Discovery Institute | Page 824 | Public policy think tank advancing a culture of purpose, creativity, and innovation.

^{Stephen C. Meyer and Charles Thaxton
November 13, 1994
Human Exceptionalism, Intelligent Design

8}

Human Rights: Blessed by God or Begrudged by Government

_{Stephen C. Meyer and Charles Thaxton
November 13, 1994
Human Exceptionalism, Intelligent Design

8}

Even as the double-helix discovery, the quantum theory and the development of a polio vaccine have manifested some of man's most ennobling capabilities, the gulags and gas chambers have demonstrated with equal force that scientific prowess alone does not confirm the existence of civilization — if civilization is to be measured by a commitment to protecting human rights. Read More ›

The US Capitol building dome in Washington DC isolated.

^{Bruce Chapman
November 13, 1994
Citizen Leadership

11}

Don’t kid yourself, this was a biggie

_{Bruce Chapman
November 13, 1994
Citizen Leadership

11}

Anti-Democratic feeling was really only anti-incumbent feeling, they declared. In fact, not one Republican incumbent governor or member of Congress lost, only Democrats. A big turnout, if it could be accomplished, would save the Democrats, we were told. But the 39 percent national turnout was two points over average mid-term elections. And in higher turnout states Republicans seem to have made their greatest gains. During the campaign, the actual contents of the "contract" were barely covered by the major media (an oversight now corrected after the election) and were subjected to a negative spin in Democratic television spots. But the "contract" was described in detail over talk radio, computer on-line services and new conservative cable TV programs. Another old political assumption that was dealt a blow is the old Depression-era knock that the Republicans are the party of Wall Street while the Democrats are the party of the little guy. GOP candidates won majorities among working-class voters as well as middle- and upper-economic groups. Big business PAC money, as usual, went overwhelmingly to incumbents and this year that meant Democrats. The first target for a shake-up will be Congress itself, where one of the leaders of reform is Rep. Jennifer Dunn of Bellevue. The House Republican Contract pledged to cut congressional staff by a third, and it should not be hard to do. The Democratic majority typically afforded Republicans only a small share of staff positions. In the House Energy and Commerce Committee, for example, Democrats currently have 180 staff posts and Republicans 17. After a well-deserved one-third cut, there will still be plenty of positions open for Republicans to fill, even permitting them to be more generous to the Democrats than the Democrats were to them. Read More ›

Presidential Campaign Podium on Stage Background

^{Bruce Chapman
November 9, 1994
Uncategorized

6}

Just When You Thought It Was Over…

_{Bruce Chapman
November 9, 1994
Uncategorized

6}

And now for the 1996 elections. Yes, believe it or not, the race for the presidency is about to push itself in your face, if not tomorrow at least a lot earlier than it ever has before. In a little over a year you are going to be amazed to see presidential candidates vying for space with Santa Claus in Read More ›

perspective view of containers at containers yard with forklift and truck

^{Bruce Chapman
November 4, 1994
Citizen Leadership

5}

State must follow up on Yeltsin’s historic trade offer

_{Bruce Chapman
November 4, 1994
Citizen Leadership

5}

Seattle and Washington state have won the hearts of many recent Russian visitors. In turn, we want to be seen as the “Gateway to the Russian East.” Our area has a special-relationship friendship developing with western Canada and an historic one with Alaska, so creating trade and cultural ties to our common neighbor is both natural and practical. And it Read More ›

^{Bruce Chapman
October 25, 1994
Citizen Leadership

6}

The ‘soft tyranny’ of hidden taxation

_{Bruce Chapman
October 25, 1994
Citizen Leadership

6}

THE issues of scandals, term limits, Haiti, Iraq and crime dominate the news and TV ads this campaign season. However something deeper and mostly unarticulated may be doing more to shape the nation's politics. The decisive issue of 1994 could well be people's continuing frustration over their inability to get ahead financially - and their conviction that government is both directly and indirectly hampering them. The large, increasingly middle-aged middle class finds salary increases scarce and restructuring layoffs common. If these are prosperous times, people wonder, what will the next recession bring? With many ordinary families turning over to government at various levels almost half their incomes (roughly 25 percent federal income tax, 15.3 percent Social Security, 8 percent state and local sales tax, plus property taxes and assorted special taxes and fees), it becomes harder and harder for the baby boomers who have so shaped political trends in the past to see how they can afford to send their children to college or save adequately for retirement. Polls show that voters no longer are impressed by politicians' offers to satisfy their personal concerns with still more government programs. That is part of the reason why Democrats, as the party that traditionally defends the utility of government action, are in particular trouble this year. Even now-standard efforts by congressional candidates to avoid a negative national trend by "localizing" campaigns may backfire. Localizing usually means showing how the incumbent can "bring home the bacon." But as voters watch television accounts of this going on all over the country - Sen. Ted Kennedy holding up giant posters of federal checks he is delivering to particular constituencies and Speaker Tom Foley boasting of road contracts and police positions brought to Spokane - they see that it is they who are paying for all that bacon and that the price is too high. Yesterday's bacon is becoming today's pork. Read More ›

^{Stephen C. Meyer and David K. DeWolf
October 14, 1994
Intelligent Design

7}

Trouble in Political Paradise

_{Stephen C. Meyer and David K. DeWolf
October 14, 1994
Intelligent Design

7}

When House Speaker Tom Foley and his GOP challenger George Nethercutt debate next week at the Gonzaga University Law School more than just Spokane will be watching-and with good reason. CPAN’s decision to carry the debate nationwide reflects a growing sense that something almost cataclysmic is happening across the American political landscape from Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts to Tom Foley’s Eastern Read More ›

Hand holding a wooden frame on sunrise sky background. Care, saf

^{William A. Dembski
October 1, 1994
Intelligent Design

31}

The Fallacy of Contextualism

_{William A. Dembski
October 1, 1994
Intelligent Design

31}

In the last several decades both philosophy and theology have increasingly taken a “contextual turn.” The contextual turn begins with the observation that all of human inquiry occurs within contexts. By itself this observation is perfectly innocuous. It is patently obvious that each of us thinks and moves within certain social, linguistic, and epistemic contexts. We are not disembodied spirits Read More ›

^{George Gilder
October 1, 1994
Technology

33}

Ethersphere

_{George Gilder
October 1, 1994
Technology

33}

New low earth orbit satellites mark as decisive a break in the history of space-based communications as the PC represented in the history of computing. Pay attention to much-maligned Teledesic. Backed by Craig McCaw and Bill Gates, it is the only LEO fully focused on serving computers George Gilder “They’ll Be Crowding The Skies.” THUS STEVEN DORFMAN, president of telecommunications Read More ›

^{J. Budziszewski
October 1, 1994
Intelligent Design

8}

Just the Facts, Please

_{J. Budziszewski
October 1, 1994
Intelligent Design

8}

Here's what did happen. The Board did adopt new statewide science testing standards. Curriculum was left where it had been, in the hands of local districts. Read More ›

Online learning, freelancing, and a home office furnished with laptops, computers, office supplies, and a rocket. Icons for digital study environments and remote e learning. Internet based learning is

^{Bruce Chapman
September 26, 1994
Citizen Leadership

6}

The hidden fears of high-tech learning

_{Bruce Chapman
September 26, 1994
Citizen Leadership

6}

IN THE 1920s, President Calvin Coolidge declared, "The business of America is business." In the 1990s it might be at least as true to say that the business of America is learning. Constant adjustment to change - coping with new facts and ways of doing things - has become the norm in commerce as computer hardware and software is introduced, adapted and, later, replaced. Now the high-tech revolution is coming to education. You might think that everyone would be thrilled. The high-tech motto of "better, cheaper, faster" sounds like an admirable aim for general school reform. But talking to many educators, business people, high-tech manufacturers, government officials and even parents, one soon realizes that below the surface many of them are as anxious as they are hopeful. There are new software products that recognize what kind of learning style works best for a student and adjusts accordingly. Some, for example, can help kids get over very specialized reading problems. On the other hand, for the established scholar and writer there is the entire three-volume Oxford English Dictionary on disc for a third of the cost of a hard-cover copy, and the manufacturer throws in several other reference works for good measure. Dozens of new products like these are appearing monthly, many of them produced in the Seattle area. Read More ›