Discovery Institute | Page 640 | Public policy think tank advancing a culture of purpose, creativity, and innovation.

Bruce Chapman, a former US ambassador to the United Nations Organization in Vienna, is among some 100 diplomats and other leaders, endorsing the nomination of John Bolton to the post of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in New York.“I had the pleasure of working with John Bolton in the past and consider him an outstanding public servant who will Read More ›

Our national flirtation with the illusory benefits of “free” national health insurance corrodes our debate about improving the quality of health care in the United States. Partly because of the allure of this delusion of free or single-payer national health insurance, we are slowly ceding our medical service system to government mismanagement at patient and taxpayer expense. The most dangerous Read More ›

The state of Indiana ranks a lowly 40th in the number of homes with broadband Internet connections, but new legislation based in part on ideas from Discovery Institute and its “Technology and Democracy Project” could change that. The Indiana House of Representatives on April 11 passed a bill that would prohibit the regulation of broadband and other advanced services and Read More ›

With the weighty issues of Iraq, the war on terror, Terri Schiavo and Pope John Paul II occupying the minds of many Americans, I would like to discuss a lighter topic, one that is nonetheless still relevant to life in Seattle: canine waste matter.

That’s right, dog poop.

Every morning, I walk my dogs and — in an attempt to retrieve what they leave behind — cautiously step into grassy minefields of dog poop so thoughtlessly uncurbed by other dog owners, I think about the vaunted and reputed civic-mindedness of Seattleites.

What does the phrase “tax justice” mean? A definition is important because some groups claim to favor “tax justice” but really want to increase taxes on productive people and transfer resources to the state. Webster’s, in part, defines justice “as the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.” There is an organization called the “Tax Justice Network.” Many of its leaders Read More ›

TERRI SCHIAVO IS DEAD. But her death by dehydration last week need not be in vain. Great good can still come from the harsh, two week ordeal she—and to a lesser extent, we—were forced to undergo by court order. Terri’s story generated a torrent of compassion. (The root meaning of compassion is to “suffer with,” which is precisely what her Read More ›

Do you think things are getting better or worse around the world? Objectively, there is a correct answer, and that is unambiguously – better. No matter how you measure it – economic growth, life expectancy, childhood mortality, democratic countries, economic freedom, literacy, tax rates, crime rates, etc. – things are improving for most people in most places; and, in fact, Read More ›

This article, published by TheRealityCheck.org, mentions Discovery Institute’s William Dembski:

Dubbed “intelligent design” to distinguish it from old-school thinking, this new view is detailed in The Design Inference (Cambridge University Press, 1998), a peer-reviewed work by mathematician and philosopher William Dembski.

In contrast to what is called creation science, which parallels Biblical theology, ID rests on two basic assumptions: namely, that intelligent agents exist and that their effects are empirically detectable.

SEATTLE, APRIL 5 –— The controversial theory of intelligent design is the subject of a new science blog called Intelligent Design The Future, online at www.idthefuture.com. Its purpose is to explore the growing scientific evidence for purpose and design in the universe and living systems. “There is a great lack of understanding about intelligent design,” says Jay Richards, vice president Read More ›