Copyright 2013 Lee Harris Sat, 25 May 2013 06:40:02 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Lee Harris :: Writings http://www.lee-harris.org lee_harris@earthlink.net (Lee Harris) webmaster@pundicity.com en-us http://www.lee-harris.org/13218/boston-marathon-bombing Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, Americans are again searching for motives. It is our way of dealing with acts that shock and outrage our collective sensibilities. We looked for motives after the Oklahoma City bombing and after 9/11. We looked... http://www.lee-harris.org/13149/north-korea-bluffing Sat, 6 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST On February 12, 2013, North Korea announced to the world that it had conducted an underground nuclear test, its third in seven years. Had this announcement come from any other nation, it would no doubt have been accepted at face value. But North Korea is... http://www.lee-harris.org/13021/soak-the-rich Wed, 6 Mar 2013 09:00:00 EST It would be easy to dismiss the current battle of the budget as simply partisan politics at its worst, but both sides are convinced that they are in a contest over genuine principles. In terms of the propaganda war, however, liberal Democrats have... http://www.lee-harris.org/12960/enlightened-conservatism Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:00:00 EST On the night of November 25, 1882, Gilbert and Sullivan premiered their seventh comic opera at the recently finished Savoy Theatre in London. Unlike their previous collaborations, such as the "H.M.S. Pinafore" and "The Pirates of Penzance," "Iolanthe"... http://www.lee-harris.org/12880/gop-demographic-fix Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST The four more years that the American electorate has granted President Obama will most likely be spent by the Republicans in feuding over the soul and destiny of their party. From the point of view of making the next Republican presidential nominee... http://www.lee-harris.org/12805/tough-gun-laws Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST The state of New York has just passed what has been called the toughest gun control law in the nation, the first such law to go on the books since the Newtown massacre shocked and horrified the nation. Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has championed the new... http://www.lee-harris.org/12781/conspiracy-theories Sat, 12 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST Samuel Johnson once heatedly remarked to a man he was conversing with in a coffeehouse, "I can give you an argument, but I cannot give you an understanding." There is no evidence that the great sage made this comment to a conspiracy theorist, but I have... http://www.lee-harris.org/12380/eric-hobsbawm Fri, 5 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EST When a man dies at a ripe old age, the sins of his youth are normally forgiven him, assuming there is anyone around who remembers them. Or, at the very least, these sins are not loudly trumpeted forth nor dwelled on at painful length in his obituaries.... http://www.lee-harris.org/12335/apologizing-for-liberties Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST The last few weeks have witnessed a peculiar and disturbing spectacle: An American administration that has spent a great deal of time and energy apologizing for our liberties—in particular, for what many would regard as the foundation of all our other... http://www.lee-harris.org/12307/obama-second-chance Thu, 20 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST Many American voters didn't think Obama deserved to be president in the first place and have no interest in giving him a second chance this time around. Obviously there is no point in the Democrats trying to win them over to their cause. Similarly, there... http://www.lee-harris.org/12102/thucydides-olympics Thu, 9 Aug 2012 09:00:00 EST As I was watching the London Olympics, a curious thought struck me: What would the ancient Greeks think about our modern revival of their games? Would they be impressed, scandalized, or just disappointed? Certain of their responses are quite predictable.... http://www.lee-harris.org/11988/chicago-gang-violence Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:00:00 EST On the night of June 27, 2012, a seven-year-old girl, Heaven Sutton, was shot down in front of her home by two members of a Chicago gang. It is said that she was killed by a stray bullet, but this simply means that her murderers did not intentionally aim... http://www.lee-harris.org/11960/scalia-dissent Thu, 5 Jul 2012 09:00:00 EST In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on Arizona's immigration law, I came across several liberal commentators who treated Justice Scalia's dissent as if it were the ravings of an unhinged lunatic. Naturally, I expected a bit of bias on their part,... http://www.lee-harris.org/11834/american-democracy Sat, 9 Jun 2012 09:00:00 EST Are Americans too dumb for democracy? Of late, there has been a spate of articles and op-ed pieces that suggest the answer to this question is an emphatic yes: The majority of Americans are simply too hopelessly ignorant to make the kind of intelligent... http://www.lee-harris.org/11704/planned-austerity Thu, 17 May 2012 09:00:00 EST In 2010, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary named "austerity" as its "Word of the Year," noting that it had been the subject of more than 250,000 searches on its free website. This sudden flare-up of interest in austerity did not arise because large numbers of...