First Things asked me to opine on the recently introduced New York legislation (A-9865) to enact a presumed consent law for organ donation. Glad to oblige. I open by identifying the problem. From “Presumptuous Consent:”Many more sick people need kidneys, hearts, . . . . Continue Reading »
Patheos has a fascinating and frustrating interview with sociologist and historian of religion Rodney Stark. What is fascinating is everything Stark says in the interview, which is mostly about the Crusades. What is frustrating is trying to decide what to excerpt when the entire piece is so . . . . Continue Reading »
Although I saw Iron Man 2 this past weekend, I had completely missed the significance of a line spoken by the villain, Russian super-genius Ivan Vanko, until Eve Tushnet pointed it out. Vanko says that it’s not necessary to kill Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) to make him ineffectual: If you . . . . Continue Reading »
“A nation is never really beaten until it sells its women,” I wrote in a 2006 “Spengler” essay about Iranian prostitution. “The French sold their women to the German occupiers in 1940, and the Germans and Japanese sold their women to the Americans after World War . . . . Continue Reading »
The archbishop of Canterbury speaks about the founder of his church: “If Henry VIII is saved (an open question perhaps) it will be at the prayers of John Houghton.” Rather a change, eh? . . . . Continue Reading »
Book PreviewWhat Darwin Got WrongBy Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli-PalmariniThe premise of the book is a simple one: Natural selection does not work. As it come to be a functional system it found its practical incarnation in the efforts of B. F. Skinner. But the failings of Skinner’s system . . . . Continue Reading »
Those of us who catch a glimpse of the Empire State Building each day—just about everyone in First Things ’ New York editorial office—can’t help but notice its nightly evolution, with a new color scheme illuminating the top third of the tower each evening. A billboard to the . . . . Continue Reading »
Flemish doctors not only admit to killing patients who have not requested to be euthanized, but the levels of such terminations without request or consent are barely under the rate of legal voluntary euthanasia. From the study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (may have to . . . . Continue Reading »
From my inbox, a press release about a new book: Everyone loves to wonder ‘what if,’ but it took one very creative writer to take it to the next level and imagine what would happen if a modern-day Jesus became a judge on a famous TV talent show a ‘sacred’ Simon Cowell! Please . . . . Continue Reading »
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