Leigh M. Johnson

Trials for Terrorists

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Human Rights, Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 7 Comments

Earlier this month, Senator Lindsay Graham (R-South Carolina) introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of Justice Department funds for prosecuting alleged 9/11 plotters in federal courts. The aim of the bill (and a similar one introduced in the House by Representative Frank Wolf from Virginia) is to tie the Obama administration’s hands and…

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Outbursts I’ve Considered, Then Thought Better Of…

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Open Source Pedagogy, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive, Teaching 6 Comments

I don’t think I’ve said so officially on this blog yet, but the NBC sitcom “Community” is one of the funniest things on television in a long, long time. It’s about a group of ne’er-do-well’s attending community college who accidentally fall into a Spanish “study group” together. Much hilarity ensues. The group’s Spanish professor, Señor…

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The Things They Take With Them From Class

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Open Source Pedagogy, Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Teaching 1 Comment

I’m inclined to just post this image without any explanation at all. It’s a snapshot of a status update I saw on Facebook yesterday in reference to my colleague Dr. Grady and myself. Grady is teaching Kant’s first Critique right now, and I just began teaching Marx in my 19th C. Philosophy course. (You can…

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More On Tenure

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive, Teaching Comments Off on More On Tenure

The Chronicle of Higher Education has a follow-up piece on the Amy Bishop story called “Reactions: Is Tenure a Matter of Life and Death?”, in which they ask several academics (at varying levels of seniority) to repond to the questions: What are the psychological effects of academic culture, particularly on rising scholars? Can or should…

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Dark Side of Theory

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Human Rights, Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Weak Humanism 9 Comments

A few days ago, I posted an entry on this blog (“The Orchid Hypothesis“) about an article I had read in The Atlantic and found interesting. The Atlantic article was about a series of experiments and theoretical speculations that seemed to challenge some of our orthodox assumptions about the relationship between genetics and behavior, and…

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Rove at Rhodes: A Master Class in Sophistry

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Human Rights, Memphis, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive, Torture 7 Comments

This past Wednesday evening, exactly one year to the day after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, I attended “An Evening with Karl Rove” at Rhodes College. Rove was invited by the Student Lecture Board with support from the Young America’s Foundation, and he delivered a “closed” address to Rhodes students, faculty, staff and alumni….

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This Is Now An “Award Winning” Blog

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Memphis, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive 2 Comments

You can read the whole story here of how my blog came to receive the illustrious “Chuck Norris Stamp of Approval.” I’m truly honored, I think.

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Cornel West’s Note to Obama: “How Deep Is Your Love For Poor And Working People?”

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Obama, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive, Weak Humanism 5 Comments

Just a couple of days ago, BBC News posted a video message from Princeton Professor Cornel West to President Barack Obama, on the occasion of Obama’s first anniversary in office. Unfortunately, the video itself cannot be embedded here, but if you click on West’s picture to the left, it will take you to the BBC…

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Et Tu, SOTU?

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Obama, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 4 Comments

Not quite a year ago, Obama delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress. It was technically too early in his tenure to count as a “State of the Union” address, but it was effectively that. We still had not come down off the high of his electoral victory yet, and Obama’s 2/25/09…

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President Obama’s First State of the Union Address (Video and Transcript)

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Obama, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 1 Comment

“Madam Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans, Our Constitution declares that from time to time the president shall give to Congress information about the state of our union. For 220 years, our leaders have fulfilled this duty. They’ve done so during periods of prosperity and tranquility, and they’ve done…

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