Why were suspects arrested then?… Read the rest
Jeb Bush Adoption Hopes Dashed
Mar 24th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonFlorida judge rejects governor’s bid to become Schiavo’s legal guardian.… Read the rest
Supreme Court Rejects Schiavo Appeal
Mar 24th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThere is no legal case, says Reagan solicitor general.… Read the rest
His Books Must Be Kept at a Distance
Mar 24th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonUltra-Orthodox rabbi tries to reconcile science and the Torah, is denounced for his pains.… Read the rest
Flowery
Mar 24th, 2005 4:09 am | By Ophelia BensonOh, Florida, Florida, Florida. What is your problem.
I mean for one thing there’s this winner.
Republicans on the House Choice and Innovation Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to pass a bill that aims to stamp out “leftist totalitarianism” by “dictator professors” in the classrooms of Florida’s universities…According to a legislative staff analysis of the bill, the law would give students who think their beliefs are not being respected legal standing to sue professors and universities.
Students who believe their professor is singling them out for “public ridicule” – for instance, when professors use the Socratic method to force students to explain their theories in class – would also be given the right to sue.
Is that a … Read the rest
Winner Take All
Mar 23rd, 2005 11:29 pm | By Ophelia BensonThis is a dispiriting read. They win. Bullying wins, death threats win, force wins, violence wins, pushing people around and beating them up and killing them wins. Interesting situation, isn’t it. People who have some capacity for moral reflection and awareness make some effort not to oppress and dominate and bully other people; people who don’t, don’t; so the people with some capacity lose to the people who have none. Familiar paradox. People who don’t give a rat’s ass about the freedom and rights of anyone but themselves are, of course, at a similar sort of advantage over people who do. People who think, like Callicles in the Gorgias, that people who can win because they’re stronger should … Read the rest
Law Could Let Students Sue for Untolerated Beliefs
Mar 23rd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonStudents will have legal standing to sue teachers who use Socratic methods.… Read the rest
Bill to Let Students Sue if Beliefs Are Dissed
Mar 23rd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonFlorida legislators to decide what serves ‘legitimate pedagogical purpose.’… Read the rest
Dutch MPs Wilders, Hirsi Ali Live Like Prisoners
Mar 23rd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThey received death threats after criticising behaviour of militant Muslim immigrants. … Read the rest
Jeb Bush Considers Adopting Terri Schiavo
Mar 23rd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAs courts continue to reject appeals, Florida governor talks of protective custody.… Read the rest
Woman Leads US Muslims to Prayer
Mar 23rd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonChallenge to second-class status greeted with refusals and threats.… Read the rest
‘Authorized by Allah’ to Beat Students at Picnic
Mar 23rd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMilitias in Basra force women to wear hijab, close shops selling alcohol or music.… Read the rest
Both Speculated, but They Were Chalk and Cheese
Mar 23rd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonEinstein was a scientist and Freud considered himself one.… Read the rest
Feudal Care
Mar 23rd, 2005 3:04 am | By Ophelia BensonAnd another thing.
By now most people who read liberal blogs are aware that George W. Bush signed a law in Texas that expressly gave hospitals the right to remove life support if the patient could not pay and there was no hope of revival, regardless of the patient’s family’s wishes. It is called the Texas Futile Care Law. Under this law, a baby was removed from life support against his mother’s wishes in Texas just this week. A 68 year old man was given a temporary reprieve by the Texas courts just yesterday.
I didn’t know that until I read it on a blog. It doesn’t surprise me – of course Bush would sign a law like that. … Read the rest
Consistency? Don’t Be Silly
Mar 22nd, 2005 8:47 pm | By Ophelia BensonI know. Why’s she so quiet all of a sudden? you’ve been thinking. What’s the deal? Did something very heavy sit on her or what? Has she gone prancing off on a trip again? Is she at the mall shopping for new spring outfits? Getting her hair done? Training for a marathon? In prison? What?
Since it’s not as if I fall silent in the normal course of things, is it. No. No, it’s none of those, just a death struggle with my computer. So I finally shot it (I had to) and got a new one. Which means I have to go from three meals of cat food a day to two, for the rest of my life – … Read the rest
Pope Cited in Lawyer’s Argument
Mar 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Court has ordered her to disobey her church and even jeopardize her eternal soul.’… Read the rest
Judge Rules Against Feeding Tube
Mar 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonShe can breathe but not speak – or think, feel, or experience.… Read the rest
Federal Judge Refuses Feeding-tube Request
Mar 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSince substantial likelihood of success is not there.… Read the rest
Evangelical Populism Trumps Facts
Mar 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMilestone in the campaign for faith over fact and miracles over medicine.… Read the rest
Bush Intervenes to Block Right to Die
Mar 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonEnds vacation early to strike a blow for minimal government.… Read the rest