Author: Wesley J. Smith | Page 9

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Wesley J. Smith
Date
May 16, 2024

Categorized
Language, Medicine and Health}

Woke Gobbledygook Now Passes for Erudition in Medical Journals

_{When science publications run policy bafflegab about healthcare reform instead of statements of hard facts about it— however dense they may be — science is the big loser} _{Wesley J. Smith
May 16, 2024

2

Language, Medicine and Health}

This article is reprinted from National Review with the permission of the author. Our most august medical journals are in danger of becoming more woke ideological-advocacy publications than disseminators of learned scientific studies. This is particularly true of the New England Journal of Medicine, which regularly publishes progressive gibberish pushing “equity” that is often nearly impossible to understand. Here’s the latest example. From “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize — Focusing on Health Care Equity”: We believe that health care–centric goals — equity in patient experience and clinical outcomes — should be the primary equity-related targets for clinicians, health care administrators, health plans, and payers. The health care sector is best positioned to improve the effectiveness and equity of the care it Read More ›

small tree growing with sunshine in garden. eco concept

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
May 5, 2024

Categorized
Human exceptionalism, Plant Mind

Tagged
Plant rights, Zoë Schlanger}

Again with the ‘Plants Are Intelligent’ Nonsense

_{It seems to me that the ultimate point of these “plants are persons too”–type stories is to undermine human exceptionalism} _{Wesley J. Smith
May 5, 2024

5

Human exceptionalism, Plant Mind}

Human uniqueness is essential to our duties to each other, our posterity, the humane treatment of animals, and proper husbanding of the environment.

In a dimly lit laboratory, a group of scientists debates the ethical implications of altering human genetics The camera angle is focused on the intense expressions of the researchers,

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
April 26, 2024

Categorized
Ethics}

Bioethicists Want to Rule the World

_{Alright, the headline is a tad hyperbolic. But just a tad.} _{Wesley J. Smith
April 26, 2024

4

Ethics}

It seems to me that the best approach to the policy opinions of mainstream bioethicists is to consider the source, shrug, and carry on.

Aerial photo of mix color of stream in to river

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
April 17, 2024

Categorized
Environment

Tagged
Human exceptionalism, Nature Rights, personhood, Wesley J. Smith}

Utah Goes Up Against “Nature Rights”

_{Utah is the fourth state — the others are Ohio, Florida, and Idaho — restricting rights to the human realm where they belong.} _{Wesley J. Smith
April 17, 2024

3

Environment}

Indeed, it is our obligation as humans to benefit from the earth’s bounties in responsible ways. But nature rights would stifle our ability to thrive and shrivel the principle of human rights.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
April 7, 2024}

Euthanasia is Not About Compassion

_{This movement will end up pressuring people to die} _{Wesley J. Smith
April 7, 2024

3}

Euthanasia isn’t really about compassion but fear of decline and a loathing of dependency — and of those experiencing them. That nasty truth has become abundantly clear with a new column published in the Times of London in which former Tory MP Matthew Parris argues that euthanasia/assisted suicide should not only be permitted — but encouraged. In “We Can’t Afford a Taboo on Assisted Dying,” he writes (my emphasis): I can’t dispute the objectors’ belief that once assisted dying becomes normalized we will become more apt to ask yourselves for how much longer we can justify the struggle. An Unjustifiable Life The word “justify” is telling. It does not only concern the suffering of the person who is ill, disabled, or elderly but the suffering Read More ›

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Wesley J. Smith
Date
March 28, 2024

Categorized
Technocracy

Tagged
Health, Medicine, Technocracy}

“The Right to Health” Isn’t as Good as It Sounds

_{Health and wellness are becoming technocracy's disguise.} _{Wesley J. Smith
March 28, 2024

3

Technocracy}

Health and wellness are becoming the primary justifications for international technocracy, or “rule by experts.” Indeed, we are told that preventing the next pandemic will require that the World Health Organization be given the power to declare pandemics and impose emergency policies internationally. Anthony Fauci went even further, arguing that that the UN and the WHO must be given greater powers to “rebuild the infrastructures of human existence.” Imagine the authoritarian potential. We have been told, also, that climate change is a health emergency that justifies greater technocratic control. So is racism. Ditto, gun proliferation in the U.S. And we can’t forget the threats to biodiversity. On and on the proposed policy imperialism goes. This is why the seemingly good-sounding proposal for an international “right to health” is such Read More ›

Human cell or Embryonic stem cell microscope background.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
March 27, 2024

Tagged
Biotech, Cancer, Genetics, HIV, Medicine, wesley j smith}

Stem Cells Might Cure HIV?

_{We must always be cautious about stories touting biotechnological cures} _{Wesley J. Smith
March 27, 2024

3}

We must always be cautious about stories touting biotechnological cures. There is a lot of hype out there, but this seems genuine. An HIV/blood-cancer patient seems to have gone into permanent remission thanks to adult stem cells. From the Daily Mail story: A California man is on the cusp of being declared cured of HIV and blood cancer. Paul Edmonds, 68, who made international headlines last year when he shared his story, still has no traces of either condition five years after being given a transplant of cells that rid his body of both diseases. In a new article by the medical team who treated him, doctors said he was officially cured of cancer and two years away from being declared cured of HIV — when he will have gone Read More ›

lost time memory, retro clock time at 7 o'clock with fade dissolve missing life history concept.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
March 19, 2024

Categorized
Media

Tagged
Assisted Suicide, Death, Dystopian, Mainstream Media, Wesley J. Smith}

Mainstream Publication Endorses Suicide

_{The Politico story violates media guidelines and does a profound disservice to our society.} _{Wesley J. Smith
March 19, 2024

6

Media}

Such reporting tells people with dementia that their lives are not worth living. This is very wrong. Politico’s editors should be ashamed.

Discarded face mask lying in a city street

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
January 4, 2024

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Covid, Francis Collins on lockdowns, Technocracy, Wesley J. Smith}

Being a Good Scientist Doesn’t Mean Being an Effective Leader

_{Francis Collins admits that they botched the COVID-19 response.} _{Wesley J. Smith
January 4, 2024

5

Science}

Collins’s recent admissions and overarching career illustrate why we should resist the current push to impose a regime of rule by experts.

Aerial view of coal power plant high pipes with black smoke moving up polluting atmosphere at sunset.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
December 18, 2023

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Climate change, commercialism, Environment, National Review, science, The Lancet}

Medical Journal Crosses a Whole New Line

_{Is blaming commercialism for global warming genuine science? Or just ideology?} _{Wesley J. Smith
December 18, 2023

4

Science}

The Lancet needs to go back to being a medical journal rather than a propaganda outlet for progressive politics.

Senior woman sitting on the wheelchair alone

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
November 14, 2023

Categorized
Ethics

Tagged
Culture of Death, Death, Euthanasia, medical, Morality, Wesley J. Smith}

Euthanasia’s Slippery Slope

_{Once a society embraces death as the answer to suffering, what counts as suffering never stops expanding.} _{Wesley J. Smith
November 14, 2023

3

Ethics}

Note well that the concept of the “completed life” need not involve any physical illness, disabling condition, or psychiatric malady at all.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
November 1, 2023

Categorized
Medicine and Health

Tagged
Assisted Suicide, Death, Language, medical, Morality, Propaganda, wesley j smith, Words}

Assisted Suicide and the Dangers of “Word Engineering”

_{When radical policies are proposed, the first step is to change the lexicon to make it seem less extreme, even mundane.} _{Wesley J. Smith
November 1, 2023

5

Medicine and Health}

If people don’t kill themselves because of concern about stigma, isn’t that good? I mean, shouldn’t we want fewer people to commit suicide?

Beautiful autumn tree with mushrooms and moss in forest

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 31, 2023

Categorized
Environment

Tagged
Environmentalism, Human rights, Nature Rights, wesley j smith}

The Anti-Human “Rights of Nature” Movement

_{Environmentalism is growing increasingly antii-human. Just look at what Milwaukee County did.} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 31, 2023

3

Environment}

Environmentalism is growing increasingly anti-human. The “nature rights” movement epitomizes the misanthropy. If the suppose rights of Nature (with a capital N) were ever enforced legally–human thriving would be throttled by elevating the entire natural world to quasi-personhood status deserving — at minimum — equal consideration with humans. Moreover, nature rights laws generally allow anyone to sue to enforce nature’s supposed rights, which would mean that human enterprise would be subject to lawfare by the most extreme environmentalists. Milwaukee County has jumped on the bandwagon. From a formal “Resolution Supporting the Nature Rights Movement:” WHEREAS, major bodies of water within Milwaukee County, including the Menominee River, Milwaukee River, and Fox River as well as Lake Michigan, provide essential biodiversity and wildlife habitats; andWHEREAS, these Read More ›

Little funny rabbit sitting in leaves in autumn

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 25, 2023

Categorized
Human exceptionalism

Tagged
Animal rights, Human rights, Oxford University Press, Voting, Wesley J. Smith}

Should Animals Be Able to Vote? Some Animal Rights Activists Think So

_{Here's a taste of just how absurd and extreme "animal rights" has become.} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 25, 2023

5

Human exceptionalism}

As I always say, if you want to see what is going so badly wrong in society, read the professional and intellectual journals.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 17, 2023

Categorized
Human exceptionalism

Tagged
bioethics, Human exceptionalism, Wesley J. Smith (on human exceptionalism)}

Humans Are More Important Than Pigs

_{Mainstream bioethics has long sought to deconstruct human exceptionalism by claiming that species membership is irrelevant to moral worth.} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 17, 2023

4

Human exceptionalism}

The lives of human beings are unquantifiably more important than those of pigs.

Top view on blue ocean waves. Nature background.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 15, 2023

Categorized
Environment

Tagged
Earth, Human exceptionalism, Human rights, ideology, Nature, Nature Rights, United Nations, Wesley J. Smith}

The United Nations is Considering Granting “Ocean Rights”

_{Why is granting “rights” to oceans becoming a thing?} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 15, 2023

5

Environment}

Common-sense environmentalism is no longer in style. The Ocean and Nature rights movements are symptoms of a viral anti-humanism.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 13, 2023

Categorized
Media

Tagged
bias, Free speech, government, media, trust}

The Crisis of Trust in the Mainstream Media

_{A vibrant and engaged media is essential to protecting American liberty. But what if it can't be trusted?} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 13, 2023

2

Media}

This is cross-posted at Humanize. Visit this link to listen to the entire conversation between host Wesley J. Smith and journalist/commentator Alice Stewart. A vibrant and engaged media is essential to protecting American liberty—which is why the First Amendment provides such a strong protection for freedom of the press. If the media are to carry out their societal responsibilities, journalists must have the trust of news consumers. But these days, trust is in low supply. An October 2022 Gallup Poll found that only 34% of Americans trust the mass media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly.” Why are the media experiencing this profound crisis of trust and what can be done about it? Wesley’s guest on this episode Read More ›

Flat lay composition with medical objects on color background

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 6, 2023

Categorized
Medicine and Health

Tagged
bioethics, Health, Health Care, Medicine, Wesley J. Smith, Wokeness}

Affirmative Action and Health Care

_{It is high time that our medical journals stick to medicine.} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 6, 2023

3

Medicine and Health}

The hyper-woke New England Journal of Medicine claims that affirmative action is a necessary health measure.

Group of people with posters protesting against climate change outdoors, closeup

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 5, 2023

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Climate change, ideology, lab, National Review, science, Wesley J. Smith}

More Ideological Alarmism in Yet Another Top Journal

_{Ideology continues to harm the scientific endeavor.} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 5, 2023

4

Science}

I can’t think of anything more harmful to people’s respect for “science” than hysterical scientists in (say) lab coats.

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
September 11, 2023

Categorized
Science}

“Science” Journals Are Getting Less Trustworthy

_{Unless scientific journals set aside nonscientific agendas, public trust in them will continue to skydive} _{Wesley J. Smith
September 11, 2023

4

Science}

Severing the discourse from true scientific objectivity could mean that legitimate research will be stifled.