Though it is often invoked in debates over religion and politics in the U.S., the phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear anywhere in the U.S. constitution. Its origin is a letter from Thomas Jefferson describing the effects of the first amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually evoked the phrase in settling a case, and it has become a kind of shorthand for referring to the religious aspects of the first amendment ever since.…

For a guy who's always telling his wife she's too rigid about following the rules, I sure seem to be obsessed with them in this blog. This week's target? People who keep using their electronic devices on the plane during takeoff and landing. That's one rule I always follow, and I really wish…

You may have heard about the recent Wall Street Journal article titled "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior." The author, Amy Chua, is a Chinese-American mother who has created a…

I hear a lot of talk about something called "Net Neutrality" these days. Toward the end of last year, the…