The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Turns Seventy
This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris, France, on December 10, 1948, as General Assembly Resolution 217A and translated... Read More
Support the Rule of Law, Not Autocracy
While our democracy has historically been described as a rule of law system under which we are governed “by laws and not of men” (a “nomocracy”), this characterization is flawed and dangerously misleading. In fact,... Read More
Voters Ready for Nonreligious Candidates
There’s always been an assumption in American politics that a candidate will lose votes if they admit to being an atheist, or even simply by not being openly religious. Now there’s some concrete proof that... Read More
Artificial Stupidity
Computers aren’t bigoted—they’re just based on cold calculations, right? The past two years have featured a steady drumbeat of problems with various artificial intelligence (AI) procedures, centered around a common theme: they produce the same... Read More
A Religious Blitz on Our Government
In July the House Appropriations Committee voted in favor of an amendment that would allow faith-based child welfare agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ people, interfaith couples, single parents, and others. Earlier this year, I reported... Read More
Target Practice Troubled Teens, First Person Shooter Games, and the US Military
Before Nikolas Cruz shot seventeen people dead and injured seventeen others at a Parkland, Florida, high school on Valentine’s Day, and before Dimitrios Pagourtzis killed ten and injured thirteen at Santa Fe High School in... Read More
Respecting Religion, Rejecting Discrimination Does SCOTUS decision manage to have its cake and eat it too?
In a 7-2 ruling issued June 4, 2018, the US Supreme Court found in favor of Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd., who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. Phillips... Read More
