What’s In A Label
Andrew Sullivan calls out Jonathan Chait for arguing that libertarianism is inextricably linked to racism. Chait’s view, in a nutshell, is that in practice, libertarianism is a gateway doctrine to racism: “I am sure...
Author: Ethan Gach
“Kicking, squealing Gucci little piggy”
I think meat tastes great. I love me some buffalo smothered chicken wings. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without Turkey. I reside near a Bobby’s Burger Palace, and live in constant fear of the tastiness made...
“Nonsense!”
Christopher Hitchens died yesterday. Vanity Fair broke the news and any number of publications are running obituaries at the moment. For myself, I can only say that one of my biggest regrets is never...
Journalism Is More Than Just Quoting Speeches
(Image via The Atlantic: Humvees sit parked in a courtyard at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, on September 30, 2011.(Reuters/Mohammed Ameen) Today, as every major news outlet is reporting, the Iraq war has officially been...
A Sermon on Liberty
(This post is for opposite day here at the League. I don’t like sermons, don’t believe in free will, and as a self-described liberal I self-evidently hate liberty.) “It is not from the benevolence...
The Disappearance of Informed Democracy
This week on the op-ed page of the Washington Post three senators debated the how best to detain “terrorists.” The current annual defense authorization bill contains language introduced by Senators Carl Levin and John...
“We Got Sold Out”
Once thought the great liberal hope, captivating progressive audiences everywhere with promises of change, Obama has fallen largely out of favor with his left of center supporters. There are lots of reasons for this,...
On Student Debt and Youth Unemployment
Derek Thompson of The Atlantic has written extensively about the current recession. As he notes, young people are having an especially rough time making ground in the workforce right now. Students are graduating “$23,000 in...
OWS: Time to Grow Up
(Photo of “An empty Zuccotti Park” by @jimbradysp via Andrew Sullivan) Yesterday, Elias Isquith asked what should occupy Wall Street do next? His own answer is that OWS should rally against “voter suppression.” Doing so, Isquith...
On Twitter and Language
Ralph Fiennes asks, “Is Shakespeare relevant,” in an age of tweets and texts. In response to Fiennes-as-Luddite, E.D. Kain launches into a virulent defense of new technology and language’s continuing evolution. However, I think...
We’re On The Road To Somewhere
The incentive-oriented world view explored at length by works like Freakonomics really appeals to me. Making every social issue into a problem of inadequate or incorrect incentives can really help to clarify things and...
Some, Many, and Most
While flipping through yesterday’s New York Times I hit upon this piece which gave me pause. For a number of reasons it didn’t sit right with me, and I was happy to see Glen...
“An Incompatible Combination”
I’ve watched every presidential debate thus far in the Republican primary. And I’ve done more than my fair share of laughing, weeping, and sometimes just staring blankly at the television screen. In a way,...
“That’s What I Know, That’s What I Am”
Mr. Kain has graciously invited me to start posting on the main page here at the League, so a more official introduction is probably in order. Instead of writing about where I live and what...
