Category: Academia

Laying Hands Upon The Faithful (and Available): Study Finds 80 Percent of Unmarried Evangelical Young Adults Have Pre-Marital Sex

A new study from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has identified an area of young adults who have been overlooked by prior campaigns: young evangelicals. The study found 80 percent of unmarried evangelical young adults have had sex. That is virtually the same (8 percent below) the national average. With a campaign infused with religiosity this year and all of the talk of “real America” versus urban America, the study challenges stereotypes.
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New York Police Arrest Seven In Alleged SAT Cheating Ring

In the high-pressure competition to ranking colleges, Sam Eshaghoff, 19, was a solution for those who long for high scores but lack of the ability or time to secure them. Eshaghoff and six students were arrested on criminal charges for a scheme in which Eshaghoff pretended to be other people to take the SAT exam for them — at the cost of $1,500 to $2,500.
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Germany Calls U.S. Plan To Save Euro “Stupid”

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble left little question about his view of the wisdom of the economic policies of the Obama Administration. Schauble called the U.S. plan to pour trillions of dollars into the bailout fund “stupid” and said it would destroy the AAA ratings for the members — precisely what occurred to the U.S. this year. There is rising criticism of the economic views of Timothy Geithner, who some view as steering the U.S. into massive and unproductive spending.

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CERN Reports First Practical Application of Particle Moving Faster Than Speed of Light

Physicists did not take long to find the first practical application of the reported success of scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in making a subatomic particle go faster than the speed of light for the first time. The scientists used neutrinos, which were observed smashing past the cosmic speed barrier of 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers per second). Below is the first joke being circulated around by our colleagues in the Physics Departments (and sent to me by one of my colleagues at the law school).
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A Pinch of Satire: Bake Sale Causes Uproar at Berkeley

Campus Republicans at the University of California Berkeley have reportedly received threats after creating a novel form of protests against California schools considering race in admissions. The students created a sale of baked goods priced according to their race: white men for $2.00, Asian men for $1.50, Latino men for $1.00, black men for $0.75 and Native American men for $0.25. All women will get $0.25 off those prices.
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Student Disciplined For Telling Friend In Class That He Views Homosexuality As Wrong

There is an interesting controversy in Fort Worth, Texas where Dakota Ary, an honors student was suspended for turning to another student in his German class and saying that he viewed homosexuality as wrong. The teacher at Western Hills High School became angry in overhearing the comment and accused Ary of being a bully.
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Fast Little Neutrino: Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity Challenged By Test Showing Particle Traveling Faster Than Speed of Light

It turns out that Einstein was a bit slow after all. Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has made a subatomic particle go faster than the speed of light for the first time — something that shattered one assumption of Einstein’s theories. The scientists used neutrinos, which were observed smashing past the cosmic speed barrier of 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers per second).
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Space Torts: NASA Puts Risk of Being Hit By Falling Satellite At 1 in 3200

NASA still is unsure where a giant six-ton six-ton satellite will hit this week, but they are trying to calm nerves by saying that the risk of someone being hit is only 1 in 3200. I was struck by that figure because in tort law that would be considered an unacceptable risk in cases of product liability or malpractice.

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Former Harvard Law Professor Pleads Guilty to Vehicular Homicide

Retired international law professor Detlev Vagts, 82, has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of Marcia Kearney in Newton, Massachusetts. In light of his plea and presumably his age, Vagts was spared prison time in favor of three years probation and six months of house arrest. He has been ordered not to drive for the rest of his life.

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Stealing Kid’s Lunch Money: New York Couple Charged With Theft From School Programs — And Then Go Bonkers Outside Court

Stealing kid’s lunch money has long been a scourge in schools, but usually the thieves come from the ranks of adolescent bullies. Prosecutors allege that Joanna Fan and her husband, Ziming Shen, never got out of the habit and stole at least $2.5 million in federal funds meant for nutritious meals for preschoolers.
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Erskine College Professor Fired For Supporting Science

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Erskine College is a small, private, four year Christian liberal arts college located in South Carolina. William Crenshaw, who taught at the college for 35 years, earning tenure, an endowed chair, and teaching awards was fired for his dissent of Erskine’s teaching of science.

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Scientists Find 2 Million Old A. Sediba; Creationists Find a 6000 Year Old Dead Ape

Scientists have again embarrassed themselves . . . this time in that fanciful Science Magazine. While creationists (including many of the GOP presidential contenders) have shown that the Earth is only 6000 years old, scientists insist that they have found Australopithecus sediba fossils with the skull, pelvis, hands and feet of the ancient hominin. The fossils with both ape and human characteristics were unearthed three years ago in South Africa.

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Galileo and the GOP: Huntsman Takes Stand For Science

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman took a startling position in the GOP debates last night — he suggested that the party not “run from science.” After candidates have lined up to reject everything from global warming to evolution, Huntsman is a standout in his Galileo moment in the GOP.

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Study Estimates Roughly 40 Percent of Europeans Suffer From Mental Illness

We have previously discussed studies showing high levels of mental illness in the United States. Now a Europeans shows a similarly high rate with “almost 165 million people or 38 percent of the population suffering each year from a brain disorder such as depression, anxiety, insomnia or dementia.” What is interesting is that the rate is higher in Europe as compared to the U.S. study cited earlier. The European study however appears to be broader in considering neurological conditions associated with illnesses like stroke.
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Moon Shot: New Photo Shows Preserved Footprints and Evidence of Apollo Landings

This extraordinary picture was just released by NASA showing the footprints, moon buggy ruts, and garbage left by the Apollo astronauts from 1969 to 1972. Not exactly low impact camping, but pretty cool. Of course, there will be some who will insist that this is just a photoshopped image to continue the lie that we ever went to the moon.
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