There is an old joke that goes something like this: How do you find a needle in a haystack? Why, you burn down the haystack. The joke is unfortunately reminiscent of the infamous Viet Nam explanation that ?We had to burn the village down in order to save it.? In the wake of 9/11, the concern of every American has to be that we root out terrorists without burning down the constitutional village. And so far, the omens are not good.
Continue reading “Terrorism and the Constitution”
The Past Illuminates the Present
We live in dangerous times. But we are hardly the first to do so. The questions that engage us (or that should engage us) have been the subject of books and essays by great minds for centuries. Too few of us are familiar with those works.
Continue reading “The Past Illuminates the Present”
Remember the Bill of Rights?
There I was, in a rocking chair at the nursing home, where one of my grandsons had come to visit me. The discussion turned nostalgic, as we discussed those years, long past, when I had taught college students about the Bill of Rights.
Continue reading “Remember the Bill of Rights?”
Using Restraint
Laws governing the psychiatric hospitalization of minors vary considerably from state to state.
Continue reading “Using Restraint”
Press Pass
The recent revelations and speculation about Karl Rove’s possible role in outing Valerie Palme have eclipsed, for the general public at least, what has come to be called the ‘Judith Miller issue’ despite the fact that Miller is serving a jail sentence for refusing to name her source.
Continue reading “Press Pass”