The Periscope Post

The best opinion writing from Sunday’s papers, all in one place. Brought to you by Caroline Crampton.

Andrew Rawnsley in The Observer examines the truth behind the new coalition government, and concludes that David Cameron is secretly pleased not to have to face certain elements of his party alone. He is wary of the right, as demonstrated by his infiltration of the 1922 Committee this week and his appointment of Ken Clarke as Lord Chancellor – Clarke being, in Rawnsley’s opinion, the last vestige of the “moderate, pro-European, Christian Democrat” wing of the party. Cameron might be making it up as he goes along, but “if a grand realignment [of your party] was your intended endgame, this is how you’d start.”

Dominic Lawson in The Sunday Times takes a look at the long history of political lying, with particular reference to the recent revelations that a frontrunner for a Connecticut Senate seat invented his own participation in military service and, despite this, will be continuing his campaign. Lawson examines the difference between “misspeaking” and “lying”, and finds that in some cases, “many will still prefer to believe the lie.”

Alasdair Palmer in The Sunday Telegraph muses on the production this week of the first ever synthetic DNA. He writes that despite the hype, “reality turns out to be much more prosaic” – Dr Venter has not “created life”, just “mimicked it.” Fears of cloning or germ warfare is far-fetched, he says. The really scary part is that this research has debunked the “intangible, miraculous glory of life.” It forces us to accept that “there are only molecules and the void.”

An editorial in The New York Times points out that this week could see the reversal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy towards gays in the US armed forces, as the repeal could be attached to the defence budget due for a vote this week. Despite the fact that “election-year nervousness is evident among some supporters”, this could just be the end of “a culture war scar on military honor that… denies qualified gay men and lesbians the chance to defend their country.”

Deborah L. Rhode in the Washington Post analyses the state of discrimination in the world today, and finds that “looks are the last bastion of acceptable bigotry.” It isn’t just about obesity, she writes. “16 percent of workers reported being victims of appearance discrimination more generally” – a figure similar to those who report gender or racial discrimination. And this extends to the law as well as the workplace. According to studies, “unattractive plaintiffs receive lower damage awards.” Legal remedy for such discrimination is difficult, but worth trying, because it “could reflect our principles of equal opportunity and raise our collective consciousness when we fall short.”

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