A Jill Lepore article in the New Yorker reminds us that U.S. adoption of torture in the aftermath of September 11 was a reversion to a grim historical mean—and an ineffective one at that. It’s a message that needs to replicate and replicate until it’s once again part of our cultural DNA.

Hell no we don’t need to arm teachers. My letter to the Chicago Sun-Times (published online only, unfortunately!).

Don’t arm our educators

It’s disgusting to see Illinois State Rifle Association executive Richard Pearson argue the best response to the Newtown, Conn., murders is to arm teachers, principals and custodians.

Maybe if the gun lobby hadn’t spent years pushing for easy access to military-grade firearms, the rest of us wouldn’t have to live in fear of the mass shootings that seem to happen almost monthly. We should be investing in mental-health treatment and cracking down on guns that can spray 30 bullets in a matter of seconds. If America decides to answer our gun problem by ensuring kindergarten teachers are strapped in the classroom, we might as well throw in the towel now.

Isn’t this just how you knew Mitt Romney talked about “the help” when none of us were around?

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

Published in the Sun-Times today, in response to analysis from know-nothing business columnist Terry Savage claiming that maintaining tax cuts for the millionaires among us is the right thing to do–and willl really stimulate the economy this time!

I would have liked to elaborate more, but sadly they have their print letters at two paragraphs max these days. Gotta save room for the syndicated columnists.

Savage wrong on tax cuts
Does Terry Savage really think maintaining Bush-era tax cuts for the richest Americans is going to boost the economy? We’ve heard that same story for 10 years now and it hasn’t panned out. Better to return top tax rates to what they were during the Clinton years (Remember? When people had jobs?) and start paying down our deficit.

James Seidler, North Center