Animal rights activists and so-called animal protectionists regularly argue that the public shouldn’t buy or wear fur because it is no longer needed. Fur may have been necessary in the olden days, they concede, but for modern, civilized, and presumably technologically advanced humans, fur is a cruel and gratuitous clothing choice. The puritanical nature of the argument can be seen easily by reading sample letters created by The Humane Society of the United States, a prominent animal-rights … [Read more...]
Lions, Babies, and Moral Outrage
Properly aligned morals requires that weightier matters deserve more care and justify greater umbrage when violated. If one wanted a classic example of the upending of the moral hierarchy, one need look only at the juxtaposition of two stories, Planned Parenthood’s harvesting of baby parts and the killing of Cecil, a lion in Zimbabwe. Note the irony in how the two events are discussed. First, the dentist claims that he thought the hunt was legal. So if we take his reported comments at face … [Read more...]
Is John Cook, 97% Consensus Author, an Identity Thief?
As "everybody knows"---hey, even President Obama lectured us on the fact!---97% of all scientists agree: global warming is real and dangerous, and we must take drastic steps to stop it. The "researcher" behind that claim is University of Western Australia psychology postgraduate John Cook, whose "study" has been torn to shreds for bad data handling, bad sampling, bad literature interpretation, and horrendous statistical methodology. Cook is also the main man behind the climate alarmist website … [Read more...]
Is Pope Francis Contributing to Human Trafficking?
Speaking to a gathering of mayors from around the world at the Vatican July 21, Pope Francis urged action to reduce global warming, saying he particularly hopes the UN climate summit later this year will address how it "affects the trafficking of people." Problem #1: Human-induced climate change has not affected the trafficking of people, or even migration in general. The one and only candidate for climate-change refugee status, a man from the island of Kiribati, just lost his case on appeal, … [Read more...]
Argumentum ad Hominem: A Favorite Fascist Tactic
Occasionally people attack our character rather than our arguments. They should read this by David Riesman: Defamation of opponents is one of the standard devices of political propaganda. In the fascist tactic, defamation becomes a form of verbal sadism, to be used in the early stages of the conflict, before other forms of sadism are safe. The violence and daring of verbal onslaughts exercise a great appeal over the imagination of lower middle-class folk who live insipid and anxious lives; the … [Read more...]
Bandow: Papal encyclical forgets the ecological benefits of market economies
Christian economist Doug Bandow, a long-time friend, has published three thoughtful responses to Laudato Si, Pope Francis's encyclical on the environment. One is "In Calling on Government, Laudato Si Underestimates Power of the the Market." It is, as usual, clear and concise. This excerpt is particularly important: ... the Pontiff’s own goals conflict. For instance, he speaks movingly of the dignity of work and its importance for all, including the poor. These jobs—especially better ones, of … [Read more...]
Jesus and Environmental Sin
The Patriarch of Rome, Pope Francis, recently published a highly anticipated Encyclical Letter on the environment entitled “Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home” Much attention has been spent on the Patriarch’s view that climate change is at least partly the fault of human activity (para 23). But I would like to focus on a statement made in paragraph 8, in which the Pope quotes Patriarch Bartholomew who said “inasmuch as we all generate small ecological damage,” we are called to acknowledge … [Read more...]
Tomorrowland: Even the Best and Brightest Can’t Fix the World
Did Hollywood just figure out the solution to our world’s problems? A week or two ago, I went to see Disney’s latest self-described “epic” sci-fi film, Tomorrowland. To be completely transparent, I didn’t go because I was hooked by the trailer—I wasn’t. Rather, I went because it promised to be an intriguing movie about ideas, worldviews and solving humanity’s problems—and it sure was! Without focusing too much on criticizing the story, plot, and characters of the film (and giving away … [Read more...]
Hayward Slam Dunks Sachs
Economist Jeffrey Sachs directs the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He's also led the way in the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals--a high-sounding program to end poverty that depends largely on redistributing wealth from the West to the Rest with an obligatory but ineffectual nod toward the need for governmental reform and economic development in impoverished countries handicapped by corrupt leadership, progress-stifling political structures, and social mores that undermine personal … [Read more...]
World Magazine Exposes Evangelical Environmentalists’ Growing Dependence on Green-Left Funding
Many environmentalists are fond of accusing all critics of their alarms of being in the pocket of industry. World magazine has just turned the tables. In a three-page article, World environment reporter Daniel James Devine reports that evangelical "creation care" organizations like the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), its daughter organization Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (YECA), and the once-conservative now moderate-to-Left-leaning Christian Coalition receive a major share of … [Read more...]
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