I pray…

I pray that we come to value each and every human for who they are, not what they are, or what they can produce.

I pray for the day when a person’s race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation does not limit their place/roles in life.

I pray that we come to learn that so many should not be hungry, thirsty or homeless when a few have more than they could use in a multitude of lifetimes. Continue reading “I pray…”

Gay Teen Worried He Might Be Christian

Well you know…some parents have more issues to deal with than others.

Gay Teen Worried He Might Be Christian @ TheOnion.com

Save the paragraph

paragraphI am starting a campaign to save the paragraph. I may get bumper stickers printed up.

Email and other electronic forms of instant communication have done much to butcher and change written communication. One of these is the loss of the paragraph in such writings.

For me, at least, it makes some of these hard to read when they run for 100s of words without a pause or logically grouping thoughts.

SAVE THE PARAGRAPH

Ideas for Liberal bumper stickers

You’ve all seen them. Various bumper stickers denigrating socialism, health care reform, anything supposedly Liberal.

There does not seem to be a whole lot of ones out there of the other ilk. How about coming up with a few?

I’ll start it off.

Capitalism: Where 10% of the people have 65% of the wealth.

Capitalism: Have you checked your 401k lately.

I love how Korporations  manage MY health care.

Canada could teach US about citizen centered government

Alternative Charitable Donations

This from an op-id piece by Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New Your Times. He lists several alternative charitable organizations. Something to think about, and maybe somplace to shoot some some of your donations.

Article “A Most Meaningful Gift Idea” at NY Times web site

Health Care System Forces Bad Decisions

Some of us get to the fork in the road, see the sign that advises that the bridge is out ahead, and take that fork anyway.  All of us make some bad choices or decisions.  Some of us make more than others.

My brother has probably made more than many.  One of those was to continue smoking in the face of all the evidence of its harmfulness.  Another was choosing to work jobs that did not require urinalysis as part of the employment screening process.

Don’t get me wrong,  my brother is a hard worker.  He is a conscientious worker, and he prides himself in doing a good job.  He does not partake of substances illegal or otherwise during working hours.  Continue reading “Health Care System Forces Bad Decisions”

How different are dog fighting and football

A recent article in The New Yorker, Offensive Play How different are dog fighting and football? By Malcolm Gladwell, explores the effect of extreme contact sports like football and boxing on the human brain.

For an American male, I’m a bit of an anomaly.  I do not really follow sports, except professional golf mildly.  There are several reasons for this.
 
One would be that for me personally sports are more for the doing rather than the watching.  I engage in several at a fairly incompetent level, but I enjoy them nevertheless.
 
Secondly, a while back, I just got bored with them.  Continue reading “How different are dog fighting and football”

Objective should be to make the U.S. self-sufficient in marijuana

marijuana-leafHere is the link to the article in the Wall Street Journal Saving Mexico

I’m not a big fan of drugs.  I’ve seen them ruin too many lives.  I’m also not a big fan of keeping drugs illegal.  That is also wrecking too many lives.  Add to that the amount of energy and resources being wasted enforcing the  criminalization  and it equals crazy.  The energy/resources could be better used elsewhere.  

We tried alcohol prohibition and that did not work. It created vast criminal enterprises.  It is the same with drugs.  I appreciate that there is a moral argument here.  Continue reading “Objective should be to make the U.S. self-sufficient in marijuana”

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam by Yahiya Emerick available at Amazon.com

ig_islamI read this book for two reasons. First, I’ve appointed myself the task of learning about the various world religions. Secondly, I have an Arabic friend (stay away Homeland Security) who is Muslim, and I wanted to understand where he was coming from a little better.

I wanted to give this book 3 and half stars, but that is not an option. I gave it four because the author fulfilled his primary mission of teaching the reader the basics of Islam. He also threw in a brief history Islam and Arabs that was interesting. When they talk about Sunnis and Shiites on the news, now I understand the difference. Continue reading “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam”

A Question of Etiquette

Let me see if I can set the situation for you.   Relatives of mine were making a trip, and they needed a place to stay overnight.  My girlfriend has a large home and was more than willing to accommodate their request. 

My girlfriend is Jewish, but is definitely secular.  Her spiritual beliefs tend to be more towards Continue reading “A Question of Etiquette”