Wesley J. Smith

The new Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board-approved advance medical . . . . Continue Reading »

Vermont is San Francisco as a state, and thus it always bears watching when its part time legislature is in session.  First, as I predicted, Vermont did not legalize assisted suicide.  That’s good.Second, it did establish a publicly funded health system.  From the Boston Globe . . . . Continue Reading »

Christopher Hitchens may be the greatest living English-writing writer, at least in the short form.  I envy his raw prose power and find him compelling, even when I disagree vigorously with, or am cut by, his views. (We’ve had two previous discussions around Hitchens at SHS, the first, . . . . Continue Reading »

A few months ago, as noted here at SHS, a European Court magistrate ruled that ESCR products are not patentable because they are an industrial use of the human embryo, which is not permitted under European law.   Since then, the usual advocacy push back has furiously commenced in science . . . . Continue Reading »

. . . . Continue Reading »

Bioedge highlights an apparent ongoing meme in some bioethical and science circles that it was wrong for people to be happy at the death of OBL, that somehow “revenge” is something out of our primitive past that has no place in the modern world. From the article: In the profusion of . . . . Continue Reading »

A scientific study has demonstrated that boredom is good for you—and society.  From the Guardian story:Through a series of seven studies, researchers found that boredom increases prosocial motivations that impact on positive behaviours that last far beyond the length of time of the boring . . . . Continue Reading »

I have written previously that I first became concerned about the question of bestiality when a Washington State legislator sought to outlaw the practice and proponents had difficulty articulating why sex with animals should be illegal, with most reduced to muttering about the animals not giving . . . . Continue Reading »

Our economic recovery needs a big shot of adrenaline,. Yes, we had 268,000 new jobs added last month.  But about with 25% (62,000) came from McDonald’s! From the story:The world’s biggest restaurant chain reported that it received one million applicants for open positions, which . . . . Continue Reading »

The UK’s rationing board NICE will soon be defanged, but its teeth still remain sharp.  The current victims, leukemia patient’s whose lives could be saved by a drug the rationers have deemed not cost/benefit worthy. From the Telegraph story: Leukaemia sufferers in England have been . . . . Continue Reading »