Here are some of the important recent news stories and opinions:
Ice Bucket Challenge: The fact that the ALS Association funds embryonic stem cell research is a good thing, I argue in today’s post for the Objective Standard.
Teen Sex: Sex among responsible, older teens who use contraceptives is a good thing, not something to condemn, contrary to the rantings of Colorado pastor Bob Enyart. See my post for the Objective Standard.
War on Patients: The DEA is tightening up regulations on Vicodin and similar medications, reports StopTheDrugWar.org. See also my recent article for the Objective Standard about marijuana and opioid restrictions.
Ukraine: “Ukraine accused Russia of launching a new military incursion across its eastern border on Wednesday,” Reuters reports.
Islamic State: The brutal totalitarians of Islamic State continue to hold American journalist Steven Sotloff captive, reports the Christian Science Monitor, and the man’s mother has publicly pleaded for his release. (Hat tip for this story and the last to the Week.)
More Islamic State: Islamic State is a “hugely successful movement with an apocalyptic, nihilistic philosophy,” writes Steven Bucci for the Heritage Foundation. He offers eleven reasons to fear Islamic State and hope for its annihilation.
Even More Islamic State: In Mosul, in northern Iraq, members of Islamic State publicly stoned to death a man accused of adultery—and broadcast the murder on “large digital monitors they erected in the city center,” reports the Wall Street Journal. Is anyone still confused about the nature of Islamic totalitarianism?
Fracking: A Boulder District Court judge threw out “Lafayette’s voter-approved fracking ban,” reports the Daily Camera. (Lafayette is a city within Boulder County.)