Articles

The Department of Labor recently estimated that U.S. employers added 195,000 jobs during the month of June, which prompted excitement from the White House and spurred a rise in stock prices. But the full set of figures hardly points to a strong economy. Consider: The overall unemployment rate remained steady…

In April, I highlighted the enormous wealth being generated in the Texas Eagle Ford shale. Now that April’s oil production numbers have been made public, there is even more to celebrate. Oil production was 54 percent higher than it was the previous year. This enormous increase in productivity was achieved…

Japanese scientists at the Riken BioResource Center have discovered a way to clone mice from cells drawn from circulating blood, the BBC reports (and as Mikayla Callen mentions here). Scientists took blood cells from the tail of a donor mouse and used them to make viable clones in the lab.…

Do we properly have freedom from religion? Some say no. In June, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed new legislation permitting displays of religious expressions in tax-funded schools. He rationalized the law by saying, "Freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom from religion." And Roy Costner IV, the high school valedictorian who…

Today U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled against Apple in an antitrust suit, claiming that the company “conspired to raise the retail price of e-books,” NPR reports. What did Apple allegedly do wrong? Bloomberg summarizes: The U.S. sued Apple and five of the biggest publishers in April 2012, claiming the…

A short video from a twelve-year-old boy in Egypt is going viral on the Web, approaching two million views on YouTube. Assuming the translation is accurate, the boy condemns the Muslim Brotherhood and its attempt to impose sharia law. “We didn’t get rid of a military regime to replace it…

In this episode of Reason at Large, Craig Biddle answers the question, "Why do you sometimes use the term 'Islamist' rather than 'Muslim' to refer to Muslims?" In answering, Biddle points out that some Muslims take their religion seriously and thus seek to convert or kill unbelievers, and some Muslims…

In the August 1920 edition of Oil and Gas News, an excited reporter wrote about a region that “is attracting much attention due to the good [oil] wells that are being brought in.” Oil had been discovered on the Bertha Hickman farm in Oklahoma, a discovery that started the industrial…

Seven-month-old Brandon Schaible died from bacterial pneumonia, severe dehydration, and strep—while his parents watched and prayed and, in accordance with their religious beliefs, refused to provide the child with medicine. Herbert and Catherine Schaible of Philadelphia now await trial, facing third-degree murder charges for Brandon’s death. The atrocity is magnified…

In this episode of Reason at Large, Craig Biddle answers a question from Eric: "Objectivism holds that morality presupposes the choice to live. But why should I choose to live?" In answering, Biddle discusses the nature of the question, the reason the questioner doesn't really need an answer to the…

In this episode of Reason at Large, Craig Biddle answers the question, "You've argued that people should be intolerant of Islam. How does this apply to individual Muslims, not all of whom truly or fully embrace Islam?" In answering, Biddle discusses the need to account for the context of a…

The founders would have been shocked to learn that their nation would outlaw the homebrewing of beer—shocked, among other reasons, because Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, and other founders brewed beer themselves. Finally, after 80 years, homebrewing has been re-legalized in all fifty states. The American Homebrewers Association summarizes: Even after…

In this episode of Reason at Large, Craig Biddle addresses the question, "If an Objectivist is someone who accepts Ayn Rand’s entire philosophy as true, how is Objectivism different from a cult?" In answering, Biddle discusses the essence of Objectivism, the nature of a cult, and the absurdity of positing…

July 5 marks the anniversary of the first successful cloning of a mammal. Dolly, the well known clone sheep, was born to a surrogate ewe this day in 1996. Adult stem cells were taken from a ewe, then cultured in a lab using microscopic needles, in a method first used…

“The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it is delaying a major provision in the [ObamaCare] health care overhaul, putting off until 2015 a requirement that many employers offer health insurance”—a date after the 2014 congressional elections—Fox News reports. This political move illustrates (among other things) that ObamaCare is creating a…