Author: Justin

Just thought I’d serve up a few excerpts from a New York Times book review. Since we’re broadening our interests and all… Leon R. Kass is well known as a philosopher with particular expertise in bioethics…But the public, aware of those credentials, may well be surprised now to find him the author of a hefty…

Breaking into new territory (or is he?), the titanically polymathic brain of Leon Kass has a few modest proposals for the betterment of American matrimony. Reception has been mixed. The AEI, faith based, and evangelical communities are nodding their solemn approval like dashboard bobble dolls. Those of a more secular bent are taking a more…

(Via The Speculist) A long interview with Dr. Bradley Edwards, the man who is perhaps most responsible for the recent interest in space elevators. Many thanks to Keith Curtis for going out and getting the story. This interview is depressing. We haven?t broken ground and it isn?t clear if NASA could be helpful. From the…

September 19, 2005 Take a good look at America around you now, because when we emerge from the winter of 2005 – 6, we’re going to be another country. The reality-oblivious nation of mall hounds, bargain shoppers, happy motorists, Nascar fans, Red State war hawks, and born-again Krispy Kremers is headed into a werewolf-like transformation…

That would be Tony Blair’s love for fission power. But he’s comfortable enough to hint… Blair has privately disclosed that he is in favour of more nuclear reactors and that he expects the findings of the inquiry to make a case that can be supported by an all-party consensus. His position on nuclear energy has…

SpaceX has announced that the maiden flight of their Falcon I launcher is scheduled for October 31st. Here’s wishing them a Happy Halloween. Less momentously, November 8th should see the release of George R.R. Martin‘s latest novel, A Feast for Crows. Finally. But if you lived in London, you could buy it next week. Grrr.…

Solipsism is one of those fetid intellectual dark alleys that some people just can’t resist walking down. I never saw the appeal myself, I enjoy having friends too much. Eventually most people turn around and head back toward the light. Nevertheless, there are still too many who think it’s pretty deep stuff. If you find…

One of the more pleasurable aspects of blogging is that of control. As the captain of his or her own tiny print shop, a blogger can exercise a despotic editorial control that “real” newsmen can only dream of. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee a readership, perhaps quite the opposite. But it can come in handy.…

Here are the comments from “Another Tragedy Of Higher Education”. I’ve edited (a bit) for continuity and brevity. An extended response to these arguments is available here… ———————————————————————- Well, aren’t we feeling a little smoldering resentment today? What, did poor Justin get personally snubbed by Kass? And we can’t touch Kass personally because he couldn’t…

Flying cars. Key metric of 21st century progress? Or wasteful symbol of peak oil profligacy? I vote key metric. Justification to follow, eventually. The Instapundit wants one. The Speculist(s) want one. Hell, I want one. And so does Calvin, but Hobbes is dubious (scroll down). He thinks we don’t deserve them. Me, I’m with Calvin.…

While he may be stepping down, he’s not stepping out… Leon R. Kass, the University of Chicago medical ethicist who four years ago today was named by President Bush to head the newly created President’s Council on Bioethics, will step down as chairman Oct. 1, the White House announced late Wednesday. Kass…asked to be relieved…

Here are some perky thoughts from a Girl in Glasses named Rita… Not that this is in any way related to where I worked this summer or for whom, but Leon Kass Steps Down as Chairman of President’s Bioethics Panel. The blogosphere is very happy about this, since it offers all the bitter armchair bioethicists……

Sean Kinsell makes some interesting observations about disaster relief in paternalistic Japan… Well, I will tell you as someone who has lived here for a decade: what you hear about disaster preparedness ALWAYS involves local intiatives. Sometimes, municipal governments are involved; other times, it’s smaller public institutions. 1 September, the anniversary of the Great Kanto…

Via Betterhumans… A new device for removing liver tumours with virtually no blood loss has been used successfully for the first time in America. The Habib 4X resection device is named after its inventor Professor Nagy Habib… The revolutionary new device uses radiofrequency energy to ‘seal’ tissue around a tumour site, allowing the tumour to…

Good news for people who want to get off the planet. SpaceX has announced a new iteration of their Falcon line of launch vehicles, the Falcon IX. Faithful readers may recall that I’ve been touting their Falcon I for some little while now. They may also recall that SpaceX is using private funding to engineer…

Leon Kass is leaving the President’s Council on Bioethics. No word yet as to why. I certainly hope it’s not for reasons of ill health. I want him to have an artificially prolonged and strappingly healthy life. Poetic justice would then demand that he clearly recognize just what a pompous horse’s ass he’s been. After…

When I was twelve, I had a fever dream. I saw a few things that couldn?t be real, and they frightened me. Some background may be in order. What nobody knew when I first felt ill was that I was suffering from an infection of the meninges, the membranes that wrap around the brain and…

An opposing point of view… I am a huge Leon Kass fan. He is a gentle, humble, kind and wise man. Knowing the he is a man of influence and significance is good for our human future. I sleep better knowing people like Dr. Kass are in this great debate of what it means to…

My fishing expedition is far from over, but this item was so good I just had to come back and tell you about it. I’ve been remiss in letting so much time elapse, but better late than never, eh? The following is an eye witness account of a Kass sighting at the American Enterprise Institute.…

I?ve got to wonder how Eric does it. Blogs on a daily basis, that is. Considering that he produces about 99.5 percent of the output here at Classical Values, and seemingly without effort, you would think that I could pick up the slack for just a couple of weeks without burning out. Sadly, you would…