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Is the Deficit Too Small?

The conventional wisdom is our federal government deficit is too large. However, the empirical evidence suggests the deficit might be too small. When people worry about the size of the deficit, they are not worried about the deficit in a particular year; what they are worried about is the accumulation of debt that needs to be serviced. Some years, most Read More ›

State School Board Set to Change Evolution Lesson Plan

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The president of the state school board says the scientific process matters more than the subject matter in any particular lesson plan. The board was set to vote on last-minute changes Tuesday to lesson plans on evolution to address concerns of scientists lobbying the board over their content, said board president Jennifer Sheets. The board’s standards committee Read More ›

Betting on Bulgaria

Fifteen years ago, how many Americans or Bulgarians would have imagined that in 2003 Bulgaria would be one of America’s closest allies in Europe, that Bulgarian and American troops would be serving together in Iraq and that Bulgaria would have a smartly growing market economy? How did this change from Cold War enemies to new NATO allies come about, and Read More ›

Strike Three at the FCC

original article (subscription to The Wall Street Journal required to access article) Apart from its steel tariffs, the Bush Administration’s biggest economic blunder has been the hash it has made of telecom regulation. The good news is that a federal court has just handed the White House a chance to make amends. The opportunity comes courtesy of a Tuesday D.C. Read More ›

saline solution on hand
close up of saline on hand of sick girl lying on bed at hospital. Selective focus at finger.
close up of saline on hand of sick girl lying on bed at hospital. Selective focus at finger.

A “Painless” Death?

MANY WHO SUPPORT Terri Schiavo’s threatened dehydration assert that removing a feeding tube from a profoundly cognitively disabled person results in a painless and gentle ending. But is this really true? After all, it would be agonizing if you or I were locked in a room for two weeks and deprived of all food and water. So, why should we Read More ›

Again, Teach the Best Science

Original Article A heated issue most Ohioans thought was settled more than a year ago – how the origins and development of life will be taught in science classes – is again causing controversy. At the center, again, is the concept of “intelligent design,” which proposes that some higher intelligence played a role. Evolutionary scientists scoff at the notion, calling Read More ›

Survival of the Snit

The State Board of Education is still on course to do what it promised 14 months ago: approve a lesson plan for the teaching of biology that requires students to examine what the theory of evolution can explain and what it cannot. The loudest critics of the standards, scientists among them, portray this as a disaster. Critics of the theory Read More ›

Textbook Reformers See Last-Minute Victory in Texas Decision

Board adopts textbooks after education agency head pledges to address remaining factual errors SEATTLE – The Texas State Board of Education voted today to adopt proposed biology textbooks for use in state schools after being promised by the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency that all remaining factual errors in the textbooks will have to be addressed by publishers before the Read More ›

When Uncle Sam Owns the Land

What would you do if a neighbor’s tree falls on your house and causes a thousand dollars of damage? You would ask your neighbor to pay for the damage, and the law would require that he or his insurance pay the cost of the damage. Likewise, if your neighbor keeps hazardous materials on the edge of his property, such as Read More ›

Open letter from Texas scientists and teachers is meaningless

SEATTLE – “Today’s open letter from 550 Texas scientists and teachers that supposedly supports the teaching of evolution is so vague it is meaningless,” said Bruce Chapman, president of Discovery Institute, a public policy, think-tank. “It merely distracts from the issue of errors in textbooks.” “This is nothing more than a generic endorsement of good science standards, which we support too, Read More ›