She Blinded Me With (Junk) Science

Related to an earlier post from yesterday (Most Published Scientific Studies Are Wrong?), here is an amusing but very practical column from ABC's token conservative, John Stossel. Click on the title of this post to read it. You'll enjoy.

Football vs Feminism

Debbie Schlussel's brief take on the "Women Excluded from the BCS Poll" non-story is, like everything else she writes, well worth the read.

Meet Dr. Dalrymple

On a fairly recent post over at The Book Den, I mentioned my desire to read Our Culture, What's Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses, a new book written by contributing editor to City Journal, Dr. Theodore Dalrymple.

I hadn't got around to it yet, but after reading this interview of Dr. Dalrymple in FrontPage Magazine's online edition, I put in my order.

Reproductive Freedom Gone Amok

Author and Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution Jennifer Roback Morse has written an important Town Hall column dealing with reproductive freedom. Morse specifically targets in her article the case of Guadalupe Benitez, a lesbian who is suing a California fertility clinic for "sexual orientation discrimination." It seems that because of religious reasons the doctors there were uncomfortable with Benitez' desire to be artificially inseminated (a weird term in itself that becomes even weirder in this instance) and so they directed her to another clinic that didn't have the same moral scruples. This was in 1999 but the lawsuit is just now making its way through the courts.

The absolute demand for having one's own "biological" baby is problematic on several fronts: the creation of "extra embryos" who are subsequently wasted or discarded altogether; a continuing disregard for adoption; the insistence on a perfect kid with all of the subsequent genetic screening designed to eliminate in the womb those who don't make the grade; and so on.

But Morse shows how the Benitez case is pushing the envelope even further.

...Her claim is that a lesbian woman or an unmarried woman, has the same right to be artificially inseminated as a married woman. Excluding an individual on the basis of marital status or sexual orientation is an affront to that person’s dignity. Doctors who decline to provide an elective procedure deserve to be punished. And the strong arm of the law is the proper vehicle for chastising the insensitive.

This case hastens the day when we will have a society in which any woman, married or unmarried, straight or gay, has a right to be artificially inseminated. But if there is a “right to have a child,” it makes no sense to treat it as an individual right. It is a biological fact that every human being has two parents, one male and one female. The state of California already supports the right of unmarried women to be artificially inseminated. I think this is a mistake, because the state is supporting women in making a plan to deprive their children of any relationship with their biological father. The sperm donor is a “legal stranger” to the child, to use the cold language of the law. However much we might sympathize with the plight of any unmarried woman who wants a child, we really ought to ask ourselves the tough question: what public good is served by giving her what she wants, just because she wants it? Our instincitve answer she has a right to a child leads us astray.

There is no right to have a child. The child is not an object to which other people have rights. The parents would be the owners of their children, rather than their stewards or guardians. The well-being of the child could be, and would be, sacrificed to the “rights” of the parents. The woman’s “right” to a child trumps the child’s right to have a father. It is a bad idea to create a legal entitlement to a child. Such an entitlement undermines the very groundwork of freedom...

The whole column is worth reading -- and pondering. So check it out right here.

More Trouble with Embryonic Stem Cell Use

I've said it before. Let me say it again -- Stem-Cell-Blog is an excellent help for laymen trying to understand and keep up with the latest in the ESCR controversy including the breaking developments in (adult) stem cell research and therapy.

But this post at SCB concerns a new source of problems for those trying to persist in embryonic stem cell use. Check it out and then, as always, pass the word.

A Few More for the Road

Here's as sad a tale as you'll find illustrating the modern world's lack of moral standards. Drunk drivers (teenagers) kill themselves and others -- and their friends commemorate the loss by hoisting a few more brews at the scene. God help us.

The Pollution of "Air America"

Air America, of course, was the great liberal hope to de-rail Rush Limbaugh and his conservative talk show colleagues, but the network has all but fallen from the unfriendly skies. Accuracy in Media gives a brief review of the outlandish scandal involving Air America and the huge "loans" it received from a NYC charity.

The article also wonders (though the author, Roger Aronoff knows the answer) why the MSM are so dedicated to look the other way in covering this major news story along with its profound political implications.

The mainstream media certainly went ballyhoo in their coverage of Air America before it was launched. Why not tell the public the rest of the story?

Most Published Scientific Studies Are Wrong?

Wow. From NewScientist.com ("The World's No.1 Science and Technology News Service") comes a highly interesting article. Here's the beginning...

Most published scientific research papers are wrong, according to a new analysis. Assuming that the new paper is itself correct, problems with experimental and statistical methods mean that there is less than a 50% chance that the results of any randomly chosen scientific paper are true.

John Ioannidis, an epidemiologist at the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece, says that small sample sizes, poor study design, researcher bias, and selective reporting and other problems combine to make most research findings false. But even large, well-designed studies are not always right, meaning that scientists and the public have to be wary of reported findings.

"We should accept that most research findings will be refuted. Some will be replicated and validated. The replication process is more important than the first discovery," Ioannidis says.

In the paper, Ioannidis does not show that any particular findings are false. Instead, he shows statistically how the many obstacles to getting research findings right combine to make most published research wrong...

The Post Frets Over Anything That Might Encourage Birth Over Abortion

Doing a rather impressive "Chicken Little" impersonation, the Washington Post's Ceci Connolly wrings her hands over the abortion limitations that have been passed by state legislatures in the past year or so.

"Those opposed to abortion are finding new and different ways to increase the roadblocks and the hoops [that] providers and patients have to jump through," Emmert [Steven Emmert, executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers] said...

And, as an example of these awful, choice-binding, roadblocking laws Ms. Connoly then cites in her next sentence of the article:

Missouri, for example, has set aside $1 million to encourage low-income pregnant women to carry a pregnancy to full term and potentially give the infant up for adoption.

Sigh. It's not about "choice" for some liberals. It's not about "informed consent" or "compassion" or "women's rights."

It's about abortion.

Why Not Just Secede?

There are a lot of wonderful places in the United States to visit. One of them used to be San Francisco with those clanging cable cars, Fisherman's Wharf, and more. But now that the City by the Bay has gone on record as being defiantly ashamed of the United States and its' military, I'm hoping tourists will go elsewhere to spend their money.

Check out James Miller's story of San Fran politicians voting against the USS Iowa coming to their city as well as the absurd anti-American comments some of them have since made. It will get your blood boiling.

For more on this matter, also read through Lisa Fabrizio's excellent essay on the American Spectator web page.

Time for An Intervention: Stopping the GOP's Spendthrift Ways

Here's a thoughtful column from Mark Tapscott focusing on the dire need of conservatives to turn the heat up on the GOP leadership -- leadership which is spending our money almost as recklessly as the Democrats.

Really, guys; we've got to try and get the Republican bigwigs to hear us on this critical matter. America just doesn't have the cash to burn!

Preborn Baby's Head Exploited in Modern Art Exhibit

Critics are upset that an unusual piece of "artwork" (a preborn baby's head attached to the body of a seagull) was temporarily pulled from the Berne (Switzerland) Museum of Fine Arts. A discussion is now underway between "ethics experts, artists and art lovers" to see if and when the piece is returned to the exhibit.

Uh huh; I wonder how the same folks would react to seeing a photo of an aborted baby's head used, let's say, outside of an abortion clinic to inform people of the cruel and grisly realities of that procedure?

The Governor's Muddle-Headed ESCR Decision

The Democrat Governor of Illinois is determined to run the state's finances "his way;" that is, without being bothered by such incovenient details as legislators or the public will. So, as posted here a couple of days ago, he has plans on spending buku bucks on embryonic stem cell research despite the complete absence of legitimate authority to do so.

Well, alerted by Jill Stanek's excellent blog, I've just read a new editorial in the Daily Illini which strongly challenged the ESCR expenditures of Governor Blagojevich. I read it with great interest and I think you will too. Thanks, Jill.

ESCR Opponents Taking to the Air

An excerpt from an AP story out of Des Moines...

An evangelical group has begun a weeklong advertising campaign in Iowa criticizing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for backing expanded embryonic stem cell research.

"We know Iowa is a way to get everybody's attention," said Gary Cass, head of the Florida-based Center for Reclaiming America. "Our hope is Senator Frist will hear from Iowans and they are kind of a bellwether state in the heartland."

Iowa is a critical state in the presidential nominating process and Frist is considered a potential candidate for the Republican nomination in 2008.

In the ad, which shows a photo of a smiling baby, an announcer says: "Senator Frist: we cannot save innocent lives by destroying them. Tell Senator Frist to stand with President Bush and oppose research that destroys human embryos."

Cass said the ads began airing Thursday on television stations in the Des Moines area and local radio stations around the state. The group is spending about $50,000 but could expand the campaign if more money is raised. It also sent e-mails to a national listing of 500,000 social conservatives...

"Some Things Are Not To Be Said Out Loud"

Wes Pruden has a good review of various responses to Pat Robertson's call for the assassination of Hugo Chavez. And he also has a provocative conclusion so read all the way to the end.

Top Ten Lessons from Noah’s Ark

You know, there are an awful lot of important lessons from life to be learned from Noah’s ark. Simple but profoundly important. Here's my list of the “top ten.”

Lesson Number One: Don’t Miss the Boat! See what I mean? A simple yet crucial lesson.

Lesson Number Two: Plan ahead. Remember, it had never rained before but that didn’t stop Noah. He got the design specs from God and acted ahead of the crisis.

Lesson Number Three: Don’t be deterred by criticism or unpopularity. Keep at it.

Lesson Number Four: Appreciate nature in the way God directs. Stewardship is a serious responsibility.

Lesson Number Five: Stay alert for action, whatever your age. Noah was 600 years old when he became a ship maker, even older when he became a sailor.

Lesson Number Six: We’re all in the same boat, baby.

Lesson Number Seven: Avoid loneliness – travel in pairs.

Lesson Number Eight: Learn to be patient and accept God’s will. Sometimes that means you’re a builder; sometimes a zookeeper. Other times, you’ve just gotta’ float awhile.

Lesson Number Nine: As long as you put your trust in the Lord, even the very worst of life's storms can be weathered.

And Lesson Number Ten: Do your duty before God no matter how difficult. And, never ever forget the coming rainbow!

No Fetal Pain in Abortion? Look Again.

Wow -- even a major player in the MSM (USA Today) has now caught on to the extreme bias of the recent report which claimed that unborn kids feel no pain even in late abortions. After all, even though it was the once-prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association which printed the article, the discovery that the originators of the piece include an abortion mill director and other outspoken pro-abortion advocates...well, that kinda' soured the pie.

Of course, the JAMA should have caught on to the scam but being so firmly entrenched in its own bias towards abortion, it didn't bother to be objective. And, yes, the mainstream media should have checked the background of the piece before splashing it everywhere they could. In fact, they could at least have read the thing instead of relying on the article's headlines. They might then have noticed that the "study" was not based on any new scientific data at all but was merely rehashing stuff from old articles. But again, the MSM's enthusiasm for abortion (also strong) naturally clouded their judgment.

So why the semi-apologetic attitude shown by the USA Today article and even JAMA?

Why indeed. It was simply because the faithful "watchmen on the wall" of the alternative media were quick and well prepared to do the job the JAMA and the MSM should have done in the first place; namely, check the facts and report them. And with the numbers of Americans (and others) tuning out the MSM while turning on the conservative "new guard" media, the powers that be are increasingly feeling the pressure to respond.

No doubt about it; without the bloggers, the conservative columnists, the talk radio folks, et al -- the revised story in the USA Today would never have seen the light of day. So be encouraged...and keep telling the truth.

For more details on this story, check out the recent posts of Jill Stanek and ProLifeBlogs.

Federal Judge Rules That Greenpeace et al Can Sue Over Global Warming

There are a lot of wacky people out there; what's new? But when these wacky people team up with wacky judges who can control the lives and fortunes of the rest of us -- there's real mischief afoot.

When Is an Athlete a Genuine Hero?

Yesterday, 33-year old Hilary Lister took six hours to sail her boat, the Malin, across the English Channel, one of the world's busiest and most dangerous shipping lanes. And oh, by the way, Hilary is a quadriplegic, a woman whose achievement was earned despite her being able to only move her head, eyes and mouth.

"I want to get able-bodied people to rethink their views about the disabled," said Hilary.

Mission accomplished...and then some! Congratulations, Hilary.

Democrat Governor: "We're Forced to Live in a Democracy"

Check out this Michael E. Bates column from canadafreepress.com.

It concerns Illinois Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich and how his new-found passion for funding embryonic stem cell research does a brazen "end run" around the democratic process.