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Louis Pasteur’s discoveries revolutionized medicine and continue to save millions of lives
By Rodney E. Rohde, Texas State University Some of the greatest scientific discoveries haven’t resulted in Nobel Prizes. Louis Pasteur, who lived from 1822 to 1895, is arguably the world’s best-known microbiologist. He is widely credited for the germ theory of disease and for inventing the process of pasteurization – which is named after him […]
Keep your hands off journalists
Reporters need a thick skin. Hard-hitting stories can generate a lot of complaints, including abusive language and the occasional threat. It got out of hand this month in Las Vegas where a reporter was stabbed to death in his home. Police have arrested an elected official who had been the subject of several investigative stories […]
In states where abortion is banned, children and families already face an uphill battle
By Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia Some proponents of abortion bans and restrictions say they are concerned about “supporting not just life,” but what they call “quality of life worth living,” saying they want to promote laws and policies that help families. Three authors from Brigham Young University, for instance, have noted that the overturning […]
Free preventive care under the ACA is under threat again
By Paul Shafer, Boston University and Kristefer Stojanovski, Tulane University Many Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Supreme Court left the Affordable Care Act in place following the law’s third major legal challenge in June 2021. This decision left widely supported policies in place, like ensuring coverage regardless of preexisting conditions, coverage […]
Trump faces possible obstruction of justice charges for concealing classified government documents
By Clark D. Cunningham, Georgia State University A court filing by the Justice Department just minutes before midnight on Aug. 30, 2022, was a sharply worded attack on former President Donald Trump’s request for a so-called “special master” – a neutral arbiter – to review the documents the FBI seized at his estate, Mar-a-Lago, earlier […]
FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit reveals how Trump may have compromised national security
By Clark D. Cunningham, Georgia State University The Justice Department on Aug. 26, 2022, released an affidavit written by an FBI special agent that was used to obtain a court order for the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate for documents related to national defense and other government records. Large portions of […]
Why virtue signaling isn’t the same as virtue – it actually furthers the partisan divide
By Christopher Beem, Penn State In a speech on July 23, 2022, before the Conservative Political Action Committee, or CPAC, Sen. Ted Cruz introduced himself to the audience with the words, “My name is Ted Cruz and my pronoun is kiss my ass.” In 2019, the Vermont College of Fine Arts appealed to a different […]
4 reasons why abortion laws often clash with the majority’s preferences in the U.S.
By Matthew A Baum, Harvard Kennedy School; Alauna Safarpour, Harvard Kennedy School, and Kristin Lunz Trujillo, Harvard Kennedy School Kansas voters opted against overturning a state constitutional right to an abortion on Aug. 2, 2022. A few days later, Indiana lawmakers banned nearly all abortions. Both are conservative-leaning states that supported President Donald Trump’s reelection […]
Why searching an ex-president’s estate is not easily done – 4 important things to know
By Clark D. Cunningham, Georgia State University The FBI’s execution of a search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s estate on Aug. 8, 2022, caught Trump by surprise – and prompted immediate speculation about exactly why and how the law enforcement agency secured a search warrant. “My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is […]
Cognitive biases and brain biology help explain why facts don’t change minds
By Keith M. Bellizzi, University of Connecticut “Facts First” is the tagline of a CNN branding campaign which contends that “once facts are established, opinions can be formed.” The problem is that while it sounds logical, this appealing assertion is a fallacy not supported by research. Cognitive psychology and neuroscience studies have found that the […]
An antidemocratic philosophy called ‘neoreaction’ is creeping into GOP politics
By George Michael, Westfield State University President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election were brazenly antidemocratic. Yet Trump and his supporters nonetheless justified their actions under the dubious pretense of preserving American democracy – as a matter of getting the vote right, of reversing voter fraud. There’s a good reason […]
Ex Oath Keeper reveals racist beliefs of white nationalist group, and plans to start a civil war
By Sara Kamali, University of California Santa Barbara During his testimony before congressional investigators, former Oath Keepers spokesman Jason Van Tatenhove left little doubt about the intentions of the white nationalist militia group when its members stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Tatenhove explained that Jan. 6 “could have been a spark that […]