Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Religious Freedom? Not really!

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Freedom (n.): 1. The condition of being free of restraints. 2. Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression. 3a. Political independence. 3b. Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty.

This is excerpted from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. You can read the whole entry here. I think it’s worth reminding everybody what the word freedom actually means, because a lot of people have some pretty wrong-headed ideas about it.

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King of Pop a Reincarnated Lipizzan?

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Pop icon Michael Jackson surprised fans and associates earlier today when he announced that he is the reincarnation of a Lipizzan horse, according to past-life hypnosis. Lipizzan horses are a small, sturdy breed of horse known for having black coats at birth which gradually turn white between five and eight years later.

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‘Partial Birth’ Abortion Policy

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(Written for Prof. Edner’s Public Policy Making [GOVT364] class at George Mason University.)

Introduction

Intrauterine cranial decompression abortions, alternatively called ‘intact dilation and extraction (D&X)’ or ‘partial birth’ abortions, are one of the most controversial issues to make their way through the public policy process in years. Some consider the procedure a protected part of a woman’s right to an abortion (under Roe v. Wade), while others consider the procedure a barbaric form of murder.

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Earlier and Earlier

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I turned on the radio some time the week before Thanksgiving week, and flipped through a few of my stations to see what everybody was playing. To my horror, DC’s soft-rock station—97.1 WASH FM—had switched to an all-Christmas-music format in anticipation of the big holiday on December 25th.

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The Kingdon Policy Window Model and Its Application to the New York Public Smoking Ban

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(Written for Prof. Casamayou’s Public Policy Cycles/Public Health [GOVT490] seminar class at George Mason University.)

Introduction

Recently, there have been moves in several jurisdictions to ban or limit smoking in public. There is no question that smoking is dangerous to the smoker, but the smoker has made the choice to pick up the cigarette. Smoking bans represent a recognition of the dangers cigarette smoke poses to nonsmokers nearby, including those who are exposed to smoke in their workplace.

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Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.