The COVID pandemic has been one of the most politically and culturally divisive events in American history. Which seems odd. Usually, a universal external threat unite societies and rallies populations to focus on the common foe. Instead, American society fractured into different tribes, which often coincided with our preexisting political factionalism. Adding to our woes, the proper approach to scientific inquiry and policy makers’ relationship with the expert class became badly skewed. Once an orthodoxy was declared by the World Health Organization or the Center for Disease Control, government leaders, the mainstream media, and Big Tech circled the wagons to prevent dissenting views from being aired — and even seeking to punish those with differing opinions. One of those caught in this cultural oppression was Wesley’s guest on this episode of Humanize. He and Wesley discuss how COVID was treated differently than other pandemics, the personal costs of taking a heterodox view on the best approach to the pandemic, how science has been corrupted by politics, and Bhattacharya’s views on the safety of the COVID vaccines and the wisdom of vaccine mandates. It is an illuminating discussion with a highly credentialed expert about one of the most dramatic scientific events in recent world history. Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya is a Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University and directs Stanford’s Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging. Dr. Bhattacharya’s research focuses on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, with a particular emphasis on the role of government programs, biomedical innovation, and economics. Dr. Bhattacharya’s recent research focuses on the epidemiology of COVID-19 as well as an evaluation of policy responses to the epidemic. He has published 135 articles in top peer-reviewed scientific journals in medicine, economics, health policy, epidemiology, statistics, law, and public health among other fields. He holds an MD and PhD in economics, both earned at Stanford University. He is also a co-author the Great Barrington Declaration, published in the fall of 2020, to great controversy, which dissented against the reigning public health policies being brought to bear against the virus, and offered a heterodox approach that would recommended reopening society as we continued to protect our most vulnerable members from illness. Related Great Barrington Declaration (gbdeclaration.org) We Cannot Stop the Spread of COVID, But We Can End the Pandemic ⋆ Brownstone Institute The Emergency Must Be Ended, Now ⋆ Brownstone Institute The Collins and Fauci Attack on Traditional Public Health ⋆ Brownstone Institute Fauci Wants UN to ‘Rebuild the Infrastructures of Human Existence’ (theepochtimes.com)
Here’s the advocacy scam: “Death with dignity” activists push suicide facilitation for some people—but still claim to oppose suicide per se because they call doctor-prescribed death by the euphemism, “medical aid in dying” (MAID). Read More ›
The push is now on to allow assisted suicide for psychiatric patients. The Journal of Eating Disorders has published a piece urging that psychiatrists be allowed to assist the suicides of patients afflicted with anorexia who want to die rather than continue to struggle against their mental illness. Read More ›
Adoption didn’t used to be a matter of significant controversy. Public and private adoption agencies worked diligently to place children needing families with those who wanted to love them. Private adoptions often happened without a hitch. These days, adoption has been caught up, at least to some degree, in the culture wars surrounding abortion and gay rights. Adoption of children from foreign countries also sometimes gets caught up in disputes among nations, leaving wanted children unadopted and yearning parents heartbroken. But we all need families. There are still children desperately needing permanent and loving homes in which to grow up and thrive. Adoption is an important issue about which more information needs to be known. So, in this episode of Humanize, Wesley explores the issue from all angles, including those involving controversial areas, such as those touching on LGBT issues as well as inter-racial adoption, and the abortion issue. It is an extremely informative conversation with one of the nation’s premier experts on adoption that anyone interested in adoption and the families that benefit from opening their hearts to children will want to hear. Ryan Hanlon is Acting CEO and President of the National Council for Adoption where he oversees NCFA’s educational projects, including the annual National Adoption Conference for adoption professionals, and online educational programs, training, and resources. He also leads NCFA’s research initiatives, and our federal legislative and policy work. Additionally, Ryan serves as liaison to NCFA’s members including adoption service providers and adoption attorneys across the United States. Hanlon came to NCFA with over thirteen years of experience as an adoption professional. Prior to NCFA, he served as the Executive Director of a Hague-accredited agency that focuses on both domestic and intercountry adoption. He has experience serving as a foster care caseworker as well as with child protective services. In the field of adoption, Ryan has been a speaker at national conferences, and has worked on accreditation issues and state licensing matters. After receiving his B.A., Hanlon earned a MA in Liberal Arts, a MS in Nonprofit Management, as well as a Master of Social Work degree. He earned a PhD in social work from The Catholic University of America. He has served as a social work field instructor and an adjunct professor of social work to both undergraduate and graduate students. Links Home – National Council For Adoption (adoptioncouncil.org) House Bill and Senate Bill NCFA action center for all legislative issues
One of the more paradoxical claims by assisted-suicide promoters is that legalization will reduce “premature” deaths because seriously ill people who might otherwise end it all sooner will instead wait because release is available readily when they need it. Read More ›
President Joe Biden should change his name to “President Woke.” In the newest example of his administration’s hard-left governing philosophy, they planned to offer nonprofit organizations federal grants to give drug paraphernalia to addicts, an idea that goes under the name of “harm reduction.” Read More ›
We live in intellectually mediocre times, when commitment to true debate as a means of ascertaining truth — and the understanding that reasonable people can have different opinions — has been replaced by a desire among the culturally powerful to stifle heterodox thought and punish unapproved opinions. Wesley’s guest on this episode of Humanize refuses to yield to such intellectual straightjacketing. A true polymath, Dr. David Berlinski advocates heterodox ideas and thought, ranging from questioning Darwinism, to espousing the once-self-evident truth that there is such a thing as human nature. He and Wesley discuss the philosophy of mathematics, the corruption of science, and the causes of the ongoing devolution of Western society. Berlinski is stupefied to learn of the new environmental movement known as “nature rights,” which he rightly brands as “idiotic.” It’s a fascinating conversation with Berlinski, who is rightly considered one of the great minds of our time. David Berlinski received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and was later a postdoctoral fellow in mathematics and molecular biology at Columbia University. He is currently a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. Dr. Berlinski has authored works on systems analysis, differential topology, theoretical biology, analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of mathematics, as well as three novels. He has also taught philosophy, mathematics and English at such universities as Stanford, Rutgers, the City University of New York and the Universite de Paris. He is author of numerous books, including A Tour of the Calculus, The Advent of the Algorithm, Newton’s Gift, A Short History of Mathematics, The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions, The King of Infinite Space: Euclid and His Elements, and his most recent, Human Nature, published in 2019. He is also the author of too many essays to count and the subject of innumerable interviews. Links David Berlinski | Writer, Thinker, and Raconteur Human Nature: Berlinski, David: 9781936599714: Amazon.com: Books The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions: Berlinski, David: 8601300280028: Amazon.com: Books
Is criminal justice a “human dignity issue?” Wesley’s guest, Pat Nolan makes a compelling case that it is and for improving the manner in which—and attention we pay to—the care and rehabilitation of incarcerated people. In their conversation, Nolan discusses his upbringing in a tough Los Angeles neighborhood and how that led him to a career got in politics as a means of protecting society from criminal predators. But when Nolan was incarcerated for a campaign finance violation, he saw the issue from the other side of the prison cell. Prisoners are too often treated in a demeaning and cruelly unjust fashion, he says, that not demeans their essential humanhood but which also does violence to their souls, making them more likely to commit crimes after they are released. While in prison, Nolan was recruited by the late Chuck Colson to work for his Prison Fellowship ministry on issues of criminal justice reform and methods of improving prisoner rehabilitation, a work that took a distinctly Christian approach which he continues years after his mentor’s death. Nolan was instrumental in helping to pass the First Step Act, signed into law by President Trump, a criminal justice reform measure that is already reducing recidivism and improving community safety. And he’s not done yet. “I will go out with my boots on,” he tells Wesley. Nolan explains his commitment to help those who many scorn in this compelling conversation about an seemingly intractable and uniquely American issue. Pat Nolan is the Director Emeritus of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Nolan Center for Justice. Launched in 2014, The Center informs and mobilizes public support for criminal justice reforms based on conservative principles, and works with government officials to effectively implement those reforms. Nolan is a leading voice on criminal justice reform, highlighting the skyrocketing costs of prison, fiscal responsibility in the criminal justice system and reforms for non-violent offenders. He is a leader of the Right on Crime project— a national movement of conservative leaders supporting sensible and proven reforms to our criminal justice system – policies that will contain prison costs while keeping the public safe. Previously, he served for 15 years in the California State Assembly, four of those as the Assembly Republican Leader. He was a leader on crime issues, particularly on behalf of victims’ rights, was one of the original sponsors of the Victims’ Bill of Rights (Proposition 15), and was awarded the “Victims Advocate Award” by Parents of Murdered Children. Nolan was targeted for prosecution for a campaign contribution he accepted which turned out to be part of an FBI sting. He pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and served 29 months in federal custody. Before entering prison a friend of his told him that “for centuries Christians have left their day-to-day world, humbled themselves, done menial labor, prayed and studied their faith. We call that a monastery. View this time as your monastic experience.” Pat credits this friend with helping him enter prison in a frame of mind which allowed him to put the time to good use/ Nolan is the author of When Prisoners Return, which describes the important role of the Church in helping prisoners get back on their feet after they are released. He is a frequent expert witness at Congressional hearings on important issues such as prison work programs, juvenile justice, prison safety, offender reintegration and religious freedom. He has lectured at many judicial conferences and legal conventions. His opinion pieces have appeared in numerous periodicals including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the National Law Journal, National Review Online, and the Washington Times. He is a frequent guest on television and radio shows, including Fox Network News, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, Michael Reagan, and Sean Hannity. Pat earned both his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and his Juris Doctorate at the University of Southern California. Links Testimony Before the U.S. Sentencing Commission of Pat Nolan (ussc.gov) Policy Center | (conservativejusticereform.org) The Conservative Spearheading Criminal-Justice Reform | The New Yorker President Trump’s Pardon of Pat Nolan — A Great Moment for Criminal Justice Reform – The American Spectator | USA News and Politics The American Conservative Union Nolan Center for Justice
Its biases are too pronounced and its agendas too partisan. Perhaps the time has come for the paper to change its masthead motto to reflect its true approach to journalism: “All the news that we see fit to print.” Read More ›
