Two from the Philosophy Side

Are You a Liberal?  On this I will point out that I do not qualify as a liberal, but I take exception to his statement that the death penalty is EVER justified on the principle that one may not do evil that good may come of it.  Killing another when efforts less than that can preserve life and society is always and everywhere evil.  There are other quibbling points--but this is the main one.  One need not be a liberal to deny the efficacy, utility, or morality of the death penalty. But the test is about a nexus of attitudes.  I do not always disagree with the points from the Philosopher's point of view-but disagree in my own way.  However, I doubt I would qualify as a conservative either.

And

The ever-pernicious philosophy of  Ayn Rand--on Abortion 

I think if one tried very, very hard, one could come up with a philosophy and way of living that was more pernicious than that of Ms. Rand--but one would be hard-pressed under normal circumstances to do so.

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