Human Exceptionalism

The United States is a nation governed by law at the federal, state and local levels. Sometimes these laws differ with each other. That’s where the great principle of federalism comes in. Federalism permits state laws to be in conflict with each other, and even with the federal government. But that’s OK. The sometimes messy business of federalism permits different Read More ›

Throughout his presidency, the Science Intelligentsia has castigated President Bush for placing limits on the federal funding of embryonic-stem-cell research (ESCR). Acting as if he had a banned ESCR, which of course he hadn’t, “the scientists” and their camp followers in the media and on Capital Hill accused the president of withholding cures from the ill in order to impose Read More ›

Seattle – Scientists have announced that they successfully reprogrammed adult cells back to an embryonic-like state, opening the possibility of patient-specific medical treatments and research without the need to clone human life. Wesley J. Smith, the Discovery Institute’s Senior Fellow in Bioethics and author of Consumer’s Guide to a Brave New World, hailed the breakthrough as demonstrating that ethical science Read More ›

On October 19, only months after being nearly dehydrated to death when his feeding tube was removed, Jesse Ramirez walked out of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix on his own two legs. Ramirez is lucky to be alive. Early last June, a mere one week after a serious auto accident left him unconscious, his wife Rebecca and doctors decided Read More ›

Are you happy “merely” being human? Or do you wish your life could somehow be made into something . . . more? If you discovered a risky drug that would grant you a superhuman power—such as the capacity to heal the sick, kill enemies, or become invisible—would you take the shot? And if you developed a supernatural ability, would you Read More ›

Atlanta Falcons football star Michael Vick has agreed to plead guilty to participating in a dog fighting/gambling ring, almost certainly ending his career. Vick’s indictment was the scandal of the summer — and for good reason: In a throwback to the brutality of the Roman crowd, Vick and his co-conspirators allegedly bred pit bulls to tear one another apart for Read More ›

Atlanta Falcons football star Michael Vick pleaded guilty to participating in a dog fighting/gambling ring, almost certainly ending his NFL career. Vick’s indictment was the scandal of the summer – and for good reason: In a throwback to the brutality of the Roman arena, in which wild animals were forced to fight and kill each other to the frenzy of Read More ›

Do animals have rights? Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith investigates this issue in light of the dog fighting scandal surrounding football star Michael Vick. Smith argues that the outrage generated by Vick’s alleged actions stems not from any violation of animal rights, but from the violation of his own humanity. Smith reasons that humans are the only conscious organisms in the Read More ›

The arrest of football great Michael Vick for allegedly participating in a dog fighting/gambling ring has shocked the country. The charges are horrendous: In a throwback to the brutality of the Roman arena in which wild animals were forced to fight and kill each other to the frenzy of the crowd, Vick and his co-conspirators, according to authorities, bred pit Read More ›

This article, published by CNS News, quotes Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Wesley J. Smith: “Violence stems from the ideology of the animal liberation or animal rights movement,” said Wesley J. Smith, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank. The rest of the article can be found here.