Little is more quintessentially American than asserting the right to change course. The Declaration of Independence hinges on this passage from lawyer, advocate, president, and slavery investor Thomas Jefferson: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, […]
For the beauty of the Earth
I haven’t lived anywhere I’m more conscious of “the fragility of each breath” than New York City. The density of traffic fumes and tobacco clouds, and occasionally the pungent odor of marijuana, too—all of these pollutants make it easy to notice my breath and the quality of air I’ve taken for granted until now. When […]
Reader Review 12: Systems and Progress
The Reader Review series was a 2014 experiment in rounding up of some of the most thoughtful or provocative articles and videos I came across online. I’m still deciding whether to continue it in 2015, but either way, this will be the last edition of the year. Thank you for reading along with me! Brentin Mock draws a […]
From Milton’s Areopagitica
Sometimes it’s the 400-year-old articles that speak most clearly. John Milton’s Areopagitica, a treatise from the early days of the English parliament, was inspired by a 1643 law that required new books, pamphlets, and papers to be reviewed and licensed by the new English government before publication and reprinted only when approved. In this tract, Milton, […]
Revised Govt Classification System Proposed
Proposed: 14 updates to the Freedom of Information procedures that keep “too many documents classified.” #FOIA The current classification and declassification systems are outdated and incapable of dealing adequately with the large volumes of classified information generated in an era of digital communications and information. — Nancy Soderburg
