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Friday, July 29, 2005


Frist OK's Stem Cell Research... A triumph for "see no evil" republicanism?

Today, Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist made a speech (transcript here) endorsing government funding for the stem cell research President Bush banned in 2001. This is a good sign in the clash between science and religious fundamentalism, because his endorsement will probably force to the floor the bill that allows the stem cell research that Bush has vowed to veto, isolating Bush in his increasingly unpopular stance on the issue.


In his speech, Frist says:

I am pro-life, I believe human life begins at conception... I also believe that embryonic stem cell research should be encouraged and supported...Thus, with appropriate reservations, I will support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.

He summarizes the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act as follows:

This bill would allow federal funding of embryonic stem cell research for cells derived from human embryos that: 1. are created for the purpose of fertility treatments; 2. are no longer needed by those who received the treatments; 3. would otherwise be discarded and destroyed; 4. are donated for research with the written, informed consent of those who received the fertility treatments, but do not receive financial or other incentives for their donations.

His position appears to be that government funding should only be used to destroy human embryos if those embryos were going to be destroyed anyway. The point that tends to be glossed over is that the human embryo that is being destroyed for research is already past the stage of conception. So it's hard to see how any pro-lifer who believes that human life begins at conception (as Frist describes himself) could possibly support this research.

Frist's defense is that these embryos were already going to be destroyed anyway, but doesn't that just beg the question of whether it's ethical for them to be "destroyed anyway"? The process of in vitro fertilization has existed for years, but few have taken note of the fact that surplus fertilized eggs are routinely discarded, in effect, aborting what many pro-life people consider to be human beings. So if someone like Frist really wants to be true to his conception stage pro-life views, then not only should he oppose all stem cell research on the grounds that it murders "human beings", but he should also oppose the very process of in vitro fertilization, and any other process that produces fertilized eggs that "will be discarded".

Obviously, it would be that much more tiresome for everyone if we had Bill Frist types running around opposing the most basic procedures such as in vitro fertilization that are taken for granted to be morally sound. Still though, if conception stage pro-lifers are ever going to come to their senses and compromise their position a bit, they need to realize the magnitude of the stance their position requires them to take. So we shouldn't let them take the easy way out with phrases like "will be discarded", or, for that matter, Bush's policy of supporting research only on stem cell lines that were already created by what he considers to be illegal means. Both Bush and Frist are in effect taking "see no evil" positions, allowing government research to benefit from what they consider to be murder, but not allowing them to participate in it themselves.

They might as well just spare us the pretense, and allow scientists to do whatever they want, as long as they keep their hands over their eyes.

Update: Apparently, Michelle Cottle of TNR makes the same point about pro-life hypocrisy on in vitro fertilization, referenced on the centrist coalition blog here.



Posted by Justin Sarma, 12:50 PM -

New Issue of the DFP Now Online

The first issue of the summer's now available

Including:

Why Karl Rove Sucks Even More Now by Meredith Wilson

A Review of Dartmouth-Related Blogs by Kelley Meck

An Update on the Status of SAPA/SAAP Programs by Danielle Strollo

A Response to the Kelo Decision by Liz Abernathey

An explanation of what the hell Pataphysical Politics is by Matt Stoff

Reviews of The White Stripes by Matt Stoff and of Coldplay and Foo Fighters by Snarky McHipster

and much more.

Thanks to Nick Santos for putting it online.


Posted by Andrew Seal, 1:49 AM -

Wednesday, July 27, 2005


Dartmouth Reviewed
I have been meaning to write about The Dartmouth Review calling for a core curriculum and, in particular, their ‘poll’ showing the lack of knowledge among Dartmouth students. Here's the link to Students Ignorant of Western Culture: Poll Shows Need for Core Curriculum". While a shameful percentage of students could not answer certain questions, it seems that, overall, respondents had the hardest time not with classics or literature, but questions about contemporary politics. Does a core really address that, and if so how? If this quiz represents what students should know, why should does The Review print a suggest ed core curriculum that takes its inspiration from a classical education? Why not make American government classes mandatory? Of course, I’m kidding, but my point is that contemporary politics does not seem to be akin to classical knowledge. (Also, American political science as a field is often orientated towards formal analysis and tends to ignore history.)


Judge for yourself. Rather than looking simply at the raw numbers, look specifically at which type of questions tends to be even more troublesome for the Dartmouth population. Here are the 28 questions in order of apparent increasing difficulty:

17. Q. What woman was the cause of the Trojan War?
Percent Correct: 83.9
1. Q. What famous brothers founded Rome?
Percent Correct: 64.0
16. Q. Who composed the symphony with a movement known as “Ode to Joy?”
Percent Correct: 63.2
14. Q. Which President’s pet project was building the Panama Canal? Percent Correct: 56.6
13. Q. Where is Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam located?
Percent Correct: 50.8
8. Q. Name one of the two men who invented calculus:
Percent Correct: 46.3
22. Q. Who wrote Don Quixote?
Percent Correct: 46.3
27. Q. Who invented the printing press?
Percent Correct: 46.3
23. Q. Name three freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Percent Correct: 45.9
28. Q. Name the five Great Lakes:
Percent Correct: 45.5
6. Q. Name one of the 3 authors of The Federalist Papers.
Percent Correct: 45.0
26. Q. Who wrote the novel The Brothers Karamazov?
Percent Correct: 39.7
9. Q. What is the dominant sect of Islam in Iran?
Percent Correct: 38.4
2. Q. What does quod erat demonstrandum (Q.E.D.) mean?
Percent Correct: 32.2
12. Q. What Shakespearean character demanded a “pound of flesh” to repay a debt?
Percent Correct: 25.6
15. Q. Who wrote “A Modest Proposal”?
Percent Correct: 24.8
7. Q. Who was Dante’s guide through Hell?
Percent Correct: 24.4
25. Q. Who wrote Faust?
Percent Correct: 24.4
5. Q. Who painted The Birth of Venus ca. 1482?
Percent Correct: 24.0
10. Q. What famous battle occurred in October of 1066 AD?
Percent Correct: 22.7
11. Q. Who wrote the “1812 Overture”?
Percent Correct: 21.9
24. Q. Who wrote “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”?
Percent Correct: 19.8
20. Q. Who wrote Democracy in America?
Percent Correct: 19.4
4. Q. What English king signed the Magna Carta?
Percent Correct: 18.6
19. Q. Name three of the twelve apostles:
Percent Correct: 16.9
3. Q. Name five US Supreme Court justices.
Percent Correct: 15.7
21. Q. Which four US Presidents were assassinated?
Percent Correct: 10.3
18. Q. What is the major third party in British politics?
Percent Correct: 9.1


Posted by Timothy, 12:11 AM -
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