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Review–Old Sparky
My copy of Old Sparky—The Electric Chair and the History of the Death Penalty arrived the day after a federal jury ended 14 hours of deliberation during which they concluded that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev deserved death for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon attack. This was no accident. I requested the copy as a means of examining Read more
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Hands Off My Free Speech (Round II)
A very important American institution has come under attack. I’m not talking about those resonating pillars of freedom enshrined in the Bill of Rights, the First and Second Amendments. I’m not talking about the Bill of Rights or the Constitution at all. This American institution is far more sacred than any of that. This American institution gave us Read more
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Winning Big at the County Fair
I could do without the county fair. I don’t like crowds. I’d rather not stand in line for pricey food known to cause obesity and heart attacks. I don’t care for the “Twirling Tots” act on center stage advertising just how little talent exists at the local dance school, and I think Mutts Gone Nutts Read more
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Arsenal of Democracy
Dear Grandpa, Today a couple dozen World War II aircraft buzzed the National Mall. They flew in honor of the 70th anniversary of VE Day. You can picture the scene: you worked in DC for three decades after leaving the Pacific behind. They flew from the west over the Lincoln Memorial, past your old worksite at Read more
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Hands Off My Free Speech
Hate-speech promoter Pam Geller reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld’s dentist, Tim Whately and his quest for total joke-telling immunity. When Jerry tells Father Curtis he thinks Whately converted to Judaism for the jokes, the priest asks, “And this offends you as a Jewish person?” “No,” says Jerry. “It offends me as a comedian.” Geller’s irrational defense of Read more
Ben East Books 