Wesley J. Smith

What a scam the medical marijuana movement turned out to be.  Sold originally as a way to allow the relatively few to obtain cannabis that can clearly ameliorate symptoms—such as loss of appetite in AIDS and cancer and relief from nerve pain caused by diabetes—it ended up being . . . . Continue Reading »

A peer reviewed paper admits that surface temps haven’t warmed in the last decade. From “Reconciling anthropogenic climate change with observed temperature 1998–2008,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:Given the widely noted increase in the . . . . Continue Reading »

Mark Oppenheimer, the “Beliefs” columnist for the NYT, had a big cover story in yesterday’s magazine that approvingly discussess the views of sex columnist Dan Savage re the propriety of consensual adultery. Here is the link . For those interested in my views, over at Secondhand . . . . Continue Reading »

I have noted here on more than one occasion that we are in the midst of a coup de culture that seeks to supplant the Judeo/Christian philosophical underpinning of society with one that combines explicit utilitarianism, open support for hedonistic indulgence, and a “faith” founded neo . . . . Continue Reading »

Obamacare will be disastrous for Medicare recipients. $500 billion came out of the program to help make Obamacare appear (through smoke and mirrors) to be fiscally responsible. Worse, it established the anti democratic and bureaucratically unaccountable quasi Star Chamber known as the Independent . . . . Continue Reading »

The modern hospice movement began in the United Kingdom, thanks to the calling and energies of the late, great medical humanitarian, Dame Cecily Saunders. But now, a disturbing report appeared in the Telegraph indicating that tens of thousands of dying patients do not receive adequate palliative . . . . Continue Reading »

We are concluding our journey in London, my (and Secondhand Smokette’s) favorite city in the world.  Nephew Eric said that for all we have seen on our whirlwind adventure, London is the place that he definitely wants to visit again (if the strikers don’t shut the whole place down . . . . Continue Reading »

The so-called “duty to die” has been quietly discussed in bioethics for more than a decade.  Now, a major British Medical Association leader proposed an implicit duty to die by stating that terminally ill people may have to be denied life-extending treatments due to the costs of . . . . Continue Reading »

We took in the awe inspiring cave of Pesh-Merle today. What a moving experience to view the sacred art of our long ago ancestors.Clearly, they appreciated the grandeur of the large animals with which they interacted or hunted—mammoths, ox, bison, reindeer, horses, etc.—quested for . . . . Continue Reading »

I am repeatedly amused by those who decry Obamacare critics as alarmists for warning that it will lead to rationing—who then argue we need rationing.  I have posted about a few of those examples before.I don’t know if Richard Lamm supports Obamacare, but he has wanted rationing for . . . . Continue Reading »