Back in December, Peter Singer and Agata Sagan wrote a piece in the Guardian arguing on behalf of robot rights. I took exception here as SHS, my headline being, “Robots Will Never be People and Should Never Have Rights.” Singer and Sagan have now taken exception to my exception in . . . . Continue Reading »
The mass media are reporting today that an experiment at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL or “Fermilab” for short) has just announced some results that could be of great significance, and may be of relevance to how matter—and therefore how we ourselves—came to be. . . . . Continue Reading »
This is what happens when a country jumps off a vertical moral cliff. First, the euthanasia numbers are climbing dramatically. From the story:Last year, 700 official cases of euthanasia were reported. The figure is 40 percent up on the year before, as 2008 only had 500 cases. Experts . . . . Continue Reading »
As my wife and I were leaving to go down to the town hall to vote in the primary, my wife told our twelve-year-old that she was going to vote for the candidate she favored. He asked, perfectly seriously, “How many times?” And he’s never even been to Chicago. Or else he . . . . Continue Reading »
The novelist Piers Paul Read (a devout Catholic and author of an enjoyable book of popular theology called Hell and Other Destinations ) describes The Face of Catholic Dissidence : There is no irony or humour in his writing. The style is heavy, relentless, academic: the author comes across as . . . . Continue Reading »
So Richard Blumenthal, attorney general of leading Democratic candidate for Senate, lied about serving in Vietnam . As a veteran I suppose I should be outraged that a fellow Marine would make such dishonest claims about serving in Vietnam. I do consider such attempts at deceipt sloppy and sad, . . . . Continue Reading »
“Frankly, I’m sick of this crap”—in America magazine, Fr. James Martin on James Carroll’s latest outburst about priest celibacy. . . . . Continue Reading »
In the news today, Damian Thompson reports on the “tired, trendy, dated music” now being scheduled for the papal Mass in Coventry during the pope’s visit to England this fall—including “One of the most hideous of all folk hymns, ‘Make Me a Channel of Your . . . . Continue Reading »
In today’s On the Square, Wesley Smith discusses organ donation and presumed consent laws : [L]egislation (A-9865) just introduced by New York Assemblyman Richard Brodsky would turn the current approach for obtaining consent inside-out. Brodksy’s bill would require every applicant for a . . . . Continue Reading »
In Austria and France, some gay couples are trying to get the right to full marriage—while some heterosexuals are trying to get the right to “ half marriage ”: As the number of straight French couples opting for Pacs [domestic partnership agreements] has grown, the number of . . . . Continue Reading »
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