Ross’s latest NYT column makes a point I think I alluded to earlier: just because losing Arlen Specter is bad doesn’t mean having him to begin with was good . And this is not just a charge you can level due to Specter’s stance on policy (on ‘strictly political’ issues . . . . Continue Reading »
Don Rumsfeld has left us with the momentarily illuminating but ultimately distracting vision of Old Europe and New Europe, a distinction that divides geographically along the aftershadow of the Iron Curtain, with snooty/fuddy Western Europe versus freedom-appreciating/US-embracing Eastern Europe. . . . . Continue Reading »
From the Times of London : The British Catholic Church could face a slew of U.S.-style compensation claims over child abuse after a former City lawyer today won the right to claim £5 million damages. Patrick Raggett, 50, claims he ruined his life because of years of insidious abuse . . . . Continue Reading »
Having also spent a year Germany as a DAAD scholar, Russell Arben Fox’s reflections on his experience over at Front Porch Republic really resonate with me: Fifteen years ago, when my wife and I got married, we had a lot of inchoate ideas and aspirations, many of which were relatively humble, . . . . Continue Reading »
Almost Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Daschle has a piece in Newsweek promoting national health care. Some of what he writes is accurate, but the column is utterly disingenuous in not mentioning the rationing issue.Daschle begins by noting that Medicare and Medicaid are popular programs, . . . . Continue Reading »
From Mary Ann Glendon’s address to Benedict XVI during the plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences yesterday at the Vatican: Over the years, no matter what aspect of economics, law, sociology or political sciences claimed our attention, there has been one central theme, . . . . Continue Reading »
Its hard to miss Mr. Fox these days. The diminutive actor who runs the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research has a new book in print and a television special airing on May 7, and he is doing endless interviews to promote his cause. His cause is to find a cure for . . . . Continue Reading »
Pay close attention to how the story I am about to discuss from the Philadelphia Inquirer was written to give a favorable impression of a suicide. It is about a woman named Rona Zelniker, who killed herself because of a disabling disease. Note that the word “suicide” is never used . . . . Continue Reading »
Scientists in Japan have used animal research to explore a potential way around the organ shortage by growing transplantable organs in sheep made from stem cells. In this case, it is monkey organs, but within a decade, it could be human organs. From the story:Huddled at the back of her shed, . . . . Continue Reading »
The Pew Poll has published its latest results, dealing with gun control—beyond our scope here—and abortion. Given the politics of our rulers in Washington DC—which can only be described as pro-choice absolutists—I was surprised to note that the country appears evenly divided . . . . Continue Reading »