The CIRM Follies Continue

What an expensive joke the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has become. Conflicts of interest are rife, leading to a Little Hoover Commission investigation. Management meltdowns have mixed with an incredible sense of entitlement and hubris. Hundreds of millions that were promised to go . . . . Continue Reading »

Evil Knowledge

The best torture is an effect caused by acts which are not torture. Andrew and Ross reflect. My basic stance on torture is pretty clear but also pretty modern: I want a strict, narrow definition of that which is absolutely impermissible. This suggests great skepticism and discomfort with what Ross . . . . Continue Reading »

O Magnum Mysterium

Few pieces of music I know capture the mystery of the Incarnation better than Victoria’s motet “O Magnum Mysterium.” The words are: O magnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentem in praesepio! Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt . . . . Continue Reading »

The Hidden-Purpose Driven Presidency

Many conservatives hope political pressure will force Obama to move to the center. There’s indeed good reason to expect that he will pursue a moderate economic and foreign policy, but he seems wholly set on preserving and strengthening the Roe regime and supporting other socially liberal . . . . Continue Reading »

“To Ensure Maximum Efficiency”

Well, as long as Stalin meant well: Stalin, the brutal Soviet dictator responsible for the deaths of millions of his citizens, has been undergoing a makeover of sorts in recent years. Russian authorities have reshaped the Georgia-born dictator’s image into that of a misunderstood, demonized . . . . Continue Reading »