Free Republic

After World War II, the U.S. government invested an enormous amount of money in medicine; medical research, medical procedures and medical technologies. This investment made contemporary scientific medicine into American medicine, characterized by a continuing flow of new treatment possibilities. These advances raised all kinds of ethical questions. Some were personal and individual, others were social and political. Both type questions are addressed by a new academic discipline called bioethics. The first attempt to develop a scientific medicine took place in Greece in the 5th century B.C. It was called Hippocratic medicine. Closely linked with this first scientific medicine was...

That woman just brought me to tears, and that's not easy.

Every FReeper needs to listen to this. A mom. Passionate. One of the best callers to Rush. Maybe ever.

More than 31,000 scientists across the United States, including more than 9,000 Ph.D.s in fields including atmospheric science, climatology, Earth science, environment and dozens of other specialties, have signed a petition rejecting "global warming," the assumption that the human production of greenhouse gases is damaging Earth's climate. "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate," the petition states. "Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide...

TGIF and TGIS?

Outrage of the summer: The new "Superman" movie edited out "The American Way" from the Krypton immigrant's rally cry. The Daily Planet editor says Supe's now all about "Truth, Justice and all that stuff." Makes perfect sense. Consider the foreign markets, where "The American Way" means Abu Ghraib and McDonald's. Don't remind them! They might burn the theater. (If that's their way.) Besides, it makes sense to have a newspaper editor treat the line with gruff dismissal, because hard-bitten editors don't get starry-eyed over patriotic hogwash. Except when discussing the people's right to know the GPS coordinates of Superman's fort....

In the huge, muddy field which serves as a forward base, Major-General Richard Natonski prepared his troops for the battle ahead. 'We're goin' in to raise the Eye-raqi flag above Falluja - to give it back to the Fallujans,' he shouted, the eyes of the entire 1st Marine Division on him. Pausing to remember the marine corps who fought in Vietnam, Korea and the two world wars, they then stood to attention and launched into the marine hymn. 'Only two songs send a shiver up my spine,' said one marine, his face scored with the pockmarks and confidence of youth....

PUTTING OUR PEOPLE “IN HARM’S WAY” On Saturday morning, seven human beings disintegrated over the state of Texas while attempting to reenter the earth’s atmosphere at a speed of twelve-thousand miles per hour. Everything had to be just right; otherwise, the intense heat would destroy the spacecraft and its occupants. As it turns out, everything was not “just right”, and the nation mourns. We can question. We can second-guess. We can criticize. One thing, however, we must not forget, as those brave seven no doubt never did. Their mission, no matter the number of previous successes, was a complicated one,...