From The Chronicle, Richard Klein is against health: Why pleasure is our highest good; and happiness is an insight from Aristotle: What is it with the soft sciences, anyway, that its practitioners are so good at coming up with studies that border on the banal? Charities that work to make the government's policies better have a unique ability to take small investments and turn them into tremendous outcomes — if you're looking for bang for your philanthropic buck, they're the place to start. Is US wearing out its welcome in Afghanistan? Steve Clemons on the impact today and tomorrow of Chalmers Johnson. Darwinian Medicine: An interview with psychologist and evolutionary biologist Randolph M. Nesse. Jonathan Chait on how Ireland went from free market exemplar to big government exemplar. What Would Jesus Buy? Research shows that commerce and Christmas have a long history of coexistence, and the psychological effect may be generally positive. Well-Rounded: Eleri Lynn on a short history of corsetry, from whalebone to Lycra. “Killing is a drug to me”: Combat vet Charles D. Whittington’s college essay gets him banned from school. Might torture be its own reward? Many Americans are drawn to its aura of righteous retribution. An excerpt from Believing Bullshit: How Not To Get Sucked Into An Intellectual Black Hole by Stephen Law. What is the deal with economics, and what to do about it? According to a few economists, the answer is to watch Seinfeld. A review of Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J.: A Model Theologian by Patrick W. Carey. Sipping margaritas while the climate burns: Why the upcoming U.N. climate summit at Cancun could be just as disappointing as Copenhagen.
