointed in you. As a man of honor, you should have held out for as much money as Nelson and Landrieu got. Nebraska gets its Medicaid bills paid in full forever by our taxes. What … Continue reading →

On Harvard’s quest for gender balance in the faculty

The Laughing Spaniard — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:17:32 +0000

Dear Dean Kirby, I don't begrudge you the passionate desire to bring in more girls, and there is an evident connection between the presence of beautiful women and the inspiration and sacrifices that science requires of men (see Renaissance, Italian; … Continue reading →

Limits to Locke, or two cheers for Islam

The Laughing Spaniard — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 03:49:23 +0000

>Our contemporary politics takes place within the parameters defined by liberalism. –if liberalism is correct. If not, then it may have those parameters wrong; it may have misunderstood the human situation. It may not have understood the unchangeable savagery or … Continue reading →

Christianity and careerism: the case of Harriet Miers

The Laughing Spaniard — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:42:24 +0000

It’s a bit rich that Christianity, which spent its whole youth and manhood (womanhood?) fighting charges that it made men slothful and useless and effeminate and disloyal, that it made them disdain their earthly duties to their country and their … Continue reading →