New to the site and trying to figure out where to begin? Our readers have given these ten features a remarkable amount of attention in 2006.
1. Types of Executions
My readers obviously have an eye for the macabre. No feature attracted more attention than my illustrated guide to eight types of executions, ranging from lethal injection and the electric chair to beheading and crucifixion. What's wrong with you people?See also:
2. Four Reasons to Support Gay Marriage and Oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment
The anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment came up for a vote again in 2006, and readers loved my lengthy argument in favor of marriage equality. I still think this is one of the best things I've ever written, in any medium.See also:
3. Top 10 "Obscene" Literary Classics
Long before Janet Jackson showed us her jewelry, the U.S. government spent considerable time and resources making sure that our pure, innocent minds were not corrupted by sexually licentious filth. Or something. Look back over the past few centuries at literary masterpieces that various salaried prudes have tried to kick under the furniture.See also:
4. Flag Burning and the Law
The Flag Desecration Amendment made the rounds again in 2006, and this feature looks back on where flag desecration laws came from, why they came to be (hint: it has nothing to do with George Washington and everything to do with cheesy advertisements), and slow, laborious process by which the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that they violate our free speech rights.See also:
5. Know Your Supreme Court: Illustrated Biographies of the Nine Current Justices
With Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito joining the Court for its 2006 session, readers were understandably curious about the lives and backgrounds of our nation's highest-ranking jurists.See also:
6. Comparing House and Senate Immigration Reform Bills
Immigration reform was the hot new topic of 2006, and many people wondered: What's all this talk of compromise legislation, and what will it really mean? With Congress now in Democratic hands, the dispute has been all but settled--the gentler Senate proposal is likely to now hold sway in both houses of Congress in 2007.See also:
7. Human Rights in North Korea
North Korea's nuclear ambitions were in the news this year, and readers frequently wondered what Kim Jong-il did in his spare time. This article frankly makes for some pretty depressing reading, but it's important to know what we're up against.See also:
8. Top 10 Anti-Abortion Myths
South Dakota's proposed abortion ban generated a great deal of interest, as did the proposed ban in my own home state of Mississippi. And we're not out of the woods yet--it's likely that many more states will propose abortion bans in 2007.9. Why the Fathers Founded
For my Fourth of July feature, I took a look back at how the British violated colonists' civil liberties--and how this ultimately led to the American Revolution. Many people don't realize just how ACLU-ish the revolutionary movement was.See also:
10. A Right to Bear Arms?
Hey, I'm just the messenger: Gun rights advocates and gun control advocates alike were up in arms (no pun intended) over this feature, which explains the Supreme Court's dubious reasoning vis-a-vis gun rights. Here's hoping that in 2007, the Court clears up 70 years of gibberish and finally gives us a meaningful, consistent interpretation of the Second Amendment.See also:
