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Steven Waldman

For all of my readers who have argued that Islam is inherently violent and anti-democratic, what do you make of the shouts of “Allāhu Akbar” — “God is Great!” — by the Iranian protesters? Is it possible that Islam, like other faiths, can be used to fuel freedom as well as tyranny?

The most common argument I hear from pro-choice women in response to most anything I write on the subject is, “this simply is no one’s business but the woman’s.” Even if there is a moral dimension to this, it’s up to the woman to make the ethical calculus. That may be what pro-choicers believe —…

Religious conservatives have increased their campaign to label the Hate Crimes legislation as the “pedophile protection” act. An email from the American Family Associaiton declared: “If a mother hears that their child has been raped, and she slaps the assailant with her purse, she is now gone after as a hate criminal because this is…

The health care discussion seems to assume that for most Americans the big issues are either lowering cost or covering the uninsured. But to me, the part of the health care system most people seem most bothered about is the common practice of denying coverage based on pre-existing condition. If you have cancer or diabetes…

When it comes to abortion, my “common ground” fantasy involves a pro-life leader standing up and declaring, “We will be open to looking at family planning efforts, including contraception, to reduce the number of abortions.” This would be followed by a pro-choicer saying, “we accept that society would be better if there were fewer abortions.”…

In response to my post about the hate crimes bill, Commenter “Dean Myrick” writes: “I am against any kind of hate-crime legislation. My reasoning for this is three-fold: 1. There are already laws on the books that cover all of these crimes. These laws should be enforced to the fullest. 2. I do not believe…

Coral Ridge Ministries is working hard to defeat the “Hate Crimes” legislation being considered in Congress. A recent email declared: “If we don’t stop it now, it will become law, and that will mean a loss of liberty for Christians who stand up for the biblical truth that homosexual conduct is sin.” The bill, they’re…

Both sides have been throwing out dueling anecdotes to prove that late term abortions are either a) essential to saving the life of the mother b) involve a case of horrible fetal abnormality or c) are for entirely frivilous reasons. Suspecting that perhaps none of these examples quite present an accurate overall picture, I’ve been…

At least one person was reportedly killed during today’s Iran protests. I’m not sure if this is one of the victims. Andrew Sullivan has the tweets that came forth around the killing.

Chinese, Korean and Indian families in America appear to be using sex-selection techniques — including abortions based on gender — to maximize the odds of having boys, reports The New York Times: In those families, if the first child was a girl, it was more likely that a second child would be a boy, according…
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