Discovery Blog

Discovery Blog http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/ en Copyright 2009 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:40:04 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Great Independence Day Reading Townhall.com carries a very timely article this morning by Hans Zeiger that reminds political and media elites that "dialogue" requires reciprocity.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/07/great_independence_day_reading.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/07/great_independence_day_reading.php Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:40:04 -0800 Why the Economy is Queasy in spite of the Obama Administration's devaluation of the dollar, expansion of government bureaucracy and regulation and the loming threats to the free market in energy and health care. Maybe so. But the prospects surely would be a light brighter if a big government hand were not on the tiller of the ship of state. Here's a less sanguine commentary from Discovery Sr. Fellow John Wohlstetter.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/07/why_the_economy_is_queasy.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/07/why_the_economy_is_queasy.php Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:51:36 -0800 Worthy Alternative to Cap and Trade The badly flawed and increasingly unpopular energy bill that is now in Congress--and barely passed by the overwhelmingly Democratic House--does not have to be the only choice presented to the American people. A constructive idea that accords well with the overall need to stimulate the economy as well as reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil has been offered today in a Seattle Times article by Bruce Flory, economist, and Todd Myers, environmental director of the Washington Policy Center. ]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/fascinating_alternative_to_cap.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/fascinating_alternative_to_cap.php Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:51:02 -0800 New Film on Iran is Tough and Timely The producers of The Stoning of Soraya M. could not be opening their film at a better time than now. The fictionalized telling of a true story from Iran's post-revolution is hard to watch at times and it leaves an audience feeling drained and frustrated. But when I watched a preview a couple of months ago it was clear that everyone present had been affected deeply by the experience. This is about the kind of "evil" that won Iran a position in George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil" category. You understand again the kind of hypocritical theocrats that would bludgeon peaceful demonstrators in Tehran these past few weeks and loot their homes. The fine acting by Shoreh Aghadahloo is a revelation. She is someone I have never seen before. The nominal co-star, Jim Caviezel (of Passion of the Chris fame), is also excellent, though his role is much smaller than the top billing would indicate. You can see it nation-wide starting tomorrow. http://www.thestoning.com/]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/new_film_on_iran_is_tough_and.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/new_film_on_iran_is_tough_and.php Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:51:39 -0800 Powerful Development in Intelligent Design Case Steve Meyer is the leader of the Center for Science and Culture at Discovery Institute--the organization that puts the most noted critics of Darwinism and proponents of intelligent design onto the field of intellectual competition. He also exemplifies the movement in his own writing, speeches and debates. Publication (by Harper/One) this week of Signature in the Cell assembles the most searching and advanced argument for ID yet. It seems likely to become a classic treatise, a scientific Mt. Probable that Darwinists like Richard Dawkins will not be able to scale by steps small or large. (See http://www.signatureinthecell.com/.) I met Steve almost 15 years ago when he was a popular young professor at Whitworth College in Spokane, not long removed from private sector work in geology in Texas and his doctoral research in the philosophy of science at Cambridge University. He already had emerged as a leader, however. From that time on, Steve's energy and resourceful insights helped re-shape the mission of Discovery Institute and extend the debate over intelligent design world-wide. During these years he has written many distinguished articles and papers, including the peer-reviewed paper on the Cambrian explosion for The Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington that got the journal's editor, Richard Sternberg, into such celebrated trouble at the Smithsonian, as the film Expelled explained. (It's a great story told well in the new book.) All the while, Steve has been a mentor and editor for the other fellows and staff of the Center for Science and Culture at Discovery Institute and has given sacrificially of his talent to help others achieve their goals. Now he has distilled his own research and reflection into one big, pathfinding book. Signature in the Cell could have been a couple of books, actually, since it is packed with so many provocative ideas. But Steve was advised early on by his Discovery friend and colleague George Gilder to "put everything you have into one book," and that's what he has done. Along the way, he also describes his own, often surprising personal journey. There are a number of rollicking inside accounts here not seen anywhere before. I had the challenge of serving as one of Steve's readers when Signature in the Cell was still in manuscript form this past winter. I relished the learning opportunity. What a relief and thrill for all of us to have it finished and published now. You'll see, it was worth waiting for. I have to congratulate Steve here, and urge everyone I know who cares about the big ideas that rock our times to read Signature in the Cell. Expect a torrent of contrived Darwinian media alarm, of course, and consider the source. They once accused us of operating mainly as a public relations office, but the opposite is true. Dr. Meyer's scholarship is as sophisticated as his style is accessible. The Darwinists meanwhile are treading very stale water these days and pretending they are swimming in a fresh, sylvan pool. So, as usual, do your own reading and thinking, and tell your friends. To my own way of thinking, Steve Meyer, with this book, should be recognized as one of the foremost intellectual entrepreneurs of our age.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/powerful_development_in_intell.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/powerful_development_in_intell.php Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:05:37 -0800 Jewish Seafarer Discovers a Pair of Christians in a Trap Theistic evolution is the concept that Darwin's theory of unguided evolution is absolutely true and unquestionable, but that this unguided process was secretly guided by God. (Any evidence of guidance is not for human eyes, however, especially scientists'.) To make this eyebrow raising assertion, theistic evolutionists Ken Miller and Francis Collins want us to believe a version of process theology, where God didn't know how intelligent beings would come out when he set the self-propelling evolutionary process into motion. We could as well have become not human beings, but big brained dinosaurs or intelligent mollusks, as Ken Miller has said. On his religion blog at Beliefnet ("Kingdom of Priests"), David Klinghoffer enjoys a sporting day at sea with the concept. Theistic evolution makes no sense and simply begs for such satire. As science it defies Darwin's theory, as such Darwinians as Jerry Coyne and Richard Dawkins state. (If theistic evolution is unguided, even behind the scenes, it's not Darwinian evolution.) But theistic evolution also makes a hash of orthodox religious belief. If the human body is just a fleshy vessel, and not the temple designed for the soul, then the downgraded product is justly relegated to the status of other animals. That's how we get Stephen Pinker and his views on radical animal rights. That is how we get to embryonic stem research, unlimited abortion and euthanasia. There are reasons why orthodox Christians and Jews have granted dignity to the body; and why, for example, the traditional Judeo-Christian culture opposes self-mutilation. In contrast, the early Christian heresy of gnosticism sought to downgrade the body and set the spirit against it. But Christians especially treat the human body as different from all others and a partner of the soul. For example, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans and Anglicans are chief among the Christian denominations, though not the only ones, that attach great significance to the body of Christ in the Eucharist. Christ's body was raised from the dead, as, in Christian cosmology, our human bodies, too, will be raised at the day of Judgement. It is doubtful that Collins or Miller have much appreciation of the thin theological ice on which they blithely skate. "The theology of the body", Pope John Paul II's phrase, is crucial to the faith, and the "body" that it, the Bible and tradition have in mind is irrefragably human and two legged, not aquatic. Intelligent design is not involved in this fight since it doesn't identify a designer or get into theological issues. ID does have implications for theology (and philosophy), , of course, as does Darwin's theory. But it doesn't try to make them part of its scientific argument as the theistic evolutionists seemingly cannot resist doing.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/jewish_seafarer_discovers_a_pa.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/jewish_seafarer_discovers_a_pa.php Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:19:54 -0800 Non-Meddler Inspired Iran Demonstrators? First President Obama had little to say about the demonstrators in Iran, saying he didn't think America should "meddle". A number of liberal US pundits praised this posture. Then, the President apparently changed his mind and started using tougher language about the brutal regime of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad. In fact, "Administration" spokesmen are now suggesting that the President's Cairo speech may have inspired the demonstrators in the first place. Moral: if you don't like President Obama's position on a foreign policy issue, wait a minute. It may change. Not only that, you'll find out it was always what it has changed to now.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/nonmeddler_inspired_iran_demon.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/nonmeddler_inspired_iran_demon.php Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:39:06 -0800 Italian Paper Cites Smith's Views on Euthanasia Avvenire, a prominent Italian newspaper, has been following a story there of denied end-of-life care. The reporter wanted to know the opinion of Wesley Smith, Discovery Sr. Fellow, and his replies are printed here (translated):

"After Terri Schiavo, Silence" Wesley J. Smith is the author of numerous books, most notably Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America. Mr. Smith, a member of the Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide and an advocate for Terri Schiavo and her family, was happy to chat with us about “end of life” issues. He began by saying that “no human being, even if they are in Eluana (Englaro's) condition, may be called a 'vegetable'. It is a word that is intended to dehumanize them." What is the importance of cases like Eluana, and what is the public's reaction to them? The country (USA) is generally unaware of the Eluana Englaro case. Ever since the Terri Schiavo media circus, I think that the attention to these issues has waned, especially if they are overseas stories —perhaps because the media think the issue has been settled. From a legal point of view, what are the repercussions of the Schiavo case in the United States? After Terri’s death, there have been a few attempts to make it more difficult to dehydrate people with cognitive disabilities. But politicians were scared off by the media outcry against Terri’s family and the “religious right”, ignoring the fact that disability rights activists were also part of the movement to save her life. The issue of artificial nutrition as a medical treatment is of very topical interest in Italy. What do American doctors think about it? I don’t think that doctors behaved differently after the Terri Schiavo case. Food and water are pulled almost as a matter of routine. Most doctors think of it as just part of the practice of medicine. It is only when families disagree that these cases go to court or make news. What are the consequences of these definitions? Because the tube requires a minor surgical procedure and the sustenance is specially prepared to have a proper balance of nutrients, in the United States it is defined as a medical treatment. But if it means that it can be refused as you can refuse an aspirin, then there are ethical problems, because refusing food and water will have only one possible outcome: death. So I think artificial nutrition and hydration should be in a category of its own and not so easily withheld or withdrawn.

Seeing this in context shows how hard it has become in the U.S. to stop the current slippery slide into moral relativism.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/italian_paper_cites_smiths_vie.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/italian_paper_cites_smiths_vie.php Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:57:18 -0800 Satisfying End for Cell Phone Abuser Cell phones are wonderful, especially the complicated new ones that do everything short of cooking dinner and baby sitting the children. The future George Gilder predicted thirty years ago in Life After Television is here. But when it comes to cell phone etiquette we are stuck in the barbarian past. Some people still shout into the little devices as if they couldn't be heard otherwise. That is annoying even out on a busy street. But the worst bores are those who ruthlessly ignore everyone around them in restaurants, theaters and meetings, dulling their (probably well-justified) loneliness by talking loudly on their cell phones to whoever they think might validate their existence and the importance of their every fleeting thought. A woman at the neighborhood coffee house sat right across from me one recent morning and for twenty minutes blathered on her phone about her job as a university soccer coach. She talked about her pay, the team's schedule, even the supposed derelictions of her fellow coaches. There was no reading my paper; she had seized me by the eardrums and wouldn't let go. Like many with cellphonitis, she stared straight ahead, resolutely avoiding eye contact. Other patrons squirmed, finished their coffee and left. So did I. Too bad we couldn't have charged her for our time. I am not going to let this happen again. Lady, you are going to be confronted. If you are happy to broadcast your private business to an uncaring world, fine, but I plan to share my own discomfiture in being forced to share that activity--and I will share it with you. I won't raise my voice, but I will stand in space where you can't avoid me and start discussing the situation reasonably with you until you give up your call and quit bellowing. Meanwhile, here is a good indication that cell phone providers--like liquor makers who run ads about "responsible drinking"--are alert to the irritation their product can cause. I don't want another law (please), just enforcement of a custom that civilized people respect in other situations. Keep your conversations to yourself.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/dont_be_a_victim_of_cell_phone.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/dont_be_a_victim_of_cell_phone.php Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:16:49 -0800 Sistani's Role Strongly Hinted This is from Huffington Post, implicitly confirming my earlier post (June 17) that speculated about the behind-the-scenes role in Iran of Shia Grand Ayatollah Sistani (who lives in Iraq). So far as I know, nobody else has raised this possibility: 6:00 PM ET -- Where is Rafsanjani? "According to an online reformist news source Rooyeh, Rafsanjani has been in Qom meeting some members of Council of Experts and a representative of Ayatollah Sistani. According to the source that asked to remain anonymous, during this meeting they recounted memories of the days of the Revolution. A reasonable purpose of these meetings, according to the source, is that Rafsanjani is looking for a majority to possibly call for Ahmadinejad's resignation. As one reader points out, Sistani is "one of the most respected Grand Ayatollahs within Shia Islam in the world. He's Iranian (from Mashhad, same city as Khamenei), but spends most time in Najaf/Karbala in Iraq." http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/sistanis_role_strongly_hinted.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/sistanis_role_strongly_hinted.php Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:43:42 -0800 The Lesson of #CNNfail http://www.ojr.org/ojr/people/robert/200906/1752/ CNN, they say, is held to higher standards than, say, Fox. That seems a peculiar reading of the Twitter and blog traffic Try out this interpretation instead: CNN failed the Iranian people and its international audience because it was slow to acknowledge the breadth and depth of popular discontent in Iran. CNN's coverage exhibited this failure. CNN correspondents and anchors reflected the network's diffidence. They acted as if they lacked sympathy for the protesters. Perhaps that was because, at first, at least, they did lack such sympathy. A liberal (small "l") revolution in Iran didn't fit their template, for some reason. That is why we have seen the phenomenon of #CNNfail. Even young Iranians are media critics now. ]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/the_lesson_of_cnnfail.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/the_lesson_of_cnnfail.php Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:01:34 -0800 Iran in Revolution http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=29285 China joins in. According to the South China Post (Hong Kong), mainland government authorities are ordering the media to downplay protest events in Iran. Wouldn't want people getting ideas.http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2c913216495213d5df646910cba0a0a0/?vgnextoid=1991d1a7a69f1210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=teaser&ss=China&s=News In the next stage, the huge crowds of protestors in Iran's cities--accessible to the world largely through cell phones and Twitter--will crumble under the assault of the state. Or the state will make concessions to gain time. Or the revolution will take a new direction and state violence will be answered with popular violence. It would take overwhelming numbers for the latter to succeed. That, and expanding divisions within the current ruling class. Many observers are assuming that even if the protestors prevail and the government collapses--in one way or another--and Mousavi accedes to the presidency, the West will still still face an antagonistic regime bent on developing nuclear weapons. I'm not so sure. Revolutions famously take on a life of their own. After all this, why should Iranians put up with an authoritarian dictatorship, international isolation and a crippled economy for sake of a belligerent defense and foreign policy? The achievable alternative is a relatively liberal state with genuine elections (where a Supreme Leader and his Guardian Council don't get to vet candidates), international cooperation and economic growth. ]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/iran_in_revolution.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/iran_in_revolution.php Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:13:23 -0800 Shia Clerics and Iran: Sistani's Role The top Shia cleric in the world is Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, 78, born in Iran, living in Najaf, Iraq since 1951. Ayatollah al-Sistani had a major influence in calming sectarian violence in Iraq after the American invasion, turning Shia voters away from the extremists, led by Iran-backed Ahmed Mukhtar al-Sadr. The senior cleric and scholar seldom leaves Najaf; indeed, he seldom leaves his house. But in the battle over legitimacy in Iran, if Ayatollah Sistani says much negative about the repressive present government in Iran--the backers of Sadrites in Iraq, as well as of Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon--it could have serious consequences for Iran's government under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Grand Ayatollah doesn't even have to say his piece publicly. Many Iranian mullahs could switch their allegiance rapidly. http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/shia_clerics_and_iran_sistanis.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/shia_clerics_and_iran_sistanis.php Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:32:53 -0800 Iran and North Korea are Linked Discovery Sr. Fellow John Wohlstetter (author, The Long War Ahead: And the Short War Upon Us) was on the Dennis Miller program today discussing the so-far inadequate response of President Obama to the sham election in Iran and the need for a new, internationally supervised election. Time is important. The anti-Ahmadinejad demonstrations are widely supported, but not well organized. The government owns the power of force and the will to use it. If the White House imagines that failing to state a stronger view will somehow appease Ahmadinejab, they haven't been paying attention. As Wohlstetter says, our President apparently is being put to school the way Jimmy Carter was, but the lesson has not yet sunk in. Is this the crisis (as I suggested in this blog) that Joe Biden had in mind when, during the campaign, he predicted one within six months of the new Administration? John Wohlstetter also says on the Miller show, there may well be connections between Iran and North Korea (remember "the Axis of Evil"?). And, meanwhile, Al Qaida is watching closely, as are Iran's clients, Hezbollah and Hamas. Almost unnoticed, Mohammed El Baradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is stating about as plainly as possible that Iran seeks nuclear arms. Some mullahs are breaking away from the theocratic core in Iran and its current driving force, the security services. Division grows. The legitimacy of the government is being undermined. The least we can do is show moral support for the cause of real democracy and reform.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/iran_and_north_korea_are_linke.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/iran_and_north_korea_are_linke.php Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:30:05 -0800 Obama Says: Keep Twittering A Tehran University student's computer, purportedly broken during a militia raid. The discussions in the White House right now must be fascinating and maybe heated--should we openly side with the Iranian demonstrators or hold to the neutrality pose? Just now the President's spokesman said he hopes Twitter will continue to delay needed maintenance downtime so that direct news can be reported from the Iranian people. That's a positive step. After all, Western reporters are being ordered to stay in their offices and not to report from the street. So brave reports from Iranians are all there are to get the truth out. (Two top Twitter sites #IranElection and #CNNfail--a running reproach to CNN's less than helpful coverage.) Right now there are a spate of Twitter messages saying that there are more deaths today and raids of homes and offices; also that the Army has entered Tehran to confront the demonstrators. If so, this escalation raises the prospect of rank and file Iranian soldiers being called upon to attack their fellow citizens. It is a different prospect from the actions of the Basij ("Mobilization") militia that are a kind of kind of palace guard for the theocrats and have been beating demonstrators with batons over several days. In many revolutions, a critical moment comes when ordinary citizens in Army service are asked to fire on other citizens. They may do it once, even twice. But eventually, they may refuse their orders and then, whether planning it or not, may switch sides. If that happens, the revolution reaches a new, more explosive stage. Remember, too, the soldiers are young, and so are most demonstrators. They are all Iranians. An alternative scenario is that the supposed reformer Moussavi goes on TV (which the Twitterers also say he is trying to do) and essentially cools down the protests with minimum demands, whereafter the regime regains control. Regardless, as Amir Fakhravar, the former head of the Iran Student Confederation and a prisoner tortured repeatedly in the infamous Iranian prisons, said today, the people of Iran have not had a chance to express their will about the main contours of the government. The real powers in the theocracy merely present them with pre-approved candidates they can choose among. Fakhravar spoke eloquently at Discovery Institute two years ago; today he pointed out on FOX News that the Iranians are expressing themselves in the street as never before. The demonstrators are an appealing lot, not hateful, but peaceful, almost too pleading. And they are braver than the demonstrators of 30 years ago who were standing up to forces that already were crumbling. They need to know our moral support.]]> http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/obama_says_keep_twittering.php http://www.discovery.org/blogs/discoveryblog/2009/06/obama_says_keep_twittering.php Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:35:15 -0800