Archive for October, 2007
Progressive Taxes
An essential feature of good citizenship is paying one’s fair share toward the maintenance of the common good. Determining what constitutes a “fair share,” though, has been a point of contention throughout history. Superimposed on questions of individual responsibility are issues of allocating economic resources between the public and private sector. A recent New York [...]
Read More..>>Is There a Gene for Controversy-seeking?
Nobel laureate James Watson, the eminent scientist credited for his work in elucidating the structure of DNA, is not averse to controversy. His willingness to speak frankly about the application of science to behavioral and social questions seems designed to push people’s buttons. And push them he has, on such subjects as racism, genetic engineering, [...]
Read More..>>A Left Turn for Islam
Writing on the Guardian Unlimited site, Ali Eteraz calls for the creation of a viable and well-organized Muslim Left, which would espouse such ideas as the separation of religion and government, liberal democracy, free speech, and respect for international law. Muslim leftists will – it is a must – have to be able to articulate [...]
Read More..>>The Bounds of Silence
Will Okun, in an opinion piece in the New York Times today, writes about the State of Illinois decision to mandate a moment of silence in its public schools, and the obvious motives of its backers to re-introduce prayer into the school day. Among the points he makes is that prayer, and a faith-based worldview [...]
Read More..>>A Blind Trust for Religious Belief?
Earlier this month John McCain, in an interview published on BeliefNet.com, infamously said: I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation… We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here they know that they are in a nation [...]
Read More..>>Unborn in the USA
Kristen Philipkoski, on Wired Science, writes that a lawyer will represent an unborn embryo in federal court in a few days, in a largely procedural hearing on jurisdictional issues. The suit was filed against the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine by attorney Martin Palmer, on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Preborn [...]
Read More..>>There’s Got to be a Morning After Pill
The Chicago Tribune reports that a deal has been reached between the State of Illinois, its licensed pharmacists, and Walgreen Company regarding the refusal of some pharmacists to dispense Plan B, the “morning-after” emergency contraceptive. Illinois pharmacies must fill prescriptions for Plan B and other emergency contraceptive pills “without delay,” as Gov. Rod Blagojevich decreed [...]
Read More..>>The Pendulum Swings
The Barna Group, a Christian polling organization, recently announced the publication of a new book by its president, David Kinnaman, entitled unChristian. This book reportedly explores negative trends in perceptions of Christianity (especially of the evangelical variety) among young Americans, which is somewhat driven by the obsessive focus of Christian conservatives on opposition to homosexuality. [...]
Read More..>>Genocide: Keeping it Real
At the Situationist, Paul Slovic asks if we will have “Another Century of Genocide?” In this and previous posts, he notes that our moral intuitions fail when the number of lives involved becomes large. In some cases, this is attributable to our inability to grasp the impact of events on large scales, but Slovic notes [...]
Read More..>>God Bless Humanism
I’m not one to dwell on movement politics, but Sam Harris’ recent exhortation to shed the “atheist” label has struck a chord, and may be worthy of a second look (and wanton embrace) by humanists. At the Atheist Alliance International conference in Washington DC, Harris said: So, let me make my somewhat seditious proposal explicit: [...]
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