Whatever one’s position on same-sex marriage, it is difficult to understand why the issue is suddenly so much more urgent than tax relief or job creation. In the wake of President Bush’s call for an amendment to the federal constitution, even reliable culture warrior Tom DeLay responded by saying "there is no particular reason for haste." For that matter, in the (highly unlikely) event that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of recognizing same-sex marriages, a state constitutional amendment would provide no more protection than the defense of marriage statute currently on our books. Aside from its symbolism, the proposal has no substance.
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War of Words
As Humpty Dumpty famously said to Alice, "When I use a word, my dear, that word means whatever I want it to mean." Here in the U.S. of Wonderland, we are about to launch a "preemptive" attack on Iraq–preemptive being the word that means whatever George W. Bush wants it to mean.
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Dorothy Has Left Kansas
Hellfire Nation, a recent book by political science professor James Morone, examines American history through the lens of moral and religious fervor, and makes a pretty good case for the proposition that America is preoccupied with sin and salvation?often to the detriment of national interest or even common sense. The hysterical backlash against recent progress on gay rights certainly supports his thesis.
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Researching Charitable Choice
When we began our study in 1999, it was a relatively obscure academic inquiry triggered by my research interest in the constitutional and policy dimensions of privatization. Then George W. Bush became President, and his Faith-Based Initiative became a centerpiece of the domestic policy agenda, and our academic study was suddenly in the cross-hairs of an acrimonious political debate.
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Game Theory
Some people go into politics because they care about policy. Others view politics as another species of sport: who wins? how? what tactical maneuvers are effective? What’s the score? For those of us who have been unable to understand how or why a man with no obvious engagement with any policy issue, domestic or foreign, became President, game theory may supply the answer.
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