Author: Joe White

What Should Be The State’s Role In Marriage? « ThinkMarkets:

I suggest that it should be the same as in contract law. In other words, the State should not define the terms of the relationship. It should allow the parties to do that for themselves and then simply enforce it. The current one-size-fits-all civil marriage should be abolished except as a default option for those who do not want to build their own contract.

Mario Rizzo hits the nail on the head.

The Financial White Paper: A Fabulous Tale, by Arnold Kling:

Once upon a time, there was a summer camp. To entertain the kids, the counselors handed out matches1, lighter fluid2, and newspapers3. The camp burned down.

Afterwards, a white paper was written, proposing more supervision by counselors. It called for a systemic counselor to watch out for camp-wide fire hazards, and it called for procedures to put out fires that are “too big to let burn.”

The white paper was written under the direction of two counselors, Larry and Tim, with input from another counselor, Ben.

The end.

1housing policy that encourages speculative purchases and subsidizes mortgage indebtedness
2tax policy that encourages banks and other firms to maximize debt relative to equity
3bank capital regulations that reward securitization and the creation of off-balance sheet entities

Threat Received over Opera
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Below is a photo of the threat letter and a press release about it. Please help us spread the word about this, and show your support by buying tickets and donating. For more information, please call (713) 533-9632.
Threat

WINNING WORK AT OPERA FESTIVAL SPARKING CONTROVERSY
‘Edalat Square,’ opening May 21, takes look at Islam, homosexuality

HOUSTON — The organizers of the second annual Opera Vista Festival suspected one of their featured operas would draw controversy. But when an anonymous letter threatening the founders of the Nova Arts Project arrived at founding director Amy Hopper’s doorstep, she realized the show had potential to ignite a firestorm.

“We received this letter that was all about ignorance and hate, and that’s the whole point of this opera — to confront ignorance and hate. It makes it even more important to tell the story,” Hopper said.

The opera is “Edalat Square,” one of two works that won Opera Vista’s inaugural festival competition in 2007 (think “American Idol” for opera composers). Written by Atlanta-based composer R. Timothy Brady, the opera recounts the true story of Mahmoud Asgari, 17, and Ayaz Marhoni, 16, who were hanged in Iran in 2005 for the crime of lavaat, or sex between two men. Brady was inspired by the story to craft a poetic work that offers an unblinking look at bigotry, but is also prayerful and mystical, said Viswa Subbaraman, artistic director and co-founder of Opera Vista.

“It’s an amazing appeal to the soul,” Subbaraman said. “It’s some of the most poignant music and lyrics in opera. I don’t know how you could watch it and not be moved.”

Because of its exploration of two hot-button topics — radical Islam and homosexuality — performances of “Edalat Square” have faced opposition before. At its world premiere at Emory University, the university’s president contemplated canceling the show because of complaints. Some critics have said the show is persecuting the Islamic faith, which festival organizers say it doesn’t. Others object to the homosexual content.

On May 5, Amy Hopper found out the show was already pushing buttons here in Houston. She opened her mailbox to discover a hand-stenciled, anonymous letter that said: “You are pigs to mix Islam with gays. You must stop! We will not let you do it.”

The festival’s organizers actually are glad the opera could spark debate or criticism. That’s part of the purpose of the performing arts — to provoke discussion and ignite the emotions, they said.

“Great art should open a discussion, and I think that’s what this opera does,” Subbaraman said. “Art has never existed in a vacuum — it often has a political bent, and that’s as it should be.”

“Edalat Square” will open the Opera Vista Festival at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 21, in the Wortham Theater Complex at the University of Houston. For more information and a schedule of operas being performed at the festival, visit www.operavista.org or www.novaartsproject.com/shows/ovf.

Nova Arts Project is a Houston-based, not-for-profit performing arts organization that seeks to recreate classics and inspire new works in a fearlessly theatrical way.

Opera Vista is dedicated to continuing the growth of the operatic tradition by producing fully-staged versions of new and contemporary operas, giving living composers a performance venue, and establishing and developing an audience for new opera. Opera Vista is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.