The American Spectator

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What does it say about us as a country when we openly legislate infanticide, yet close military prisons housing fanatical murderers of innocents? How can we reconcile that lethal injection is cruel and unusual, find that Doctors cannot preside over or perform executions because of their Hippocratic Oath, and yet kill unborn children at will? The same people, who will attend a candlelight vigil outside of San Quentin on execution night, will march tomorrow to support Roe v. Wade. Somehow the contradictions do not compute.

The new president has made his position unambiguous on both issues during his less than substantial campaign, and yet he is still elected. Where are we going America?
-- Greg Mercurio
Vacaville, California

TOO MEAN, DAM IT
Re: Jim Powell's Valley of the Dams:

This is really piling on. For example, Pennsylvania Power and Light had an ash storage pit (dam) recently fail at one of its coal fired power plants. If you want some meat, then note the incompetence of S. David Freeman when he was chairman of the TVA board. The rest of the board, many of whom were knowledgeable with power production, quit in protest when Freeman was appointed. So, Freeman did not have the opportunity to blame his failed policies on the members who quit.
-- George Silvestri

TAIL END OF IT
Re: Letters under "Fear of God" in Reader Mail's Thrown Under the Bus:

It is striking that the theory of evolution is such a talisman and Holy Grail among atheists and many agnostics -- especially since so many have scant interest in science otherwise. Why exactly do they get all atwitter at the thought of creationism or intelligent design entering the sacred groves of science class? I should think the theory of evolution could take care of itself among all these creampuffs -- thank you very much.

Of course, the real answer is that K-12 schooling is only about education secondarily. The primary function of schooling the young is socialization and enculturalization. In other words, what shall we teach our children about the work of the world, about ourselves and our place in the world, what we value and what we believe? Most of these tasks can be done without religion (or science for that matter) getting into it; but no education can be done without touching on metaphysics (however briefly).

There is a subtext to the creationist/evolutionist wars that is very real but often we are only subconsciously aware of: are each of us the intentional handiwork of an all powerful and loving God or are we the dispassionate products of necessity and chance? Put this way, this is a question which most are not indifferent to its answer. Little wonder atheists and fundamentalists are at each other's throats.

Of course, no one "owns" science. Nevertheless, the way each talk, atheists are manning the battlements of the science citadel while the fundamentalists are making the assault with savage siege machines. The Church, on the other hand, has historically little problem with the theory of evolution as a matter of science. What is a problem is when evolution becomes a philosophy of life -- a task it has little competence to carry through. Fundamentalists utilize the Scriptures as a guide to science when in fact the writers of the Bible were/are addressing far distant matters. Fundamentalists (and not a few atheists) are under the mistaken notion that if one detail in Scripture is proven not to be true then the whole faith structure falls apart. The Church hardly thinks the Holy Ghost can be thwarted by such minutiae. Thus, instead of grasping the matter by the horns, both atheists and fundamentalists have grabbed the wrong end of the bull.
-- Mike Dooley