The University of Oregon has long faced controversies over the alleged political bias on its campuses, including celebrating the career of a professor who physically attacked pro-life students as a model of activism. It has been criticized for monitoring off-campus speech and unconstitutionally censoring dissenting faculty. Now, Law Professor Ofer Raban is accusing the Law […]
Democratic governments, despite their commitment to rule of law, civil liberties, and political accountability, have occasionally undertaken temporary extreme measures when facing grave national crises. These actions are typically justified as necessary to preserve the state or protect the population, though they can be controversial or later seen as overreach. Here are several notable examples: 1. Suspension […]
Ever since the City of Chicago dropped the charges against 26 pro-Palestinian students and two faculty arrested on our campus for trespassing, I’ve wondered whether mayor Brandon Johnson, elected in 2023, has some sympathies for Palestine contrasted with some opprobrium for Israel. (The city also refused to send Chicago cops to take down our encampment, […]
The final chapter of Benito Mussolini’s life, marked by betrayal, capture, and execution, symbolizes the brutal end of Fascism in Italy. Alongside him was his mistress, Clara Petacci, whose loyalty led her to a tragic end. Their deaths on April 28, 1945, not only concluded Mussolini’s two-decade rule but also sent a powerful message about […]
For some on the far left, “The Rachel Maddow Show” is a godsend. Otherwise, you would have to go to the subway to compete against others raving about microchips and oligarchies. Just take Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who went on the show on Friday to explain that Trump officials can now be arrested for “interfering with […]
The Nazi regime, targeted numerous groups during its reign from 1933 to 1945. Among those persecuted were Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian denomination whose beliefs and practices placed them in direct opposition to Nazi ideology. Unlike many other victims of the regime, Jehovah’s Witnesses were not targeted based on race or ethnicity, but because of their […]
Absolute pacifism—the belief that all forms of violence and warfare are unjustifiable—is morally appealing in theory but dangerously flawed in practice. History vividly illustrates situations where such unwavering commitment to nonviolence could lead to disastrous consequences. George Orwell, the renowned British writer and political thinker, recognized this peril during World War II, arguing compellingly against […]
On April 16, 1947, in the shadow of Auschwitz—a name now synonymous with human suffering and industrial-scale murder—justice was served in one of the most symbolically powerful moments of the post-war reckoning. Rudolf Höss, the former commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp and one of the principal architects of the Holocaust, was executed by hanging. The […]
On April 15,1945 the 63rd Anti-tank Regiment and the 11th Armoured Division of the British army liberated about 60,000 prisoners at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. One of the soldiers, 21 year old Corporal Ian Forsyth, called it “A place of darkness and death.” What the British troops encountered was described by the BBC’s Richard Dimbleby, […]
Nobuo Fujita was a Japanese naval officer and aviator who holds a unique place in World War II history—as the only person to conduct an aerial bombing of the continental United States. His story, however, goes far beyond this singular event, evolving into a remarkable tale of reconciliation, peace, and personal transformation. The War Years […]
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of conversation fit for the entertainment of rational creatures.”
“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. - J Robert Oppenheimer.
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