WHEN OREGON VOTERS legalized assisted suicide in 1994, state regulators had a problem. They wanted to authorize doctors to prescribe barbiturates as killing agents. But the federal government regulates the use of these drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, and federal law did not permit their use to intentionally kill. Ordinarily, that would have been that. The feds, not the Read More ›
Deflation is upon us. Put another way, the U.S. economy is now experiencing a sustained reduction in the general level of prices. Last month, the Producer Price Index posted its biggest decline on record, 1.6%, and the Consumer Price Index fell by 0.3%. All of the major commodity price indices are down by 11% to 20% for the year. Many Read More ›
From the “Other Comments” section The most severe burden on the economy right now is the depression in high technology and telecommunications–our two biggest drivers of productivity growth and most important sources of national wealth and security. The Clinton-Gore telecommunications policy, which is still in effect, has been an unmitigated disaster. The Clinton FCC’s heavy-handed re-regulation of the industry is Read More ›
Approximately 600 people attended the “Celebrating Middle Earth: The Lord of the Rings as a Defense of Western Civilization” conference at SPU last Friday and Saturday. The conference was co-sponsored by the SPU Society of Fellows, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the Discovery Institute and hosted by the C.S. Lewis Institute. Associate Professor of Political Science John West, who first Read More ›
The war on terrorism has absorbed our attention since September 11th. While this is appropriate, we should not forget that the long-simmering cultural wars continue. The other side is hard at work, chipping away patiently while all eyes are turned toward Afghanistan. The latest threat? Courtesy of PBS, the bonobos the “make love, not war” primates are coming Read More ›
For Americans who want to limit abortion on demand, a window of opportunity now stands open in Congress. Whether pro-life legislators seize this opportunity will depend on whether they prefer symbolic victory or substantive reform. Two years ago Congress’s newly elected pro-life majority proposed the smallest of incremental restrictions on abortion, triggering a remarkable series of events. Scarcely a year Read More ›
When readers in England recently were asked to name “the greatest book of the century,” they chose J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Many critics were scandalized, finding it incomprehensible that the public could honor a work the literary community had largely dismissed as old-fashioned, didactic, and escapist. Yet the survey was far from a fluke. Tolkien’s writings have Read More ›
“All of the speakers and subject matter sound ridiculously interesting to me. It is going to be great,” freshman Than Vlachos said about the upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien conference at SPU. The conference, titled “Celebrating Middle Earth,” will seek to tell “the story behind the story” of J.R.R. Tolkiens “The Lord of the Rings.” Conference sessions will focus on exploring the Read More ›