[South40]

Maybe so, but Thalidomide, or its misuse, has ruined a lot of lives.

My point was; that all happened long before his college aged audience was ever born.

[risk]

"America's founding fathers fought a war for liberty and we're giving it away bit by bit."

Great comment!

He's wrong about same sex "marriage," though. It can clearly be thought of as a Libertarian idea that the state may not redefine a shared value from the seats of the legislature and the benches of our courts.

I wish some Libertarians would get a clue about this.

[aruanan]

Maybe so, but Thalidomide, or its misuse, has ruined a lot of lives.

When compounds are synthesized they often consist of racemic mixes of mirror opposite molecules, exactly alike in all the atomic connections and numbers of atoms and side chains, just mirror opposites. Sometimes this doesn't cause any problem at all. Sometimes one enantiomer is biologically inert. With thalidomide, though, one enantiomer was an effective antiemitic and sedative. The other enantiomer was a powerful teratogen.