Andrew (and a swelling host of readers): I asked for a politician who
“PROUDLY CLAIMED to be socially conservative but fiscally liberal.” All
suggestions so far have been apologetic about either the one thing or the
other (with the possible exception of De Gaulle, about whom I don’t know
enough). Ramesh: Surely one factor in the rise of prison rape–which I
feel sure was wellnigh unknown a generation ago–has been the striking down
of the very strong social taboo on male-male buggery. This taboo was
universal across all cultures, primitive and civilized, and even including
those that tolerated male-male erotic bonding, until the rise of the “gay
rights” movement in the modern West. I’m not saying that this is the only
factor, or even the major factor, but it must surely be **a** factor.