I am a graduate of medicine and theology with a Ph.D in medical ethics. I tutor in medical ethics at the University of Melbourne, am an (occasional) adjunct Lecturer in Ethics at Ridley Melbourne, and a voluntary researcher with Ethos. I am also a Fellow of ISCAST and a past chair of the Melbourne Chapter of Christians for Biblical Equality. I have special interests in professional ethics, sexual ethics and the ethics of virtue.
I just got back from the DC Young Democrats-sponsored debate on the DC Voucher program. My side — opposing the program — lost by a single vote, but I really enjoyed myself and heard from various members of the audience that I did a great job. We only had an introduction and conclusions, so I used my conclusion period as a rebuttal. It’s usually my favorite part of debates, and I wasn’t going to miss it. Mine went (from memory):… Read more
For those of you in the DC area, the DC Young Democrats invited me (Jesse) to participate in an Oxford-style debate tomorrow night and you should come! For those of you not in the DC area, I’ll still be in the debate, but you probably shouldn’t travel just to hear me. The topic is the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (Vouchers). I’ll be one of the three panelists speaking in favor of the resolution, which reads: BE IT RESOLVED, the District… Read more
There are a few interesting thoughts to take from the new ARIS study on American “Nones” (people who aren’t affiliated with a particular religion*). PZ Myers raised a point, and Hemant is posting his take a little later in the day. I’ll try not to step on his toes, and focus on chart I found particularly interesting: (I retyped the numbers for clarity, click for larger original) These are the political affiliations of both the US population as a whole… Read more
A quick note before I leave work for the day – The Secular Coalition for America just sent out letters to members of the Senate Finance Committee urging them to oppose two proposed amendments to the healthcare reform bill. Senator Orrin Hatch has submitted amendment #C10 requesting that funding for Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage be restored. Senator Michael Enzi has submitted amendment #C15 to ensure that conscience protections are applied in the healthcare reform bill. Please oppose these two amendments. Both… Read more
It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day! I’m taking this opportunity to share a very special discovery. Do you like pirates? Do you like metal rock music? Them your band for the day is Alestorm. They play “True Scottish Pirate Metal”. Here’s the first song on their album “Captain Morgan’s Revenge.” The singing (pirate singing if ever I heard it) starts around 45 seconds in, with lyrics of: Many moons ago, in a faraway land We met an old man with… Read more