Michael Austin - Independent Voter News (Page 8)

The Only Antidote to Big Money in Politics Might Be Critical Thinking

I am not surprised, or even particularly disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision today to abolish some of the limitations on political donations. I can’t imagine it mattering

By Michael Austin

/ April 2, 2014

The Only Antidote to Big Money in Politics Might Be Critical Thinking

Vaccinations, Creationism, and Hobby Lobby—Oh, My!

“But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government health care mandate says that our family business must provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as

By Michael Austin

/ March 27, 2014

Religions We Like/Religions We Don’t: The Real Stakes in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby

Let’s first consider the two questions that everybody is asking. The first of these — Can the government force business to purchase a particular insurance product? — is a question for

By Michael Austin

/ March 26, 2014

Religions We Like/Religions We Don’t: The Real Stakes in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby

Crowdsourcing Outrage: The Legacy of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church

Fred Phelps, the recently deceased pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, was a small man who believed small things. His extreme views never moved beyond his small circle of followers.

By Michael Austin

/ March 21, 2014

Crowdsourcing Outrage: The Legacy of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church

'When You Buy Cheap Gas, You Shop with Putin': Warfare and Sacrifice in the 21st Century

Wars are won on the home front. We learned this in World War II. The soldiers fought bravely and hard, but what really won the war was the economic and

By Michael Austin

/ March 17, 2014

'When You Buy Cheap Gas, You Shop with Putin': Warfare and Sacrifice in the 21st Century

Picking Winners and Losers

If anybody is interested, my vote for Most Obnoxious Talking Point of 2014 is “government shouldn’t pick winners and losers.” This has become the universal answer to any form

By Michael Austin

/ March 11, 2014

Yes, Putin Is Like Hitler—but So Was James K. Polk

I broke my own rule this week and compared somebody to Hitler. It was only a little argumentum ad nazium. I suggested that Russian’s recent move to seize the

By Michael Austin

/ March 5, 2014

Yes, Putin Is Like Hitler—but So Was James K. Polk

Sympathy for Chamberlain

“Cheering crowds greeted Daladier in Paris and Chamberlin in London, when properly both men should have been stoned.”—Martha Gellhorn, August 25, 1938 Last night was one of those amazing

By Michael Austin

/ March 4, 2014

Religious Freedom in the Public Sphere

There are people in the world who have sincere religious objections to taking their clothes off in public places while total strangers stuff money in their underwear. These people should

By Michael Austin

/ February 25, 2014

What "Being Right" Means in a World of Value Judgments

Hard Times Here is a quick test that you can use to tell if you are wrong: if you think that every thing about your position on a controversial issue

By Michael Austin

/ February 23, 2014

What "Being Right" Means in a World of Value Judgments

If More People Have Guns, More People will Use Guns—and More People Will Die

We’ve all seen the stories: a father is shot in a movie theater for texting his four-year old daughter, a young man is shot in a car for playing

By Michael Austin

/ February 21, 2014

If More People Have Guns, More People will Use Guns—and More People Will Die

Why Conservative Utopias Don’t Work any Better than Liberal Ones

It turns out that Ayn Rand believed in Utopia too—what she described as the “Utopia of Greed.” This was my big takeaway when I read Atlas Shrugged last year

By Michael Austin

/ February 19, 2014

Why Conservative Utopias Don’t Work any Better than Liberal Ones