Pat Robertson reminds Glenn Reynolds of the true meaning of “idiotarian.” [*]
Naturally, the President of the United States hasn’t had a word to say on the subject of a suggested terrorist action directed at an agency of the United States government. Maybe the discussion of “loyalty down” as an attribute of leadership came at one of the National Guard sessions he didn’t bother to show up for.
And the civility-mongers who keep telling Democrats not to be rude to that nice Mr. Bush are also curiously silent about an expression for which “uncivil” would be an unduly kind evaluation. So are the people who made such a huge fuss about Paul Wellstone’s memorial service.
It will be interesting to see whether anyone in the Republican Party tells Mr. Robertson that his help isn’t needed in the next election.
I’m not holding my breath.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
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