My latest letter to the editor

... is here, in the Science Times section of The New York Times:

Re “Prison and the Poverty Trap” (Feb. 19): The article shows that the war on drugs has harmed people like Carl Harris on two levels. First, it has distorted incentives and created an underground market that is both more lucrative and more violent than the aboveground economy. Second, the long prison terms associated with the underground market cause a breakdown of families and communities.

If those in power are serious about the poverty trap, they should be serious about not setting it up in the first place.

In the Catholic Church, life imitates The Onion.

From The Onion:

VATICAN CITY—Calling forgiveness "one of the highest virtues taught to us by Jesus," Pope John Paul II issued a papal decree Monday absolving priest-molested children of all sin.

From Cardinal Mahoney's blog:

In the past several days, I have experienced many examples of being humiliated. In recent days, I have been confronted in various places by very unhappy people. I could understand the depth of their anger and outrage--at me, at the Church, at about injustices that swirl around us.

Thanks to God's special grace, I simply stood there, asking God to bless and forgive them.

Stuff gay men supposedly like: 21. Poppers

According to articles like this, poppers are some huge gay male sacrament, "one thing we have yet to sell, condemn, or disown in the quest for equality ... the homosexual peyote." Yet strangely enough, I do not know a single gay man of my age or younger who shows the slightest interest in them. Perhaps poppers, like a belief that Social Security will still be there when we need it, are something for previous generations.

Have I mentioned Marco Rubio's water bottle in the last 15 minutes?

In the State of the Union speech, Obama proposed doing more of what we know doesn't work, so how do my liberal friends react? They can't shut up about Marco Rubio's water bottle. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost start to think that they were using a diversionary tactic.

What are gay men up to? How not to find out (2)

On Queerty.com, we read this (borderline NSFW):

STUDY: Most Gay Men Prefer Their Guys Naturally Hairy

According to a survey conducted by Manhunt, gay men prefer their partners to leave their body hair alone.

More than 27,000 Manhunt members were asked which body parts they like their partners to manscape and, surprisingly, most wanted everything left the way God made it.

I have read other studies that "show" the exact opposite. You can "prove" whatever you want if you don't worry about silly little things like non-representative data samples and self-selection bias, which many people in the LGBT media evidently do not.

Yes, I do know better than to expect quality journalism from sites like Manhunt. It does not follow that supposedly more serious sites have to go along.