Ideas have consequences. Especially ideas that can get you killed. Take, for example, the cluster of notions expressed by the phrase, World’s Only Superpower. Everybody says it. Everybody says it because everybody says it. Perhaps, in some ways it’s still true. But today, the military Superpower idea is obsolete, misleading, and potentially fatal. Three big reasons why. First, with each Read More ›
Introduction What is implied by the concept of “an intelligently designed universe”? What does it mean on a grand scale to assert that the universe is the product of an intelligent designer? In a scientific age that exalts rationalism and chance, what empirical evidence could possibly support such a claim? As humans contemplating the immense complexity of the cosmos, might Read More ›
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska wants to know: With deregulation of telecommunications, who will bring connections to Unalakleet, to Aleknagik and to Sleetmute? Who will bring 500 channels up the Yukon with the salmon to the people in Beaver? What will happen to the Yupik, the Inupiat and the Inuit? Will we leave them stranded in the snow while Read More ›
In a few weeks, a federal judge spurred by the Clinton-Gore administration will decide whether Microsoft should be broken up. If there is no settlement beforehand, the ruling could lead to appeals for years to come. But meanwhile, the message to the economy could be damaging: The government is willing to chance killing the golden goose of technology. George Gilder, Read More ›
Much of America’s vanishing wildlife is covered by one of the world’s toughest environmental laws–the Endangered Species Act of 1973. In plain language, the law insists that humans must accommodate the interests of the natural world, with few exceptions. The ultimate goal: Stop all extinctions in the United States. In 1973,, Congress believed this laudable goal could be easily accomplished Read More ›
On Dec. 7, 1941, a new phrase entered the American lexicon. “We’re in it.” Now that the ghastly obscenity of terrorism has struck twice at home, it’s time to admit the obvious again. We’re in it, and it’s time to start thinking seriously about defense. The United States can combat terrorism effectively without becoming either a garrison state or enduring Read More ›
It is all too true that Americans have become inarticulate, at least in some respects. Television, families without much parental interaction with children and schools more interested in socializing kids than instructing them have combined to reduce the expressive refinements of, say, 100 years ago. Then, young people were trained to write with a legible hand and high-school students studied Read More ›
President Clinton has vowed to veto Republican attempts to rewrite last year’s crime bill. The President says Republican “block grant” proposals could kill his plan to put 100,000 new police offers on the street. Republicans should welcome this challenge. Block grants will not only give states and communities more discretion about how to spend their money, as many Republicans have Read More ›
Evolution and its moral implications--including the "scientific" basis for rape--come as a package deal
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