There's nothing like staring at an inflatable bondage chair at the Continental Adult Shop over the lunch hour on Valentine's Day to make you positively optimistic about torture. On the front of the box, a pert and giggling school girl is tied to what looks like a giant black marshmallow with loose-fitting electrical tape. Compared to the news these days, it was almost chaste.

If only public perceptions of torture had stayed in the realm of windowless sex retailers or Hollywood epics like "Braveheart." [Read article]

Hardy not being a true libertarian

Traditionally, especially at institutions such as universities whose existence depend on open debate and the free exchange of ideas, the answer to obnoxious or disagreeable speech has always been more speech. For example, somebody bothered by the creative liberties Michael Moore took with the truth in "Bowling for Columbine" could publish a book like David Hardy's "Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man." [Read article]