Letters to the Editor
Asher Steinberg
Published Letters: 224 Editor's Choice: 12
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Glenn
[Read the article: Who cares if Eliot Spitzer hires prostitutes?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As I'm sure you're aware, there's a vast literature on whether the state has a right to punish so-called victimless crimes solely on the basis of morality (for starters, look up the "Hart-Devlin debate"), and most of it, I'll admit, sides with you. Of course, there are all kinds of non-moralizing reasons to ban prostitution - it's exploitative, often leads to violence, contributes to the slave trade, etc. But putting that all aside, I would point out that, on your logic (anything consensual between adults goes), the state couldn't ban sex between brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters (if they're of age), people and dead animals (it actually happens sometimes*), or people and corpses. Not to mention statutory rape laws, which some would argue are silly because you don't really have to be 18 to give meaningful consent. The argument that I would give for regulating stuff like this is that "victimless crimes" is a misnomer. Just because someone does something voluntarily doesn't mean that they're not harming themselves. Bestiality, to take an extreme example, is patently debasing and dehumanizing. Selling your body is as well. All of these activites can result in profound psychological harm. If we can illegalize suicide, illegalize using drugs that are bad for your health or mind, I'm not sure why we can't ban unhealthy sexual practices that might scar a person for life.
*http://volokh.com/posts/1203542780.shtml
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Chandy:
[Read the article: How the U.S. can still save Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm sure living under Saddam was an unrelenting nightmare for many, even if it wasn't one for Mr. Fekeiki. At any rate, I think there may be some merit to his ideas, but I didn't think this was a particularly good article. Just reciting what some young journalist happens to think without giving any of the counterarguments to his position isn't very helpful.
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"Is it really the case that any elected official who breaks the law should be forced from office regardless of the seriousness of the offense?"
[Read the article: Who cares if Eliot Spitzer hires prostitutes?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Daft, Glenn. Of course that's not the case. This is a somewhat serious offense, whether or not you think it is. It's not analogous to gambling or plain vanilla adultery at all. And the offense is compounded by the fact that this guy has prosecuted prostitutes before. So he has to resign because no one will be able to take him seriously any longer. As for why pornography's legal and prostitution isn't, pornography's protected speech, so long as it's not obscene and doesn't involve children, while prostitution isn't speech at all. Now, you might be able, I suppose, to ban being paid to appear in a porno... but that would have a chilling effect on pornographic speech, so I don't know if even that would be constitutional.
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Since They're Both For Withdrawal...
[Read the article: Obama camp targets Clinton experience claims]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]why does it matter who supported going there in the first place? Does anyone think that Hill' would be more likely to invade other countries? Obama's said time and time again in the debates that he would bomb Pakistan if he had "actionable intelligence" - sort of a tautology, that, since 'actionable' means nothing more than 'worth acting on.' Bush thought he had actionable intelligence that merited invading Iraq. Anyway, putting Obama's unremitting vagueness to the side, I don't think either is more bellicose than the other.
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No, JamesSB, Obama did that
[Read the article: A look at exit polls from the Mississippi Democratic primary]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obama brought sexism into the race; he said Hillary's foreign policy experience consisted of drinking tea:
The tea debates started on Friday when Obama said to a crowd of nearly 900 people, “My experience is grounded in understanding how the world sees America, from living overseas and traveling overseas, and having family beyond our shores. It’s that experience, that understanding, and not just of what world leader I went and talked to in the ambassador’s house who I had tea with.”
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Maybe McCain Should Switch Parties If He Wants Mr. Cole's Vote
[Read the article: John McCain runs for George Bush's third term]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Seriously, what do you expect? Universal healthcare and proposed tax hikes? He's a Republican. You act like that's news to you. Aside from that, I have a few quibbles. It's true, of course, that you want the government to spend more during a recession, but it's also the case that you don't want them raising taxes either. Secondly, you write that:
surely lack of health insurance for tens of millions, loss of good jobs, blighted cities like Detroit and New Orleans, and erosion of key civil liberties are a more "transcendent challenge" than the activities of small cultlike groups that are finding it harder and harder to operate on the soil of Middle Eastern and European allies of the U.S.
That depends, doesn't it? All things being equal, death is a lot worse than "loss of good jobs." If the terrorists ever get their hands on a dirty bomb, that'll be much more of a transcendent issue than unemployment.
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.........
[Read the article: Hillary's race against time]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You're a decent critic, Henry James bashing aside, but you know nothing about politics. You write that the only thing militating against Obama is time; the more he's known, the bigger his gains. Actually, the more he's known, the less voters seem to like him. After winning primary after primary, he lost two huge contests and is on the verge of losing a third. He did best early on (Iowa, Nevada), when no one knew anything about him.
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Obama Benefits From Republicans, Not Hillary
[Read the article: A look at exit polls from the Mississippi Democratic primary]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In almost every state but MS, he's won the Republican and Independent votes. Moreover, Obama's only been able to win in three states, plus D.C., where only Democrats can vote. Those states are Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland. Hillary won in these closed primaries: Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island.
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No
[Read the article: A look at exit polls from the Mississippi Democratic primary]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]No, Utah's semi-closed as is Washington, and Wyoming's a caucus. I said closed primaries.