Humanism

Because the understanding of history by American reactionaries does not reach back much further than 1776, they fail to realize that Renaissance (or traditional) humanism was God-centric and otherworldly in the accepted Judeo-Christian sense. Evidently, Garrity feels humanism and secularism are quite the same thing. Historically speaking, I must disagree. The secular-humanist, in fact, is a critter that cannot exist by traditional definitions. JOHN ALAN WALKER Big Pine

Immigration-related offenses are now the leading type of federal prosecution, constituting more than 40% of cases compared with 22% for drug crimes, according to federal crime data. Many immigrants are now prosecuted because they try to cross the border again after being deported, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch. Often, they are so desperate to get back to their families in the United States that prison time is not a deterrent, the report said.

Judge Hand, in his Alabama court decision declaring "secular humanism" to be a religion, has missed the point. Although religious humanism does exist, neither religious nor secular humanism is in the textbooks of Alabama public schools. If it were, we Humanists would be as much against it as Judge Hand is! We are strong supporters of church-state separation and uphold the idea that, in a pluralistic society, schools must remain religiously neutral. We simply reject the absurd charge that a state-of-the-art education in science, social studies, sex education, and other subjects involves "brainwashing" children with Humanist ideas.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The number of women and girls jailed by Afghan authorities for "moral crimes" has risen by 50% in the last year and a half, an alarming statistic that reflects the Afghan government's need to step up efforts to protect women's rights, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. The New York-based rights group cited Afghan Interior Ministry statistics showing a sharp increase in the number of women and girls imprisoned for "moral crimes," from 400 in October 2011 to 600 in May 2013.

Re "A Holier Alliance," Nov. 18: Humanism, irreducibly secular and atheist, has provided humanity with most of that which is peaceful, healthful and reasonable. Religion, a product of vested interests exploiting the human fear of the unknown by utilizing the most sophisticated marketing and intimidation techniques, has brought little more than self-delusion, divisiveness and destruction. MARTIN K. ZITTER Pasadena

Four days after her April 27 breast reconstruction, the third and final surgery aimed at sparing her an early death from breast cancer, Angelina Jolie was in good spirits at home. Upon paying a house call, her surgeon, Dr. Kristi Funk of the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills, found two walls of the actress' home covered with "freshly assembled story boards" for her next directorial project. "All the while she spoke," the doctor later wrote on her blog, "six drains dangled from her chest, three on each side, fastened to an elastic belt around her waist.

A breakthrough in stem cell research has again raised the specter of human cloning. The discovery by a team at Oregon Health and Science University moves the world incrementally closer to that result, but its more immediate effect will be to spur efforts to regenerate healthy tissue for the injured and the ailing. Although it's reasonable to worry about where such a discovery may lead, those concerns shouldn't stop researchers from exploring the restorative properties of stem cells. The promise of stem cells is that they can develop into many different kinds of tissues rather than being locked into a specific cellular fate.

On the limb of a barren tree in the tornado-devastated north Texas community of Rancho Brazos, an American flag flaps in the wind - placed there by a firefighter. "It's symbolic of, 'We're here, we're going to rebuild,'" said Sgt. Nathan Stringer, a Hood County sheriff's spokesman. The tornado has "broken homes, but it hasn't broken our will," he said. A fierce series of twisters tore through the northern part of the state Wednesday, killing six people, injuring 53, leaving scores of damaged and destroyed houses and many people homeless.

For the first time, scientists have created human embryos that are genetic copies of living people and used them to make stem cells - a feat that paves the way for treating a range of diseases with personalized body tissues but also ignites fears of human cloning. If replicated in other labs, the methods detailed Wednesday in the journal Cell would allow researchers to fashion human embryonic stem cells that are custom-made for patients with Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and other health problems.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Even though its ubiquitous Internet search engine practically mints money, Google Inc. was widely seen as a company whose best days were behind it. It was written off as the next Microsoft Corp. - a staid high-tech giant in the shadows of Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. that had lost its sense of urgency and innovative edge. But that sentiment has shifted dramatically over the last year, and when Google swings open the doors to its annual conference for software developers Wednesday, it won't just be showcasing its latest products.

A bill before the California Assembly would outlaw the use of lead ammunition by hunters. There is already a federal prohibition on its use in hunting waterfowl, and in 2007 the state banned it in the range of the endangered California condor. AB 711, written by Assemblymen Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), would take these restrictions a step further in an effort to safeguard animals as well as the environment. Lead pellets in shotgun shells, typically used to shoot birds, spray across land and water.

In yet another scathing critique of government health officials, a federal judge refused Friday to stay his order making emergency contraceptives available to consumers of all ages without a prescription. Calling government efforts to restrict the sale of drugs such as Plan B "frivolous and taken for the purpose of delay," U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman of New York wrote that the medications would be available to all unless the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled otherwise by noon Eastern time on Monday.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Guadalajara police commander Juan Carlos Martinez took Mexico's national police vetting exam in April 2012. He failed. But no one in government would tell him why. A few months later, he received a phone call from a man identifying himself as a member of a drug cartel. Why don't you think about joining us, he said the man on the phone asked. You won't go hungry. Martinez, 38, declined the offer and maintains that he had been an honorable cop. But the phone call was not an anomaly.