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

To the Editor:

Re “French Towns Battle to Ban Muslim Women’s Beach Attire” (news article, Aug. 18):

This article is frankly appalling. France is essentially telling Muslim women that their desire to cover their bodies, dress modestly and be free of the “male gaze” is against Western values.

In the name of “laïcité,” or secularism, France is stripping women of a fundamental human right: the right to cover their bodies as they choose. Women of all faiths should always be free to choose how much of their bodies they cover. This choice should come from the individual, and must never be imposed from above.

In the name of secularism and with a false sense of upholding human rights, France is instead continuing to trample on a woman’s basic right to choose how to dress and how to cover—choices that are intrinsically linked to women’s rights and dignity.

NADIA QAZI

Chicago

Note from KBJ: Feminists have been telling us for decades that a woman who chooses to be a wife, mother, and homemaker is suffering from false consciousness, the remedy for which is a consciousness-raising session. Why are Muslim women who choose to cover their bodies not suffering from false consciousness? Where are the consciousness-raising sessions for Muslim women? O, the contradictions of modern progressivism!

Bill and Hillary Clinton have been lying for decades. Or have they? It depends on what a lie is. One school of thought is that S lies to T only if T has a right to the truth. If the person to whom I make an assertion has no right to the truth, then, even if I assert something that I believe to be false and even if I intend thereby to deceive, I have not lied. Is it possible that this is how Bill and Hillary Clinton view lying? Hillary is famous for saying that she and her husband are victims of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." If she believes that she has enemies who are trying to destroy her, then she probably believes that these enemies have no right to the truth; so when she makes false assertions to them, she is not lying—literally. It's not that she thinks it's a justifiable lie; she thinks it's not a lie. This also explains (1) why Bill's supporters weren't troubled by his repeated lies about Monica Lewinsky and (2) why Hillary's supporters aren't troubled by her repeated lies about Benghazi, sniper fire, her wealth, her health, and many other things. They don't view them as lies. Any thoughts?

Katherine and I went to a concert yesterday evening in Dallas (at the Gexa Energy Pavilion). The opening act was Cheap Trick, which you can see here in this image. The next act was Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, followed by Heart. Although I like Heart, I was most interested in seeing Cheap Trick, a band I have loved since 1977 (when its first album was released) but never seen in concert. Rain fell throughout the concert, but we were safely seated under the pavilion. Click to enlarge.

Addendum: Here is the set list from the concert (lifted from the band's website):

1. Hello There
2. Big Eyes
3. California Man
4. Lookout
5. The House is Rockin’
6. No Direction Home
7. Baby Loves to Rock
8. Waitin’ for the Man
9. The Flame
10. I Want You to Want Me
11. Dream Police
12. Surrender
13. Goodnight

This is disappointing, because no songs from the debut album were played. I consider that the band's best album. Here, for example, is "Taxman, Mr. Thief."

Here.

Here.

To the Editor:

In a better world, Hillary Clinton might run a purely positive campaign and win an electoral mandate for a progressive agenda. Today this is a luxury (and a risk) the nation cannot afford. Mrs. Clinton must not merely defeat Donald Trump; she must crush him and all he stands for.

American voters must be given the opportunity to utterly reject [sic] a Trump campaign based on racism, xenophobia and misogyny.

I am glad that Mrs. Clinton has offered progressive solutions to the nation’s challenges, but loading her campaign down with every Bernie Sanders supporter’s wish list will make it only harder to vanquish Donald Trump and Trumpism. When there’s so much to go negative about, go negative!

DAN HAMMER

Del Mar, Calif.

Note from KBJ: Donald Trump hasn't even gotten started on Hillary Clinton. By the time 8 November rolls around, Dan Hammer will be crying.

Karl Rove hates it that he's not running Donald Trump's campaign. Let Trump be Trump. He defeated 16 accomplished Republicans without Karl Rove's help. Nothing good can come from changing course. As we say in Texas, "Dance with them what brung ya."

William Kristol and his correspondent are deluded. They believe that Hillary Clinton would be a disaster for everything they believe in, but, because they weren't able to pick the person to oppose her, they're supporting her. This is proof, if you ever needed it, that having a doctoral degree from an Ivy League institution is compatible with imbecility.

Addendum: Please don't say that they're not supporting her. They're opposed to the only person who can defeat her. The natural and normal consequence of destroying the only thing that is capable of destroying what you hate is to bring into existence precisely what you hate. If that's not support, then I don't know what support is.

Storm at Sunup (1975).