Although bad news travels fast, good news often takes the scenic route. That appears to have been especially true during the Civil War. Although Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation became official on the first day of January 1863, word didn’t arrive in Texas until June 19, 1865. On that day . . . . Continue Reading »
It’s hard to see through the dust clouds and make sense of the present turmoil inside Iran, but a number of data points are worth considering. This is NOT an incipient color revolution, a democrats vs. dictators, moderates vs. neanderthals, good guys vs. bad guys contest. It is a nasty fight . . . . Continue Reading »
Last week, Stephen Barr and I had a discussion about a column by Discovery Institute fellow John West on the “new theistic evolutionists.” (See: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 ) Today, West added the last entry to his three post series responding to Barr: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 . . . . . Continue Reading »
A new study hypothesizes that human beings are more closely related to orangutans than to chimpanzees. From the story:University of Pittsburgh and the Buffalo Museum of Science. Reporting in the June 18 edition of the Journal of Biogeography, the researchers reject as “problematic” . . . . Continue Reading »
Today, Public Discourse features an article by First Things board member David Novak titled “Why We Should Oppose Same-Sex Marriage”: By calling attention to the traditional origins and character of marriage, I am not arguing from or even for the authority of tradition. Instead, I am . . . . Continue Reading »
When President Bush appointed Leon Kass to lead the President’s Council on Bioethics, the mainstream of the bioethics movement howled. Kass believes in intrinsic human dignity—and that is anathema to the predominate view. “Stacked deck,” they screamed. . . . . Continue Reading »
The Canadian novelist Randy Boyagoda recently published a fine and substantive discussion of the thought of Richard John Neuhaus in the July/August issue of THE WALRUS: ” Spiritual Citizenship: The life and times of Richard John Neuhaus .” It’s available online and well worth . . . . Continue Reading »
I recently wrote about the death of Jayne Murdock in Montana, who wanted assisted suicide but found no doctor willing to lethally prescribe. I was and am pleased with that—which is not to say that I didn’t want her to receive the best of care, or course I did—because . . . . Continue Reading »
We’ve had heavy rain in North Carolina this week and also, in the high country, dense fog. My mother, the children, and I discovered the latter while driving the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which rides the spine of the southern Appalachians, just below the Virginia state line. . . . . Continue Reading »
Earlier this week, members of the President’s Council on Bioethics were told by the White House that their services were no longer needed. President Obama’s decision was made and implemented in his typical style—gracious, pragmatic, and imprudent. According to the New York Times , . . . . Continue Reading »
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