… Thought police at it again: A new argument for hate-speech laws? Um … no.
… painful though hate speech may be for individual members of minorities or other targeted groups, its toleration is to their great collective benefit, because in a climate of free intellectual exchange hateful and bigoted ideas are refuted and discredited, not merely suppressed. The genius of the open society is that it harnesses the whole range of public criticism, including offensive and hurtful speech, in a decentralized knowledge-making process that has no rival at the job minorities most care about: finding truth and debunking bigotry. That is how we gay folks achieved the stunning gains we’ve made in America: by arguing toward truth.I don't buy the notion of hate crimes, either. If you beat my head in with a baseball bat, it's a safe bet you're not too fond of me. But aggravated assault will do as charge.
… Indeed: How Ham on Nye Harms Our Public Discourse on Science and Religion.
If you want to rebut someone who insists that the Bible must be taken literally, just ask them about the serpent in the garden of Eden tempting Eve. They will, I am sure, insist that the serpent was Satan in disguise. Problem is, there is no evidence in the text to support that. What it says, literally, is that a snake did it.
… Kirkus review: CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT?
A revelatory and occasionally hilarious memoir by the New Yorker cartoonist on helping her parents through their old age.… Converstional minefield: Talking Minnesotan.
… Style Sheet: A Conversation with My Copyeditor.
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