Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Here is Ann Coulter's latest column.

While [Peter] Singer's and [Tom] Regan's theoretical approaches are fundamentally different, they converge on a number of important points. First, both argue that all conscious, sentient animals with desires and interests deserve equal moral consideration (regardless of whether these animals are human or nonhuman). The practical implications of their views also converge. Both approaches entail that most contemporary uses of animals—factory farming of animals for meat, eggs, and milk; animal experimentation; use of animals for entertainment in zoos and circuses; hunting and trapping animals in the wild; and so on—are morally unjustified and should be eliminated. Both authors consider the attitudes of most people toward animals to be nothing more than an arbitrary prejudice in favor of our own kind that many now refer to pejoratively as "speciesism" (a term coined by Richard Ryder). Singer, in particular, likens speciesism to racism and sexism, and uses the analogy to argue that a new liberation movement is needed to combat this deep-seated but unjustified prejudice and the many forms of animal exploitation that flow from it.

(Mylan Engel Jr and Kathie Jenni, The Philosophy of Animal Rights: A Brief Introduction for Students and Teachers [New York: Lantern Books, 2010], 27)

Another street musician in Glasgow. Click to enlarge.

As crazy as it sounds, I began my 55th year of schooling today. I was born on 7 April 1957, which makes me 59 years old. Here are the salient dates:

• August 1962: Began kindergarten (in Metamora, Michigan).
• August 1963: Began first grade (in Metamora, Michigan).
• August 1969: Began junior high school, i.e., seventh grade (in Vassar, Michigan).
• August 1971: Began high school, i.e., ninth grade (in Vassar, Michigan).
• August 1975: Began college (at the University of Michigan-Flint).
• August 1979: Began law school (at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan).
• August 1983: Began graduate school (at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona).
• August 1988: Began teaching (at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas).
• August 1989: Began teaching (at the University of Texas at Arlington).

You might say that some of this was schooling and some teaching, and that's true, but I never stop learning. It's why I love teaching. If I weren't learning, it would bore me to tears. My courses this semester are Logic (PHIL 2311) and Social and Political Philosophy (PHIL 3330). I have 30 students in each course. We meet twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All we did today is go over the syllabus. The courses start in earnest on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to a great semester.

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Disraeli Gears (1967). John Sullivan made me post this.

Laura Ingraham criticizes agenda-driven (which is to say biased) polling and prognostication. Here's my take. Unless you can prove to me that you correctly predicted that Donald Trump would win the Republican nomination for president, you have nothing to say to me. Why would I believe you now, when you're saying that Trump will lose in November, when you failed to foresee that he would secure the nomination in July? Do you take me for a fool?

To the Editor:

Those in the “Never Trump” movement should look to history to guide their rhetoric and voting behavior. Because Hillary Clinton said at a CNN debate in October 2015 that she hopes to “build on the successes of President Obama,” those in the “Never Trump” movement need to ask themselves two questions: 1) Was the United States better off with Barack Obama as president rather than Mitt Romney or Senator John McCain?; and 2) Did Republicans who either did not vote or voted for Mr. Obama in those elections make wise voting decisions by contributing to Mr. Obama’s wins?

If the answers to these two questions are “no,” those in the “Never Trump” movement should not contribute to a Clinton victory in 2016 by either not voting at all or voting for Mrs. Clinton. Rather, they should cease their anti-Trump rhetoric, vote for Mr. Trump and encourage others to do the same.

MICHAEL B. ABRAMSON

Atlanta

Note from KBJ: I have two words for any conservative or Republican (or both) who is thinking either of voting for Hillary Clinton, voting for a third-party candidate, or staying home on election day: "Supreme Court." Even if you think Donald Trump is the devil incarnate, you have sufficient reason to vote for him.

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