In the US, some states allowed betting on horse races, when most other gambling was still illegal. (I think the argument was that horse racing needed gambling, in order to "improve the breed&quo… (View Post)

FPT: Robert Heinlein's writings still have the ability to provoke controversy. Most of it, I am sorry to say, does not recognize the range of his thinking. His early novel, "Beyond this Horizon&… (View Post)

FPT: Here's a lengthy discussion of the "women and children first" principle, and how it grew in the 19th century: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_children_first Most famous example… (View Post)

Thanks for this overview -- which I'll have to think about. In the US, most gambling was banned in most states, and then has come back in two ways: State-run lotteries, and Indian casinos. (The India… (View Post)

Here's an interesting detail: "The effort to send the Ukraine bill back to committee failed, 88-336." So there were Republicans (24, probably) who were willing to make it sure is passed tod… (View Post)