Wesley J. Smith

Some time ago, doctors discovered that Ambien could bring apparently unconscious patients back to awareness, although the effect would sometimes fade as the drug wore off.  A case in South Africa has repeated the phenomenon.  From the News 24 story:After reading a report in City Press last . . . . Continue Reading »

I incurred the wrath of Game of Thrones fans when I complained about the pretty graphic (soft core) incest depicted between adult brother and sister in the early episodes, complete with grunts and sighs. And I warned that using incest to titillate in a fantasy was just the beginning.  From my . . . . Continue Reading »

Australia’s Philip Nitschke’s “life’s work” is to make it easier for anyone who wants death to off themselves, and for any reason.  He travels the world giving “how to” seminars and has even trained people to buy suicide drugs in Mexico and sneak . . . . Continue Reading »

I keep warning that this “nature rights” movement is beginning to bite, and people keep rolling their eyes.  But New Zealand just granted rights to a river.  From the New Zealand Herald story:Meet the Whanganui. You might call it a river, but in the eyes of the law, it  . . . . Continue Reading »

The New England Journal of Medicine has become a leftwing journal on issues of public policy. Demonstrating its progressive bona fides, it just published an article—based on a symposium sponsored by the hard left think tank, Center for American Progress—proposing ways to . . . . Continue Reading »

As promised in my earlier post, I decided to weigh in some more on the late Christopher Hitchens’ denying Nietzsche’s maxim about being made stronger by that which does not destroy us. First, I note that Hitchens was the best contemporary practitioner of the extended essay, and reference . . . . Continue Reading »

PETA is an extremely litigious organization that often files lawsuits for the publicity and fund raising opportunities, as in Sea World’s whales are “slaves,” rather than seeking to correct an actually bona fide wrong. There is a name for that: Abuse of process. And it . . . . Continue Reading »

The late Christopher Hitchens wanted to be remembered for the excellence of his intellect. No doubt, those hopes will be met. As probably the best contemporary practitioner of the extended essay, he and the views he so pungently expressed will impact our societal discourse for many years to come. After his terminal diagnosis became public, Hitchens wrote, in a characteristic turn of phrase, that he was “living dyingly.” … Continue Reading »

Good grief, what next?  Researchers claim they have been able to change the dreams of rats.  From the Daily Mail story:Using correlative analysis, they confirmed the  rats were dreaming about the previous day’s exploits in the enclosure but when  researchers played the . . . . Continue Reading »

I have pledged to try to keep readers updated on stories we discuss here: Responding to the Cologne trial judge outlawing circumcision, the German State of Berlin had declared circumcision legal if done by a doctor. From the Times of Israel story:One of Germany’s 16 states has declared . . . . Continue Reading »