Sunday Reading

There is nothing quite like reading well-written articles to pass a lazy Sunday, and these articles are something that I can trust my Twitter folks to supply. Hope you guys enjoy the posts.

Glenn Greenwald's "Practicalities v. principles: the prime Beltway affliction" describes accurately the biggest problem Beltway journalists have today:

Dispensing with core Constitutional principles in the name of "practical considerations" -- and treating ludicrous, bad faith claims with respect -- creates a facade of reasonableness. But there's nothing reasonable about it. It's intellectually barren and, worse, is the prime enabler for why our political leaders stray so far and so frequently from those principles.It's why they break the law with impunity and know they can.

(via @jayrosen_nyu)

Bob Herbert's op-ed on NYT argues that we have missed the actual "teachable moment" from the Skip Gates arrest that most people have missed:

New York City cops make upwards of a half-million stops of private citizens each year, questioning and frequently frisking these men, women and children. The overwhelming majority of those stopped are black or Latino, and the overwhelming majority are innocent of any wrongdoing. A true “teachable moment” would focus a spotlight on such outrages and the urgent need to stop them.

(via @harrislacewell)

Last but not least, Professor Gwee Li Sui's "Voltaire in Singapore" over at QLRS that talks about Voltaire, and the twisted context that his work was misrepresented by Dr Thio Li-ann, and why civil tolerance is not a weakness:

A standard that fails to be reciprocal – by telling others to defend "to the death" a right not extended to them in return – disqualifies its own attempt to forge a more satisfying form of civil relationships. What this neglects is a simple truth: the support for another's freedom is not weakness but, as Voltaire knew too, a point where religion and society actually meet, a unique sacred moment in secular practice.

(via @lindajoelle)