Citizens Must Be Cautious of Media Science
This is in response to the Best of Lewis County booklet dated July 25. The following quote was attributed to runnerup best Centralia College instructor Gregory vanAlstyne.
“Science is simply another system of beliefs. The universe ‘obeys laws’ only in the anthropocentric imagination of scientists.”
I’m sure there are some in the scientific community that fit this statement. But not knowing the context in which this statement was made, the following is in response to its face value.
My definition of science, influenced by experience and the dictionary, is man’s attempt to remove the human influence from the study of the world, to step back or outside the box and observe. In this world of instant information I see how that definition can get muddled.
Much pseudoscience (a claim, belief or practice that is incorrectly presented as scientific, but does not adhere to a valid scientific method, cannot be reliably tested or otherwise lacks scientific status) exists in this age of instant information.
Science is not political correctness. When someone makes an observation, statement or identifies a problem, be somewhat skeptical. Matters of science cannot be decided on authority or consensus. In fact, science as a method of investigating the world is the very antithesis of authority.
In defense of the pursuit of science, there are some fairly strict guidelines. A scientific truth is true not because an academy of science says so or because most people believe it but because it is formulated as a rigorous hypothesis that has survived testing by many different scientists.
Galileo in his day (early 17th century) was locked up for his theory that Earth circled the sun when consensus said the opposite. Many of the great scientists were a “consensus” of one — Einstein, Pasteur, Newton and Benjamin Franklin to mention a few — until their theories survived extensive research. They are surviving today as scientists continue to step out of the box with new knowledge.
There are distinct steps in the scientific method, one of which is to research available information. Scientists review all available literature concerning the topic, considering all articles, even those contrary to their mindset. A scientist would be skeptical of essays whose bibliographies all cite the same source or sources are missing.
Scientists test hypotheses with experimentation and observations, and evaluate resulting data. Conclusions are subjected to strict review. More than one theory may be formed relating to the same topic. In science, theories are not truths but potential ways to explain our natural world. All should be respected unless or until the evidence, new and old, no longer supports them.
Even with that, we citizens need to be cautious of media science. Read all science articles carefully and critically, especially “news” articles related to science. Do not assume because it’s in print that it is true. Science truly exists, but pseudoscience does also. Be a skeptic first and a convert only when the evidence becomes overwhelming.
Jimmie D. Sund
Chehalis
Yes They Are Children, and the U.S. Is Murdering Them
In his recent letter, Chuck Haunreiter paints with a broad brush to justify the abhorrent practices of Planned Parenthood and Stem Express. Despite his wide strokes, his arguments miss.
Relying on semantic distinctions, Haunreiter argues that the victims of these tortures are not babies, they are merely fetuses.
This is a distinction without a difference. He could as well argue that they are not infants, toddlers, adolescents or young adults, all true statements. But these victims are all human even while in the womb.
He claims that the fetus feels no pain until viability, which he sets at 28 weeks. The most recent medical information indicates that the fetus can feel pain as early as 8 weeks; many mothers do not even know they are pregnant at this point. And viability with medical support can now occur as early as 22 weeks.
Many children are born and survive with only minimal medical support at 24 weeks. When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 viability was presumed to occur at 28 weeks. This was the baseline for Justice Harry Blackmun’s decision. Given the rapid advances in pediatric medicine, in-vitro fertilization and surrogacy, viability may soon occur as early as conception. If and when that occurs, will those in Haunreiter’s camp support a ban on abortion?
He acknowledges that the sale of body parts is illegal, but seeks to justify Planned Parenthood’s and Stem Express’ activities by calling them donations. If they are truly voluntary donations made after full disclosure then the transactions may not be illegal.
But that remains an open question and avoids the moral dimension.
Numerous allegations by former Planned Parenthood and Stem Express employees in the recent videos suggest that the donations by the mothers may not be as voluntary as he and Planned Parenthood suggest, and criminal investigations are warranted. Moreover, over $500 million of Planned Parenthood’s annual budget, over one-third, comes from the federal government.
The American public is being coerced to support this butchery through taxes and appropriations. If these are legal financial transactions then this public support should not be necessary and those who oppose abortion should not be compelled to support it.
Haunreiter’s true agenda comes out in his closing paragraphs where he indulges in an undifferentiated screed against the Republican Party. He charges that Republicans oppose Obamacare, birth control and food stamps, and that they favor pollution. His letter reads like a campaign pamphlet, and I am surprised that he did not include immigration in this parade of horribles.
But he misses the point. Republicans, as a party have not joined in the outcry resulting from these recent disclosures. The Republican House recessed without taking action on any of the bills introduced in response. The issue is not the Republican Party, Planned Parenthood or social welfare benefits. It is the protection of the unborn against a concerted assault by which this country has killed over 50 million of its own children since abortion became legal nationally.
Robert and Carolyn Raymond
Rochester
Doesn’t Harvesting of Body Parts Reflect Obvious Value?
How people interpret when a baby is a baby and no longer “just tissue” depends on a number of things. But, drawing the line at gestational weeks is not the answer.
The first and most important consideration is how much value we place on human life at any stage of development. Does not even the harvesting of body parts indicate supreme value early on? The fact that Planned Parenthood bypasses such logic smacks of duplicity.
But then, we should also be dumbfounded by those still pushing evolution from a single “simple” cell now that we know the complexity of DNA at the start of life with none of it being “junk.”
King David was best informed: In Psalm 139:13 he declared, “For you (God) created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Verse 16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” From this it appears that a choice to end a life is a choice to deter an individual’s God-given opportunity.
The entire Psalm 139 is about the omniscience of God — wherein his knowledge of us is very personal. This places a high value on human life at every stage. Does taking any potential child out early decrease the boy or girl’s essential value in any way? Obviously not.
Everything needed for life is there in the DNA way before 20 weeks with just nurturing left to do.
One of the worst examples of baby tampering was that of eminent German biologist Ernst Haeckel, the contemporary of Darwin who used bogus drawings to show similarities between supposed evolutionary processes and human development in the womb. (See “Icons of Evolution,” a DVD published by the Discovery Institute for a complete discussion of this error still found in many biology textbooks. It is available online.)
Haeckel’s lie is still believed and perpetuated in the field of education, plagiarizing the handiwork of God who created man in one separate and distinct divine act.
But then, God is actually pro-choice. He is a gentleman. He does not force his will on us and we can wisely appreciate his opportunities or forego them. Believing he wants our best we follow his path. Believing he is absent or an ogre sadly makes us less than ladies and gentlemen, conversely forcing our will on others.
However, the folly of abortion must be shared by all in our society that lead young women astray in their thinking through evolution taught in the schools, courts making abortion legal, and those in the media and fashion industry who promote sex outside of marriage.
For those who ask, “Where is God?” when young girls are stolen into sex slavery by ISIS terrorists and porn makers, remember, he should be in our hearts when we make any decision based on the value of human life and marriage to support it.
Doris M. Anderson
Centralia
America Has Gone Astray
It is a well-documented fact of history that America’s constitutional foundation was based upon the Biblical covenant.
The covenant approach to creating new communities was a direct reflection of the Puritan mindset regarding their Christian beliefs as to the proper interaction between God, man and society.
The Mayflower Compact (covenant), which was one of the earliest documents and signed on board ship on Nov. 11, 1620, by the Pilgrims, contains these words: “Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith ... in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic ... .” I point this truth out confirming the fact that God did richly bless this nation, prospering it and making it the envy of the world because of its Christian faith.
However, it has become all too obvious, that America has turned its back on God and made a covenant with the devil. Israel did the same thing (Isaiah 28:14-15) and paid a horrendous price for it. The devil is a murderer (John 8:44) and America is following his leading. Let me provide you with overwhelming proof.
Deaths in 37 other nations since World War II due to U.S. intervention: Afghanistan (2.8 million), Angola (300,000-700,000), Bolivia (400), Dominican Republic (3,000), East Timor (200,000), EI Salvador (75,000), Grenada (277), Guatemala (200,000), Haiti (30,000-100,000), Indonesia (500,000-3 million), Iran (290-plus), Iraq (1 million-2 million-plus), North and South Korea (1 million-4.5 million), Laos (200,000), Libya (4,000-8,000), Nepal (8,000-12,000), Nicaragua (25,000), Pakistan (1.5 million-3 million), Panama (500-4,000), Philippines (100,000), South America: Operation Condor (13,000), Sudan (2 million), Syria (60,000-90,000-plus), Vietnam (3.4-4 million), Yugoslavia (300,000-400,000), Zaire (2 million-3 million).
Many of these engagements were the direct result of the CIA’s clandestine involvement. Their assassination record is second only to the Mossad. Now America’s bloodthirsty neocons are pushing war with both China and Russia. War is obviously a great distraction and extremely profitable.
Add to this carnage the recent militarization of America’s police and the rising death rate caused by either lack of discipline or just plain brutality by men that should never have been given a badge in the first place. And there is the continuing escalation of more unarmed civilians being killed by the police. They now resemble and act more like stormtroopers than police.
Finally, the depth of America’s depravity is evidenced in the wanton butchering of the most vulnerable of humankind, the unborn babies. This is clear evidence that Satan rules in the White House, Congress, the court system, Planned Parenthood and in the lives of way too many Americans.
This is more than a national disgrace, it is criminal and damnable.
Their blood is crying out to Jehovah God, and America will experience God’s wrath. Wake up, America, and repent and maybe God’s mercy will spare America as he did Nineveh.
Dick Knolls
Centralia
