European nations protesting Saddam Hussein’s death sentence, as they protested against forcing secrets out of captured terrorists, should tell us all we need to know about the internal degeneration of western society, where so many confuse squeamishness with...
Re: Dubious Dogma From The Witch Doctor Dalai Lama by Nicholas Provenzo (November 15, 2006) I must congratulate Mr. Provenzo on his accurate description of the Dali Lama. I can add something to expand the irrationality of this “great moral leader.” In the...
According to the Dalai Lama, Saddam Hussein deserves a reprieve. Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has appealed for Saddam Hussein’s life to be spared, saying the deposed Iraqi president was not beyond redemption. “The death penalty is...
This year, I have the pleasure of teaching literature to our school’s Elementary 1 students, children in second and third grades, a class that includes my own seven-year-old daughter Lana. Their uninhibited enthusiasm for learning, their eager quest to see...
With Casino Royale opening on November 17, the James Bond movie franchise now encompasses 21 films and 44 years. Considering how much the world has changed since Dr. No in 1962, what explains the longevity and continuing interest? Obviously, a journalistic...
Several years ago, a teacher from my school was tutoring Kevin, then a freshman in high school. One day, Kevin came to their session asking for help in preparing for a test on protein synthesis. The tutor went over the information Kevin had been presented, helping him...
Science education is a frequent topic in the news these days. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a campaign to improve math and science education in the Seattle area. According to Brad Smith, a senior vice president and general counsel for Microsoft:...
In watching evangelical preacher Ted Haggard’s life implode amid his admission that he popped methamphetamines and had repeated homosexual sex with a prostitute, it suddenly dawned on me how the twisted logic in his mind must have worked. Prior to his public...
A central premise of many of the pro-Republican arguments for the election is the idea that we are at war, and that in one way or another this makes Republicans a superior choice. But I think America is at war only in the minds of some individuals, not in reality. As...
Imagine what would happen if a first-grade teacher, instead of teaching her students addition and subtraction, attempted first to teach them algebra–or, even worse, in the name of intellectual rigor and in an effort to offer a program of exceptional...
America’s campaign in Afghanistan was once widely hailed as a success in the “war on terror.” We have nothing more to fear from Afghanistan, our policy makers told us, because the war had accomplished its two main goals: al Qaeda and its sponsoring...
Physics is the fundamental natural science. Its birth in the 17th century heralded man’s coming of age as a rational being. The discovery of the basic laws of nature led to the industrial revolution and modern technology, demonstrating the enormous practical...
There are only a handful of products that Americans import that cannot be produced at home and therefore create jobs for Americans. Let’s look at a few of them. We import cocoa from Ghana and coffee from African and Latin American countries. We import saffron...
In the upcoming election, I will not vote for any Republican. My reasons are based on those offered by philosopher Leonard Peikoff, and I agree with him completely. A straight Democratic vote in this election is the only rational choice I can make. I would not,...
For whom should one vote in the coming election? What is the principal factor one should consider in judging a candidate or a political party? Should one focus on what a candidate says he is going to do in office? Should one make one’s decision by asking, as...
Is there any point in voting for candidates of either entrenched party?
Patrick Buchanan’s recent syndicated column titled “New Deal for U.S. Manufacturers” stokes the fires of misunderstanding and panic. Mr. Buchanan, my longtime friend, is right about a lot of things, but he’s wrong about trade. First, he...
The good news out of Munich is that BMW has come up with something that could do a better job than the CIA in defunding al-Qaida. The BMW Hydrogen 7, available next year in a limited series of a few hundred cars in the United States and other countries, runs on either...
A New York Times article recently described the military skills our soldiers will need to engage in the operations our politicians are asking them to perform (“Military Hones a New Strategy on Insurgency,” October 5, 2006). The new doctrine renounces...
There are very few saints among people of any race, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. None should be above criticism. Increasingly, however, there are tighter and tighter restrictions on what you can say about more and more groups. San Francisco radio...
The Royal Society of London, England’s premier scientific society, has sent a letter to Exxon-Mobil asking that the energy giant stop funding organizations which have “misrepresented the science of climate change by outright denial of the evidence.”...
A minor issue at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) has potentially major implications for the future of Islam in the United States. Starting about a decade ago, some Muslim taxi drivers serving the airport declared that they would not transport...
Democrats plan to trumpet the income and wealth gap for political gain in this year’s elections. According to The Wall Street Journal article “Democrats’ Risky Strategy,” Democratic candidates blame Republicans for economic inequality. This...
Nowhere is political frivolity more in evidence than in issues involving racial and ethnic groups. Disagree with some policies or demands and you become an instant “racist.” The substance of those policies or demands, and the substance of the objections to...
We are engaged in a vast battle to defend scientific, industrial civilization against irrationalism. Whether the enemy bombs the World Trade Center, abortion clinics, logging equipment, or medical research labs, the target is the same: reason–the use of reason...
I oppose any pretense at such a thing as “international law.” The concept of “law” implies governmental enforcement. Where there is no government, such as between nations, there can be no law. This is all the more true when nations are at war....
My previous columns have attempted to reduce confusion by suggesting operational definitions of discrimination and prejudice. Discrimination was defined as the act of choice, and prejudice was the act of decision-making on the basis of incomplete information. Good...
Although socialism has long claimed to be for the poor, it has probably done more damage, on net balance, to the poor than to the rich. After all, the rich have enough money to leave the country if they think the socialists are going to do them any serious harm. Some...
Now that gasoline prices are below $3 a gallon, calls for the government to “do something” to force prices lower have temporarily abated. But it is crucial for us to recognize that no matter what the price of gasoline is, such calls are wrong. All market...
This past week has told us more than we wanted to know about ourselves and about our enemies. There was far more controversy over remarks made by the Pope than over the violence unleashed by Muslims against people who had nothing to do with what the Pope said. That...
In recent weeks, I’ve offered operational definitions for some of the terms used in the discussion of race. The first was discrimination, which can be broadly defined as the act of choice. When one selects one activity, good or person, of necessity he must...
The American Medical Association (AMA) is now engaged in an irrational effort to prevent cuts in Medicare payments to doctors. The campaign, which recently included a “fly-in” where AMA members personally appealed to members of Congress in Washington D.C.,...
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