The passing scene: Links & comments 7/17/14

And now: The criminalization of parenthood by Radley Balko for the Washington Post.

The day I left my son in the car by Kim Brooks for Salon.

The late A. Powell Davies, a Unitarian minister, wrote a book called The Urge to Persecute.  It seems as if the urge to persecute, when denied its historic outlets (gays, Communists), looks for new outlets (cigarette smokers).  Parenting is another example.  My parents felt free to leave me to my own devices without being second-guessed by busybodies and the police.

We May Be Approaching Peak Porn by Brandon McGinley for The Federalist.

I don’t believe in going after people who read and view pornography in the privacy of their own homes.  The ubiquity of pornography, even for those who prefer to avoid it, is another matter.

I clean high school bathrooms, and my new $15/hour salary will change everything by Raul Meza for the Washington Post.

Affluent and middle-class Americans ought not begrudge a decent wage to the people who do the work that makes the quality of their lives possible.

Tags: Free Range Children, Google, Parenthood, Pornography