Wesley J. Smith

We just topped 20, 000 visits in the last 30 days, here at SHS. I am most pleased. We were growing steadily, had a bit of a decline in the summer, and have had a recent surge. I appreciate everyone who comes by, agree with me or not. I receive many compliments from readers when I am out speaking, . . . . Continue Reading »

Other names may be trying to catch up with Smith, but we will never give up the championship. Despite a bit of a decline, we are still number 1! From the NYT story:Smith remains the most common surname in the United States, according to a new analysis released yesterday by the Census Bureau. But for . . . . Continue Reading »

Well, this is some unexpected good news: Ian Wilmut is turning his back on human cloning.Wilmut has had several positions on this morally contentious and volatile issue. In his book The Second Creation, Wilmut wrote that he would not engage in human cloning. Then, he supported reproductive cloning, . . . . Continue Reading »

Have we not at long last had enough of investigations seeking to find rational bases for perceived racial differences among us? Now, Peter Singer—while rejecting racism—supports doing research into the genetics of Africans to see whether they measure up to other populations on the . . . . Continue Reading »

What a dumb headline from the AP: “Court Clears Way for Egg Rights Showdown.” No, there is no attempt to give eggs any rights.The story actually involves the court’s approval for backers of an initiative in Colorado to obtain petition signatures. If the proposal makes it to the . . . . Continue Reading »

Is it just me, or does it also seem to you that the popular entertainment is increasingly pro-suicide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia in its themes and plot lines? The latest example, alas, was brought to us by BBC’s Torchwood—one of my favorite programs, a spin-off of another . . . . Continue Reading »

A The Lancet editorial criticizing the World Health Organization and UNICEF for allegedly manipulating scientific data to achieve a political result—the accuracy of which I take no position—speaks to a bigger problem that I am seeing with dismaying regularity. In government, in science . . . . Continue Reading »

Hospitalized-care in the UK seems to be in a terrible meltdown: Hospital acquired infection is an ongoing crisis, waiting lists for surgeries, operating deficits, you name it. But a recent dereliction that may have cost a woman her life, might just take the cake. Patricia Prowse died after minor . . . . Continue Reading »

PETA’s goal is to end all human use of animals—no matter the benefit. Toward this end, they engage in often funny guerrilla theater tactics—such as the “running of the nudes” in Spain to protest the running of the bulls.But beneath such edgy public strategies is a . . . . Continue Reading »

This story, byline Malcolm Ritter the AP’s science writer, follows up on the earlier reports that monkeys have been cloned and embryonic stem cells derived. As I suspected, the researchers apparently burned through a lot of eggs. From the story:Despite the monkey success, “we’re . . . . Continue Reading »