The “Medical Conscience” Civil Rights Movement
Until recently, healthcare was not culturally controversial. Medicine was seen as primarily concerned with extending lives, curing diseases, healing injuries, palliating symptoms, birthing babies, and promoting wellness—and hence, as a sphere in which people of all political and social beliefs were generally able to get along. That consensus has been shattered. Doctors today may be asked to provide legal but Read More ›
America’s schools, and much of our nation, have become God-free zones
The Valentine’s Day massacre at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was the latest in a series of mass school shootings dating back to the Columbine, Colorado shooting in 1999. Evoking shock, these tragedies inevitably prompt a call to pray for the victims and their families. Calls for prayer are natural and appropriate after such wanton evil Read More ›
Dear Washington State: Don’t Follow California’s Tax Model
Drones Can Protect Us From Kim’s Missiles
Behind the Curtain of Assisted Suicide Advocacy
The United States assisted suicide movement claims that it wants only a limited “reform” of law and medical ethics, restricting what it euphemistically calls “aid in dying” to competent adults with terminal illnesses for whom nothing else can be done to alleviate their suffering. But this claim isn’t true. Currently, no law permitting doctors to write lethal prescriptions mandates any Read More ›
The Time Is Right for Tax Fairness and Sensible Spending Priorities in Seattle
Local residents are getting their first taste of property-tax hikes courtesy of Olympia this month and, in many cases, it’s shocking. According to The Seattle Times, a spokesman for the county assessor noted the 2018 boost is “the largest property-tax increase in King County in modern history.” In at least one community — Carnation — homeowners of a median-assessed-value property might see an astonishing 30 percent increase.
While middle-class Washingtonians are paying more taxes than ever, some politicians are laying the blame on the state’s “regressive” tax system. But, as is often the case, proponents of higher taxes cloak a more complete picture of state taxes and spending prioritization with emotional arguments about “inequality and fairness.” Recently, King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Assessor John Wilson joined the debate, pressing the case in a Seattle Times Op-Ed for tax reform, even calling a proposal for a new capital-gains tax as one of “several innovative ideas.”
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Twitter: Just Trust Our Algorithm
So I was out at the movies the other night, one of millions who have been enjoying the new Black Panther movie. We got there early, in time to be indoctrinated by the pre-show entertainment. One of the ads surprised me – it was for Twitter. Ads promoting social media platforms are not really that common. But even more surprising was the Read More ›
Your Mind Uploaded in a Computer Would Not Be You
Your Mind Uploaded Into a Computer Would Not be You
Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. — Job 14:2 The human immortality movement is all the rage among the hyper-rich and supposedly visionary futurists in Silicon Valley. Their goal? Nothing too audacious—just the defeat of death itself. Transhumanists, Read More ›