The story in the October 5th issue of “Aviation Week and Space Technology” began: “The successful test of a TRW-designed laser recently has opened the door for a valid demonstration of the device’s usefulness as a weapon against ballistic missiles.” Good news for those of us who would like the government, some decade or other, to get around to its Read More ›
These are the years Bill Clinton has eaten. Years as abhorrent to the future as to the past. Some periods in history, you look back and you wonder, “What were they thinking of?” We live in such a time. And we know what we’re thinking of. Or do we? The People are quiet. Hard to believe, but they are. The Read More ›
A moral dilemma is, by definition, a problem that cannot be solved simply by dealing with material facts. “What should be” matters as much as “what is” or “what will be.” Different societies define their moral systems differently. But all agree on one thing. The closer you get to issues of life and death, the more important the moral aspect Read More ›
The Founding Fathers wanted America defended by a small professional military and a large people’s militia. Today, that idea seems as quaint as the horse cavalry, and about as practical. And yet . . . it’s coming back. Two new books, both by well-left-of-center authors, sketch the military and political rationales for a citizen-based post Cold War military. And conservatives, Read More ›
“What can you do When your dreams come true And it’s not quite like you planned?” So sang the Eagles, a popular group of the 70s. But today, “After the Thrill Is Gone” might well become the service anthem of the United States Air Force. Despite the magnificence of Desert Storm, despite all the wondrous new technologies and capabilities developed Read More ›
It is understandable why the film “Shadowlands” (now available on videotape) won rave reviews from almost everybody. The acting is splendid, the script is literate, and the production design is first-rate. All things considered, the film is a wonderful piece of cinema and well worth seeing. For those of us who never had the rare privilege of meeting C. S. Read More ›
“We disapprove of the measures adopted by a certain party, styling themselves the Christian party in politics,” declared the petition from a citizens’ group. The document went on to indict Christian political activists for advocating policies that were “infusing a spirit of religious intolerance and persecution into the political institute of the country, and which, unless opposed, will result in Read More ›
Zen Biology? Jeffrey Levinton, “Life in the Tangled Lane,” a review of Stuart Kauffman, The Origins of Order, Evolution 49 (1995): 575-577. In this review of Kauffman’s magnum opus, Levinton (Ecology and Evolution, SUNY Stony Brook) is cheerfully skeptical. “Kauffman’s model,” he writes, “is at once pervasive, explaining everything. But equally, it explains why we may never be able to Read More ›