More proof in that embryonic stem cell research is not—and never has been—about getting some use out of leftover IVF embryos that are due to be destroyed anyway. A serious proposal has been forwarded to make embryos for the purpose of storing them as a source of future medical need. From . . . . Continue Reading »
President Obama must believe in the fabled money tree with all the currency we don’t have that he is borrowing and spending. Now, he has told the National Academy of Sciences that he wants 3% of the United States GDP (gross domestic product) to be poured into science. From the story:President . . . . Continue Reading »
April 27, 2009 The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. President University of Notre Dame Dear Father Jenkins, When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre . . . . Continue Reading »
I missed the news last week that a firm in the Netherlands had purchased the rights to the Rodgers & Hammerstein songbook. Funny to think, isn’t it, that the Dutch now own these musicals? “Amsterdam, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the dikes.” Or that great musical North . . . . Continue Reading »
Kevin Heekin, of Heekin Pewter, is the popular guy at any crafts fair. While their mothers are off buying candles, boys line up at Heekin’s booth not only to admire his pewter figurines, but to buy them — at three to five dollars each, his unpainted figures are maybe the only thing at . . . . Continue Reading »
So I thought I’d share with you an excerpt of a talk I recently gave on dignity and higher education: Today’s “postmodern” professor of the humanities doesn’t even claim to have a “wholistic” view of the art of human life, although he or she often still . . . . Continue Reading »
A While We’re At It in this month’s edition of The Public Square, the popular column at the end of First Things:Intelligent and entertaining are two adjectives that go together far too rarely, but they belong in company when speaking of our contributing writer Alan Jacobs. He has in this . . . . Continue Reading »
Leave aside for the moment, if possible, the moral and legal debate surrounding the release of the top secret Justice Department memorandums on interrogation. What effects will their release will have on national security, or more particular our ability to collect human intelligence (HUMINT) in . . . . Continue Reading »
The day may be coming, and it might not be that far away, when doctors who are asked to help kill a patient—that is, to intentionally cause the patient’s life to end—will be forced to either do the deed or refer to a doctor her or she knows will do the deed.We are seeing this . . . . Continue Reading »