As in the conservative camp, there are smart liberals and dumb ones. When I encounter one of the former, my usual reaction is horror at the enormity of what such an intelligent person might do with his/her unfortunate ideals. Yet sometimes they give me hope. Christy Hardin-Smith shows signs of being such a person. Today…
Month: July 2008
Church Shootings Sad, Indicative
Sunday’s shooting at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was an event that proves even the places that are most sacred to us are not inviolable, that we must be ever-vigilant if we’re to keep evil at bay. If only that were possible in this world. Jim David Adkisson was by several accounts an unstable individual…
Birth Control Rules
Following on to yesterday’s piece about birth (and death) control, here’s more from ABC News: The Department of Health and Human Services draft proposal, which began circulating around Capitol Hill last week, would require hospitals receiving federal funds to certify that, in their hiring, they do not discriminate against people who refuse to provide forms…
Birth and Death Control
Hillary Clinton writes that the Bush Administration’s impending clampdown on access to birth control and "morning after" pills is outrageous interference in the lives of women. She’s right, of course, although the decision also impacts men only a little less directly. These rules pose a serious threat to providers and uninsured and low-income Americans seeking…
Nuclear Power, Waste, and Theft
William Tucker, author of the forthcoming book "Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Power Can Lead the Green Revolution and End America’s Long Energy Odyssey", says that nuclear power is both safe and required if we are to ensure that the electrical demands of Americans are met. I’ve written about this before, often enough to bore, frankly,…
Global Warming Science
Dr. David Evans, a pioneer in the modeling of climate change, now says that there’s no definitive evidence that man-made carbon emissions are contributing to global warming. Moreover, he seems to question whether the phenomenon of rising temperatures even exists. …since 1999 new evidence has seriously weakened the case that carbon emissions are the main…
The Value of Media Neutrality
The news that an AP reporter traveled in company with Taliban terrorists and filmed the execution of two Afghan women indicates that it can. Many people are pretty upset about the AP reporter’s role in the murderous event and not without some justification. Journalists are supposed to tell the story without bias or agenda. Or…
Bush Allows More Drilling
In a long overdue move, President Bush has lifted the ban on offshore oil and gas drilling that his father implemented more than 15 years ago. The move gives oil and gas companies the freedom to explore for resources in areas they’ve long coveted, to the dismay of environmentalists. Is this the answer to the…
Mortgage Co. Bailout
Two actions by the feds in D.C. are aimed at bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two large mortgage finance companies that are being dragged down by the domino effect of the mortgage mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. The NY Times says: Alarmed by the sharply eroding confidence in the nation’s two largest mortgage…
Recessionary Whining
Phil Gramm says that Americans whine too much about the problems in their lives and that the recession that many economists and pundits say we’re in is largely a product of their bruised psyches. Gramm: "You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession…" "We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet."…