Michael Austin - Independent Voter News (Page 3)

Two Myths of "Muslim Violence"

We are all familiar with the rough outlines of the narrative: Followers of Islam commit terrorist acts in numbers far out of proportion to their representation in the human family.

By Michael Austin

January 18, 2015

Bible, Koran, or Bhagavad Gita: Match The Quote with the Sacred Text

I have been surprised this week by how many of my friends and acquaintances are actually Islamic studies experts. Since the Charlie Hebdo shootings, I have talked -- online or in

By Michael Austin

January 13, 2015

Satire and Mockery in a Free Society

Malice never was his aim, He lash'd the vice but spar'd the name. No individual could resent, Where thousands equally were meant. His satyr points at

By Michael Austin

January 11, 2015

How to Win a War of Ideas

Judging from the comments on my most recent post, a non-trivial number of IVN Facebook followers believe that the United States should lead the way in eradicating Islam from

By Michael Austin

January 9, 2015

Let’s Not Give Terrorists the Holy War They Want

This week’s attack on the Paris newspaper Charlie Hebdo by violent Islamicists was a great tragedy and an unspeakable outrage. It was a vile, evil action by people who

By Michael Austin

January 8, 2015

“The Actual Vision”: A Poet’s Wish for the Day After Christmas

Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree, Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes -- Some have got broken -- and carrying them up to the attic.

By Michael Austin

December 26, 2014

"The Height to Be Superb Humanity": A Poet's Christmas Greeting to a New Democracy

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) thought a lot about what it meant to live in a democratic society. He was born at a time when self-government was a new thing—

By Michael Austin

December 21, 2014

Only Obama Can Go to Cuba

According to the political legend, only Nixon could go to China. As a communist country, China was one of our Cold War enemies. Any president who attempted to normalize relations

By Michael Austin

December 17, 2014

How to Lose a War on Terror

Discussions of the morality of torture have a bad habit of descending into a common game-theory scenario derived from the "Trolley Problem." It goes like this: imagine

By Michael Austin

December 12, 2014

Do Terrorists Have Due Process Rights?

Let America be America again.Let it be the dream it used to be.Let it be the pioneer on the plainSeeking a home where he himself is free.—Langston

By Michael Austin

December 11, 2014

Torture Is Wrong: Once You Accept this, Most of the Talking Points Don’t Matter

"Once there are things you refuse to do, you have things to do."--Mencius Torture is wrong. I don’t intend to try to prove this by a

By Michael Austin

December 9, 2014

The Worst Hyperbole EVER!!!! Crisis, Rhetoric, and the Problems of Democracy

When logic and proportionHave fallen sloppy dead ---"White Rabbit," by Jefferson Airplane Obama is the WORST president ever!!!!! His immigration order is the BIGGEST EXECUTIVE POWER GRAB IN

By Michael Austin

December 2, 2014