‘Research’!

Oh man. Think your life is a mess? Feeling sorry for yourself? Grabba cuppa joe, and remember: journalists our your moral and intellectual superiors!

Alan has never denied owning multiple Web sites catering to people interested in the sexual practices known as BDSM (for bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism). It’s long-term research, he says, adding that the true focus and scope is, for the time being, a secret.

It almost certainly has nothing to do with his work for the Cascade Policy Institute, a conservative political think tank...