Copyright 2022 Lee Harris Thu, 10 Feb 2022 07:16:01 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Lee Harris :: Writings http://harris.pundicity.com lee_harris@earthlink.net (Lee Harris) webmaster@pundicity.com en-us http://harris.pundicity.com/14101/liberal-newspeak Wed, 4 Dec 2013 09:00:00 EST Did President Obama lie to the American people when he said that those who liked their current health insurance policies could keep them? Or was he simply out of the loop when it came down to the details of his health care reform, as he has claimed in... http://harris.pundicity.com/14045/nudge Wed, 13 Nov 2013 09:00:00 EST Today, the phrase "social engineering" has fallen into disgrace. Yet the policy of social engineering, the idea of which goes back to the time of Plato, is still with us today, most conspicuously in the Affordable Care Act (more popularly known as... http://harris.pundicity.com/13995/ted-cruz Thu, 31 Oct 2013 09:00:00 EST Why does the Tea Party love Ted Cruz despite his decisive role in the recent partial government shutdown, which many consider a debacle for the GOP? Why aren't Tea Partiers blaming Cruz for their drop in the polls, as mainstream Republicans are busily... http://harris.pundicity.com/13218/boston-marathon-bombing Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, Americans are again searching for motives. It is our way of dealing with acts that shock and outrage our collective sensibilities. We looked for motives after the Oklahoma City bombing and after 9/11. We looked... http://harris.pundicity.com/13149/north-korea-bluffing Sat, 6 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST On February 12, 2013, North Korea announced to the world that it had conducted an underground nuclear test, its third in seven years. Had this announcement come from any other nation, it would no doubt have been accepted at face value. But North Korea is... http://harris.pundicity.com/13021/soak-the-rich Wed, 6 Mar 2013 09:00:00 EST It would be easy to dismiss the current battle of the budget as simply partisan politics at its worst, but both sides are convinced that they are in a contest over genuine principles. In terms of the propaganda war, however, liberal Democrats have... http://harris.pundicity.com/12960/enlightened-conservatism Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:00:00 EST On the night of November 25, 1882, Gilbert and Sullivan premiered their seventh comic opera at the recently finished Savoy Theatre in London. Unlike their previous collaborations, such as the "H.M.S. Pinafore" and "The Pirates of Penzance," "Iolanthe"... http://harris.pundicity.com/12880/gop-demographic-fix Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST The four more years that the American electorate has granted President Obama will most likely be spent by the Republicans in feuding over the soul and destiny of their party. From the point of view of making the next Republican presidential nominee... http://harris.pundicity.com/12805/tough-gun-laws Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST The state of New York has just passed what has been called the toughest gun control law in the nation, the first such law to go on the books since the Newtown massacre shocked and horrified the nation. Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has championed the new... http://harris.pundicity.com/12781/conspiracy-theories Sat, 12 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST Samuel Johnson once heatedly remarked to a man he was conversing with in a coffeehouse, "I can give you an argument, but I cannot give you an understanding." There is no evidence that the great sage made this comment to a conspiracy theorist, but I have... http://harris.pundicity.com/12380/eric-hobsbawm Fri, 5 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EST When a man dies at a ripe old age, the sins of his youth are normally forgiven him, assuming there is anyone around who remembers them. Or, at the very least, these sins are not loudly trumpeted forth nor dwelled on at painful length in his obituaries.... http://harris.pundicity.com/12335/apologizing-for-liberties Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST The last few weeks have witnessed a peculiar and disturbing spectacle: An American administration that has spent a great deal of time and energy apologizing for our liberties—in particular, for what many would regard as the foundation of all our other... http://harris.pundicity.com/12307/obama-second-chance Thu, 20 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST Many American voters didn't think Obama deserved to be president in the first place and have no interest in giving him a second chance this time around. Obviously there is no point in the Democrats trying to win them over to their cause. Similarly, there... http://harris.pundicity.com/12102/thucydides-olympics Thu, 9 Aug 2012 09:00:00 EST As I was watching the London Olympics, a curious thought struck me: What would the ancient Greeks think about our modern revival of their games? Would they be impressed, scandalized, or just disappointed? Certain of their responses are quite predictable.... http://harris.pundicity.com/11988/chicago-gang-violence Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:00:00 EST On the night of June 27, 2012, a seven-year-old girl, Heaven Sutton, was shot down in front of her home by two members of a Chicago gang. It is said that she was killed by a stray bullet, but this simply means that her murderers did not intentionally aim...