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The Wisdom of Leon Kass

I wish I had been able to attend this lecture at Princeton, presented by Leon Kass. I only have read the brief story about the talk in the Princtonian, which I linked above, but even that brief synopsis reveals the classic Kass wisdom. He warns against “turning medicine into messiah” and . . . . Continue Reading »

After Election: Where Do We Stand?

The election last night was not primarily about the issues dealt with here at Secondhand Smoke. But there will be an impact. Only time will tell what they are, but here are a few of my initial thoughts.1. Human Cloning, the status quo will hold: The U.S. Senate will still not be able to pass a . . . . Continue Reading »

Amendment 2 Narrowly Passes

It was close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, as they say. Amendment 2 passed with about 51% of the vote. It’s hard to fight against $30 million. But the no campaign proved that people do not like cloning for any purpose, which is why the proponents deceived voters into . . . . Continue Reading »

Human Breeding Experiments Didn’t Work

I love this story in the New York Times that traces the fate of children born from Nazi Germany’s Lebensborn program, intended to breed a Master Race, and reports where they are today. Here’s a brief background: Back when the old scientific consensus supported eugenics, there were two . . . . Continue Reading »

Human/Cow Cloned Embryos Coming?

First UK scientists wanted to create human/rabbit cloned embryos. Now, UK scientists are applying to create mostly human/tiny bit cow cloned embryos, revealing vividly the current anything goes mindset that permeates the science/biotech sector. Rather than allowing society to work through the ethics . . . . Continue Reading »

Classic Case of Media Stem Cell Ignorance

So, I am watching CNN and it runs a segment on Missouri’s Amendment 2 and embryonic stem cell research. Then, Bill Schneider, CNN’s big political analyst comes on to say confidently that based on his discussions with people, second only to Iraq, the stem cell issue is most urgently on . . . . Continue Reading »

Amendment 2: Under 50% in Private Poll

Robert Novak, the syndicated columnist, is also one of the best political reporters around. He is conservative, but calls them as he sees them. (For example, he predicts that the Republicans will lose their majority in the House of Representatives.) Novak’s current column sees trouble ahead . . . . Continue Reading »

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