For these four pieces, the full article is linked within the headline of each.

New group wisely tries to dissuade the young from socialism (Aug. 16): It is all too easy to sneer at the astonishing ignorance of the half of all younger Americans who say they would prefer living in a socialist country. It is much harder to do something about it. Kudos for a new non-profit organization, Young Americans Against Socialism, for embarking on that mission.

YAAS’ founder and CEO, Morgan Zegers, ran a credible campaign for the New York State Assembly in 2018, the same year she graduated from American University. On video she is almost preternaturally engaging, smiling, upbeat. While an observer must wait to see how an organization actually operates before pronouncing it worthy of support, YAAS’ stated mission and strategy both look admirable. The idea is to use the tools of social media particularly popular among young voters to tell powerful, true stories about the real horrors of socialism. …

Hickenlooper was too rational for today’s Democratic extremists (Aug. 15): As former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper drops out of the presidential race, the Democratic Party should be ashamed that he proved too “moderate” for its nomination.

The only real waves Hickenlooper made in his short-lived presidential adventure was when he was booed unmercifully for insisting, quite sensibly, that capitalism is a system worth savingwhile socialism is, well, idiotic. That this bit of basic common sense is seen by Democratic activists as a detriment is a sign that the party has gone ideologically loco….

Labor Department wisely tries to protect faith-based groups ( Aug. 14): Acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella didn’t let his temporary status stop him from advancing a key new policy guidance Aug. 14 — one that should redound very much to the benefit of religious liberty. Let’s hope the proposed new rule makes it all the way through the regulatory process.

Pizzella and his aides describe the proposed rule as “clarifying civil rights protections for religious organizations.” Technically, that’s true, but it’s a bit of an understatement. What it really does is re-expand protections that had been misguidedly narrowed by the Obama administration. …

The ABA withdraws from its assault against romance (Aug. 13): The American Bar Association on Monday avoided a massive violation both of common sense and of constitutional due process rights. Let’s hope its pullback from serious error marks a move toward the revival of cultural norms, rather than legal strictures, to govern complicated areas of human interaction.

At issue was a so-called “affirmative consent” resolution. In its earlier iterations, this resolution effectively could have set a standard by which someone could be charged with sexual assault not just if he continued physical overtures after being told “no,” but if he undertook any overtures before specifically requesting permission. Imagine a high school senior being charged with assault for brushing the lips of his prom date without first stopping himself and asking, out loud, “May I kiss you?”…

 

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