Steve Kelman on Politics, Culture, and Life, 6.28.2022
Steve Kelman, Harvard Kennedy School prof, moderate Dem, pro free speech/anti cancel culture, pro tax rich, pro-Israel. Research improving gov performance, China interest. Blog reprints Facebook posts
Majority opinion on abortion
I read the whole (really really long) majority opinion in the Roe case to prepare for a Swedish TV appearance on the topic. Very notable to me was that a case that struck down the right to abortion did not really discuss or mention at all why abortion was wrong -- i.e. the kind of argument that normal people would engage in about the topic. Consistent with the "originalism" legal doctrine of the conservative majority, they were far more interested in demonstrating that every state prohibited abortion in 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment on which the pro-abortion rights people rely as a justification for allowing abortion, was adopted. The original Roe decision referred to a substantive argument for the right to abortion, involving a woman's right to privacy. This feature of the current decision removes it from the realm of everyday debates on the topic, keeping it in a separate legal world.
More guys wearing shorts
Am I the only person noticing that, in both Boston and Stockholm, more young guys are wearing shorts now than previous summers?
No masks in Stockholm
Hardly a single person anywhere in Stockholm is wearing a mask, including on the subway.
Operation Smile in Sweden
I was interested to see an ad on the commercial TV network in Sweden raising money for Operation Smile, the charity that arranges for cleft palate operations in Sweden. The ad is a Swedish translation of the Operation Smile ads one sees on TV in the US. This is a new method of fundraising for Sweden.
Jews in Sweden couldn’t become ministers until 1951
I am learning from a book on a prominent Swedish Jewish family written by a well-known journalist who is Jewish that in Sweden Jews were first authorized to serve as government ministers in 1951.
China stops Taiwan pineapples
The Times reports that China is now banning some imports of fish from Taiwan, following up on an earlier ban on Taiwan pineapples, an important crop for Taiwan. More bullying.
Flower crowns in Sweden
For Swedish midsummer, hosts on morning TV news program are wearing flower crowns.