Gay Marriage: Or, How Not to Make a Slippery Slope Argument

By Whet Moser

Opponents of gay marriage often resort to slippery-slope hypotheticals along the lines of: "but what about polygamy?" It's not out of context, but it is pretty much the opposite. Anyone actually worried about gay marriage leading to polygamy shouldn't be. Read more

Global Warming and Drought in the Midwest: Expect More of the Same?

By Whet Moser

What does climate science tell us about the possibility of future droughts in the Midwest? Year to year it will remain unpredictable, but we should be concerned about our luck, and the odds of drought, getting worse. Read more

Homicide, Social Efficacy, and Poverty in Chicago

By Whet Moser

From homicide and heat waves in Chicago to New York's recovery from Sandy Hook: the importance of "neighborhood effects" and "collective efficacy" on crime and other critical issues of public health. Read more

Chicago Homicides in 2012: All Over But the Theorizing

By Whet Moser

The total comes to 506, an increase of 71 over 2011 and 2010. The conventional wisdom is looking towards weather and the disbanding of specialized gang units as the causes. Can Garry McCarthy keep up his long game on crime through 2013? Read more

Photos of the Shrinking Mississippi River

By Whet Moser

In a couple days, the Mississippi River may shut down shipping traffic in the next couple days, due to low water levels on the Illinois-Missouri border; in a couple weeks, the river could be lower at St. Louis than it's ever been. Read more

The Atom Bowl: The Strangest New Year's Bowl Game Ever

By Whet Moser

On a field covered in glass shards and surrounded by the ruins of Nagasaki, Bears great Bullet Bill Osmanski led the Nagasaki Bears over Notre Dame Heisman winner Angelo Bertelli on New Year's Day 1946. Read more

Will the Dems’ Supermajority in Illinois Be Their Kryptonite?

By Whet Moser

SUPER SCREWED?: Why Madigan and Co. could be in trouble Read more

Von Freeman, New Year's Eve, 1983 and 2010

By Whet Moser

The legendary saxophonist, who died this year at the age of 88, captured in two different New Year's Eve performances, including one of the last he'd ever give: 2010, at the Green Mill. Read more

Chicago: On the Brink of Its Warmest Year Ever

By Whet Moser

There's a good chance Chicago will close out 2012 today with an average temperature of 54.5 degrees for the year, breaking the record set in 1921. Cities across the country are breaking that record, as is the U.S. as a whole. Read more

The 2012 Bears: A Bad Season Against Good Teams Gets Lovie Smith Fired

By Whet Moser

The Bears started strong with a weak schedule, then collapsed against a long string of good teams—again struggling with their offense, despite the addition of Brandon Marshall. Having tried replacing quarterbacks, coordinators, and wide receivers, Lovie was next. Read more

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