Keith Burgess-Jackson

Here is Thomas Sowell’s latest column.

Most people think it’s wrong to take a person’s race into account in one’s deliberations. Not this philosopher. He wants to heighten race consciousness in the hope that, eventually, there will be no race consciousness. Good luck with that! By the way, I thought there were no races.

Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees hit his eighth home run of the season tonight—in the Yankees’ 12th game. At this rate, he’ll finish the season with 108 home runs. Reggie Jackson was Mr October. A-Rod is Mr April.

My argument was and is that, while atheists may be law-abiding and valuable citizens in many respects, a good citizen is one who agrees with and is able to transmit the founding principles of this constitutional order, which are inseparable from God and his providential purposes in history.

(Richard John Neuhaus, “The Public Square,” First Things [February 2007]: 55-72, at 62)

Keith: I have been thinking about what causes an individual in the U.S. to lash out at society as the individual did today at V-Tech, and I just heard Dr. Phil on Larry King say it’s because of the video games that kids play these days. I don’t agree with the idea of kids playing video games at all, but to suggest that it leads them to do something like this is too far-fetched. To me, this is just like the christian fundamentalists saying it’s because god has been taken out of their lives—it just doesn’t work. What do you think?

Randy Barnett thinks we should stop ridiculing defense lawyers. As a former defense lawyer, I agree.

To the Editor:

Re “Loosening the Stem Cell Binds” (editorial, April 13):

I find it hypocritical that President Bush, citing respect for life, has such a moral objection to the use of human embryos (five-day-old blastocysts, or microscopic balls of cells) for scientific and medical research when he had no problem starting and supporting a war that has caused the deaths of thousands and did not voice any objection to the death penalty when 131 prisoners were executed while he was governor of Texas.

I guess that in Mr. Bush’s ideological world, protecting laboratory-created cells is far more important than preserving the lives of the people who might be treated for diseases, disorders and trauma as a result of embryonic stem cell research.

Michael Hadjiargyrou
Stony Brook, N.Y., April 13, 2007
The writer is an associate professor of biomedical engineering, genetics and orthopedics, SUNY Stony Brook.

Note from KBJ: May I help? The rule is that it is wrong directly to kill an innocent human being.

Here.

The facts of yesterday’s massacre at Virginia Tech are not yet in, but that doesn’t stop the editorial board of The New York Times from calling for greater restrictions on gun ownership. The Times isn’t really concerned about preventing tragedies such as this; it has an anti-gun agenda. It uses every incident involving guns as an occasion to call for greater restrictions. That’s not responsible dialogue. It’s zealotry. Once the facts of the case are in, such as how the murderer obtained his weapons, we can ask which laws, if any, would have prevented it. It may turn out that no law could have prevented it. People who are determined to murder will find a way to obtain weapons. Do you think someone who is bent on murdering would be deterred by a law against gun ownership? The very idea is risible. And if our goal is to prevent tragedies such as yesterday’s, we should explore all options, including allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons. Do you think 32 people would be dead right now if professors and students at Virginia Tech had been armed?

Here.