"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less." (Rev. Charles Dodgson, Through the Looking Glass, Chapter 6)  Recent news brings one of those items that causes palms to smack foreheads: "ConAgra Foods is facing two class action lawsuits that claim the marketing of its Wesson cooking oils as “100% natural” and "pure" is misleading because the oil is extracted from plants that have been genetically modified...

Every so often a "news" item appears that gets the most important facts so upside down one is reminded of Thomas Jefferson's comment that   “… nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle” (Thomas Jefferson, June 11 1807, letter to John Norvell). The May 20 article in the Washington Post gives us a contemporary example that once again reaffirms the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. The occasion is the imminent...

This month ITIF expands its portfolio to move into biotechnology.  With all the money being invested in biotechnologies around the world by governments and the private sector, and with all the attention paid by NGOs, this may appear superfluous to some.  We see this as all the more reason.  We propose to attack some of the fundamental policy issues, some of the thorniest problems, and to follow the facts wherever they may lead.  We propose to show that Joshua Reynolds was not 100% correct when...