Popular Articles

Opinion Pieces Respond To Obama's Call For 'Empathy' In Supreme Court Justice
Two newspapers recently published opinion pieces responding to President Obama"s comments on the need for "empathy" in candidates to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Summaries appear below.~ Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe: When discussing Souter"s replacement, Obama said he will seek a nominee ""who understands that justice isn"t about some abstract theory. ... It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people"s lives,"" Globe columnist Goodman writes in an opinion piece. According to Goodman, Obama"s emphasis on the need for judicial "empathy" has sparked outrage among a "phalanx of horrified conservatives" who claim that "empathy is just a code word for the sentimental liberal bias in favor of underdogs over the Constitution." However, she continues, "let us remember that empathy is not sympathy. It doesn"t require that we take sides. Nor is it an emotional shortcut that upends all legal reasoning to declare a winner." According to Goodman, empathy "is rather the ability to imaginatively enter into the experience of others." She writes that the "capacity to recognize another person"s reality is not just liberal," adding that empathy "doesn"t trump reason, it informs reason." Goodman writes, "The truth is that we want judges who "get it,"" adding that the "myth of justice as a matter of pure objective reasoning that could be meted out by a computer is just that, a myth" (Goodman, Boston Globe, 5/22).~ Mike Rosen, Denver Post: Although Obama"s emphasis on empathy might seem "[c]ompassionate and seductive" to some, his stance "represents a radical and dangerous departure from traditional American jurisprudence," radio host Rosen writes in a Post opinion piece. Rosen writes, "When empathetic judges rule on their feelings, they are exceeding their authority," adding that the "role of the judicial branch of our government is to rule on the Constitution as written and the law as passed by Congress and signed by the president." According to Rosen, the courts "are a co-equal branch of government, not a superior branch," and judges should not "rule on what they think the law ought to be" because that would be "government by a presumptuous, unelected judiciary." Rosen continues that "judges are referees, not rule makers" because they are "not there to empathize with the fans or the players. They represent the rule book, and they aren"t authorized to … make it "fairer."" According to Rosen, the "dispute between conservatives and liberals on judicial activism is philosophical and irreconcilable." He concludes that Senate confirmation hearings for Obama"s nominee "should make for an interesting debate on these principles" (Rosen, Denver Post, 5/22).
pharmacy online
Stimulus Money Working For Homeless Teenagers' Health In Colorado
Some homeless teenagers in Colorado are getting dental work done for free as part of the economic stimulus that has expanded service to more poor and uninsured, The Associated Press reports.
News of the day
Early Mental Illness May Be Revealed By MRI Mapping Of Brain
John Csernansky wants to take your measurements. Not the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. No, this doctor wants to stretch a tape measure around your hippocampus, thalamus and prefrontal cortex.
Nutrition

Contur Software Adds Further Chemistry Tools To Web-Based ELN

Contur Software, a leading provider of electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) systems, announced added chemistry functionality in iLabber, the company"s recently launched high-end ELN system available as an online service. Using a software as a service (SaaS) model, Contur Software is making iLabber available to individual researchers and smaller R&D organizations that previously have not been able to utilize the advantages of high-end ELN systems due to investments in hardware, licenses and maintenance. The added functionality gives premium users of iLabber access to chemistry drawing, chemical structure and reaction searching, stoichiometric calculations (reaction planning), and iLabber"s inbuilt reagent and reactant databases. All chemistry searching in iLabber is powered by ChemAxon"s JChem Cartridge. In addition, ChemAxon"s MarvinSketch is provided to premium users at no extra cost. ChemAxon is a leading provider of chemical software development platforms for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. "Because ChemAxon technology is well suited for the web the JChem Cartridge is a perfect fit for iLabber" said Alex Drijver, CEO at ChemAxon. "We see extensive possibilities for SaaS in cheminformatics and are happy to be involved in this pioneering project." Starting to use iLabber is easy and users simply download a desktop client. Operation, maintenance and data storage is securely managed by Contur Software. The service is available to individual researchers and smaller research groups (recommended up to 15 users). Individual researchers use iLabber for free, while there is a fee of 60 USD per month and user for commercial organizations. Academic institutions pay only half of that fee. "To smaller research groups with no IT support it is neither economical nor practical to purchase and maintain an in-house database system to gain access to an ELN and all these chemistry tools," said Martin Wattin, CEO at Contur Software. "The advantages of a web-based, yet high-end, ELN solution are indisputable and we have received compelling feedback from users." About Contur Software Contur Software is a privately owned software company founded in 1999. In 2003 the company launched ConturELN, an electronic laboratory notebook system that today is used by many leading organizations around the world. Customers are in the field of Pharma/Biotech, Chemicals and in academia. Contur Software is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. http://www.contur.com. ChemAxon


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):