David Brooks is one of the few conservative pundits that I can read without nausea. He actually knows something and respects those Enlightenment ideals of free and open inquiry. Here is what he has to say about Enlightenment Values: As I see it, the lasting ideals of the Enlightenment are these: Trump especially offends against … Trumping Enlightenment Values

As a cat lover, this article from Huffington Post caught my eye: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cats-mental-illness-toxoplasma_us_58adc06ae4b03d80af714072? The “study” debunked here is just one example of many, many such junk “studies” that come out all the time. This junk science does enormous harm. There are all sorts of ax-grinders that sit in waiting for some purportedly scientific “study” to confirm their … The Harm of Junk “Studies”

I just got this in a message from the Center for Inquiry about measures before the Florida Legislature: “Legislation that would grant special privileges to religious beliefs in public schools has been introduced by Florida Rep. Kimberly Daniels (D-Jacksonville), and Sen. Dennis Baxely (R-Ocala). The sponsors of the “Florida Student and School Personnel Religious Liberties … More Dangerous Silliness from the Religious Right

I was pleasantly surprised to see an op/ed by a professional philosopher in Sunday’s (1/29) Houston Chronicle. Karen Stohr’s essay “Our new age of contempt is on full display,” was first published in the New York Times. Stohr is an associate professor of philosophy at Georgetown and a senior research scholar at Georgetown’s Kennedy Center … A Qualified Defense of Contempt