Quiz: How much to you think it costs U.S. taxpayers annually to support each member of the U.S. House of Representatives? Each senator? Well, according to the new U.S. budget, you, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, spend $3.1 million to support each House member and $9 million to support each senator. Back in 1963 when John F. Kennedy was president, the Read More ›
SEATTLE — Another 100 scientists have joined the ranks of scientists from around the world publicly stating their doubts about the adequacy of Darwin’s theory of evolution. “Darwinism is a trivial idea that has been elevated to the status of the scientific theory that governs modern biology,” says dissent list signer Dr. Michael Egnor. Egnor is a professor of neurosurgery Read More ›
Doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital admitted that they surgically removed a six-year-old girl’s healthy uterus, breast buds, and appendix, and then subjected her to two years of high-dose estrogen injections to keep her from reaching adult stature. And they did so at her parents’ request. Sounds like a clear case of child abuse, doesn’t it? Not so fast. Many are Read More ›
The Swiss Supreme Court has ruled that people with mental illnesses can be legally assisted in suicide. The case came about when a member of Dignitas, an organization that, for a fee, provides a safe house for, and assistance with, suicide, brought a lawsuit seeking the right to have his death facilitated. The man does not have cancer, AIDS, or Read More ›
What is a “hedge fund”? If you have trouble answering the question, you are not alone, because the term is commonly used to describe many types of pooled investments that may have little in common with each other. Despite the lack of agreement about what is meant by the term hedge fund, some politicians, commentators and financial regulators now advocate Read More ›
Freedom House released its ratings in January on the status of freedom in countries around the world. The ratings produced the usual smug smiles from those highly rated and the usual whining and wailing from governments criticized. But no one has commented on a gap in the annual report that has been evident for years. Once again, as in the Read More ›
To the Editor: Peter Singer (“A Convenient Truth,” Op-Ed, Jan. 26) supports subjecting “Ashley,” a profoundly intellectually disabled girl, to surgical and hormonal interventions to keep her small. In backing her parents’ decision, he asserts that she has value only “because her parents and siblings love her and care about her.” By denying Ashley’s equal moral worth simply for being Read More ›
The latest book in the debate over intelligent design (ID) and evolution borrows its name from the Star Wars saga: Darwin Strikes Back: Defending the Science of Intelligent Design. The author, Thomas Woodward, a rhetorician and historian of ID, wrote his prior book, the award-winning Doubts About Darwin, on the origins of the ID movement. In Darwin Strikes Back, Woodward Read More ›
Can anything good come out of the United Nations? Actually, yes. Little noted in December, the General Assembly adopted a “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.” If ratified by most member nations, the convention could strengthen protections for many people with disabilities. This is no trivial matter. In many countries, people with disabilities face significant, sometimes life-threatening discrimination. Read More ›
Douglas J. Futuyma, Evolutionary Biology, (3rd ed, Sinauer, 1998), pg. 653. Kenneth R Miller & Joseph Levine, Biology: The Living Science (Prentice Hall, 1998), pg. 223. Cecie Starr and Ralph Taggart, Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life, (8th ed, Wadsworth, 1998), pg. 317. Kenneth R Miller & Joseph Levine, Biology (4th ed., Prentice Hall, 1998), pg. 238. William D. Read More ›