Religious Beliefs vs. Health Care and Equal Rights

Some business owners say their religious beliefs should take priority over the Health Care Law.  Ridiculous.

The main problem with this argument is that the US Constitution says they are wrong – the law can not allow special exceptions for particular religions.

If one business owner has the right to ignore Federal Law because of religious beliefs, then ANYONE can.  Any religious beliefs would earn you an exception.

Business could refuse to serve certain people – that has already happened in a case in Tri-Cities, Washington.  There a bakery refused to sell a wedding cake for a gay couple – even thought they had long been customers at the bakery.  So religion allows them to discriminate against whom ever they want?

“Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but just as religious objections to desegregation were not an excuse for racial discrimination, private businesses cannot use religion as an excuse to deny basic health care to the women who work for them,” said Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

A business owned by Scientologists could refuse to cover mental health care involving psychiatrists, or drugs.  Christian Scientists could ignore almost all health care requirements.  Some businesses could serve only white people.

Businesses have used this same argument to allow them to continue to discriminate against African Americans and many others.  Where do we draw the line?

If you are a business in our society, there are rules.  The rules do not say “Unless you don’t like it”.  There is no religious exemption.

Now… with our activist right wing Supreme Court, it is hard to tell how they will rule.  They have found ways to ignore precedence, and the actual words written in the Constitution… so it’s hard to say how this court would rule.

But it is clear that a ruling allowing this kind of discrimination would open the flood-gates to all sorts of crazy religious exception.  It would be unworkable.

You Can’t Have Too Much Ice-Cream!

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Escaping

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The Cat Burglar

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Poor Hated Christians

I opened up CNN’s on-line news today to see “When Christian become a ‘hated minority’”.  Imagine my surprise at the idea that Christians are in the minority.

This has been a Christian theme for many years… the “attack” on Christmas and all.  But let’s get one thing straight, most Americans are Christian (including most minorities).  Every President, the vast majority of Congressmen, and Supreme Court Justices have been Christian – not an Atheist in the bunch (maybe a couple).

What Christians see as an attack on Christianity is in reality just the non-Christians wanting what the US Constitution guarantees – equality.  It’s right there in the 1st Amendment!

In God we trust, was not adopted officially till 1956, and “Under God” was not added to the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954.  For decades the US Congress met on Christmas day every year to show they were not beholding to any God or religion.  The word “God” was discouraged or banned in Congress for the same reason.

Many if not most of the founding Fathers were not Christians – they were Deists.

But when a majority is used to running the show, they react with all sorts of illogical behaviors when their power is challenged.  The talk of anti-Christian attacks in this country, is really just the powerful, trying to shut down any opposition (sort of like being called a traitor if you oppose a war.)

The US Constitution is clear.  No religion should have ANY preference in the public sector of our Nation.  Fortunately, there are many Christians who agree.

And the article was quite good actually.

“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”

Rod Serling could not get the TV studios to produce his tele-plays because they had actual human social issues in them.  So he decided to write a Sci-Fi (not what they called it at the time) tele-play – The Twilight Zone was born.  I say it is the most important Sci-Fi TV show of all time.  And certainly in the top 10 most influential series ever.  All in the Family was just one show to pick up the same cause of reality.

AND I believe there are a multitude of plays within that series.  They are there for the picking.  If you like plays, and you like intelligent looks at many human issues… the The Twilight Zone is for you!

“The Monsters Are Due on Mable Street” was one of the pinnacle moments in that effort.  It dealt with the Red scare, social paranoia, and mod behavior… this episode marked a point when The Twilight Zone became a force in and of itself.  It was able to deal with issues no other TV show could even approach.

And every one of those issues is still with us today.  These are the primordial issues that come from the most essence of what it means to be human.

It holds up today, as well as Shakespeare.  It is about everlasting issues in the human world.  And there are many writers in history that have written beautify and profound additions to the world.  They should all be enjoyed for what they did, on its own merits.

Include more.  Bring some of the early TV shows into the modern world.  There are many gems there.  And that was a time when they wrote tele-plays as if they were short stage plays.  And so it remains…

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There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.

—Rod Serling

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Legal Extortion of Innocent People

I read an interesting article in the Oregonian today about a woman who is being subjected to extortion by a Salem lawyer hiding behind the an Unconstitutional anti-piracy law.

This law gives music and movie rights-owners the ability to access your personal on-line records looking for signs you have made an illegal download.  They then send you a letter saying if you do not pay up, they will sue you in Federal court.

They do NOT have to prove you actually did anything wrong, nor do they have to get a warrant from a judge, to access you personal records.  And the records they get are NOT reliable anyway!  These kinds of records commonly link to the wrong IPs, and are full of false information.

The lawyer in the case – Carl Crowell of Salem, Oregon – says if someone does not pay $7500 within 2 weeks, he will file sue in Federal court.  That could cost many thousands of dollars even for those who have done nothing wrong.  This lawyer is currently pursuing several cases in Federal court.

To be fair, I am sure many of these suits are legitimate, and do involve illegal downloading.  But going after people without a warrant, with dubious information at best, is one of the reasons Americans hate lawyers so much.  What is that line from King Henry VI part 2?

Eventually this law will be thrown out by the courts because it violates the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Oregonian Article

 

Entertainers Do Deserve Fair Pay!!!!!

My previous Blog might indicate to some, I think people who entertain should not be paid!  Nothing could be further from the truth.  What I am saying here is that I think the problem is that the money our society spends on entertainment is NOT being properly distributed.

It seems a good capitalistic system would support all forms of art, theater, sports and any form of entertainment.  BUT that assumes it is a fair capitalist system.  Our current system encourages the most wealthy people to manipulate it all for their own profit.

The main problem with economic models is that they do not properly take into account the influences of some people trying to make the most money.  No one can know what our society would be like if not for the Barons of the late 19th Century.  Maybe there is just not as much potential profit in theater.

And profit is the motive.

 

The Unneeded Profession

There are many professions people in our world can pursue.  Most of them require some college – some require a lot of college.  But there are still some professions that can be learned thru apprenticeships, and other kinds of training.

Many people become very specialized, and expert at what they do… a few, not so much so.  But the great majority move thru their carriers making needed contributions to society.

The vast majority of professions would be sorely missed if they had never been invented.  Can we imagine society without doctors, or engineers, or teachers?  And what about auto mechanics, and computer programmers.  If any of those professions had never come along, our society would be noticeable different.

But there is one profession that stands out because there would be virtually no difference in the world if it had never come along.  I am referring to professional athletes… and professional sports.

Sure there is an entertainment value to it… but amateur sports filled that void for hundreds if not thousands of years.  We would still be entertained by sports if there were no professionals.

And don’t get me started on the outrageous salaries these “professionals” make.  It is totally out of proportion with what they contribute to society.  All they do is entertain… much like some of the very good street musicians I have heard.

There will be a follow-up on this.

The Fiefdom that is Facebook.

I have recently learned some interesting things about Facebook.

If someone complains about a post of yours, you will not be informed.  If Facebook decides to remove your post, they will not tell you why, they will only point you to the rules.  With NO explanation.

There is no way to reply.  There is no way to respond.  There is no way to appeal.  It’s a done deal, and that is the last of it… as far as Facebook is concerned.

Here is my offending post:

“A NOTCE to my "Friends"… if you have unfriended (name removed by me) in the last year and a half because of (initials removed by me), then you should unfriend me too! This is NOT right!!!”

The person with those initials is unnamed.  My best friend has those initials.  I can think of others with those initials as well.

What did I say that was wrong?  Did I threaten?  Did I libel someone?  Did I try to bully someone?  No, no, no, and no.  I think was accused of bullying.

Now… I’m just not seeing it.  To be fair, it might be that I have crossed some line.  But wouldn’t it also be fair to know how? 

Don’t ever expect to find out from Facebook – or Zuckerberg for that matter.

In my case, it did not matter, because my post was up 5 days, and everyone who needed to, saw it.  So it’s not a big deal for me.  But know that the eyes are watching, and there is nothing you can do about what they decide… or do they just flip a coin?

Note: 8 people unfriended me.

The Danger of Cliques

People form friendships, and build close alliances.  That is totally human, and generally a good thing.  But when those alliances lead to blanket, uniform action, it has become a clique.

When one person can lead everyone in the group to do things that hurt others, it has become a clique.

And when that action lacks sense, and logic, then it has become a dangerous clique.

Recently I have lost some fiends on Facebook.  They all were people who had unfriended a good friend of mine because she somehow seems to have offended one of them – someone whom she had put great energy into helping thru a difficult time.

So everyone in the clique unfriended her.  But this is only one example of how these “groups” can develop a personality of their own.  They spring into life, and move as a single entity.  The opinion of one, becomes the opinion of all – especially if that “one” is a leader in the group.  There is no shortage of followers.

It is a normal human thing actually… that does not make it right.  When a group acts as a single unit, marching lock-step, they will plow over anyone they see as an “enemy”.  And they have NO test in reality.  They only “see” what the group sees.

These groups can create imagined insults, and act on them blindly in uniformity.  Members think they are acting independently, but in reality, they are all acting in exacting unison.

This is dangerous.  It creates “enemies” where none exist.  It turns small issues into huge problems.  And it hurts people.  It is wrong.

As a teacher, I saw a lot of it.  But it is much more distressing when it happens amongst adults…  Especially older adults.  But some people rely on their cliques for all their positive input.  It can make them feel powerful, and safe.

But it belittles others.  It can make people feel alone, and thrown away.  And this needs to end. 

If we can not end it… which I don’t think we can, then we can work to be aware of it.  We can learn to recognize it, and fight against it.

Just be VERY careful that in so doing, you do not create your own clique to fight it!  THAT would be a truly sad result.  As Hitler said: “The strength of a dictatorship is that it forces its enemies to imitate it.”

I AM NOT MAKING ANY COMPARISONS TO ANYONE AND HITLER… I am only saying that when we start to act like them, they have won.  It is as true of individuals as nations.

It’s All About Politics

And once again, Abortion is being made into a Political game to gain some perceived advantage.  This time (again) it is in Aransas.  The legislature passed a clearly unconstitutional limit to abortions in their state, over the veto of the governor.  A lot of taxpayer money will be wasted now.

"We intend to make it … clear that no one’s constitutional rights are subject to revision by lawmakers intent on scoring political points, and that attempts such as this to turn back the clock on reproductive rights will not stand," Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.

But Rep. Ann Clemmer says, "Protecting unborn children is … an important way to spend state resources."   See?  It’s all about getting publicity, and more votes. 

Conservative Republicans are so willing to waste taxpayer money when THEY want to.  And this is money that will end up helping their opposition.  It will end up giving them direct payments – when the State loses, they will have to pay the costs of both sides.

Whether you are pro-choice, or anti-choice, you must see that this approach will not work.

But what do you expect from Arkansas.

The Budget Mess

I have written about the mess in our National budget before.  But I am particularly bothered by the Republicans continuing to say that President Obama and the Democrats are not willing to compromise.

That is male bovine fecal matter.  The President Obama has been saying for many months that he is willing to compromise on Social Security and Medicare.  He did as much in the Summer of 2011!  Even so… Rep Boehner is still saying Democrats won’t compromise when they continue to do so.

It is the GOP that is unwilling to make any concessions.  They will not allow any revenue increases, even if that will be the only way to balance the budget.

But then the GOP has to bow to the Tea-Baggers.  They can’t admit the truth of the situation.

Saving the NRA

I am not a fan of the NRA… but even so, I will offer my advice for saving the NRA.  Actually, it means I have a plan for making them into the hero of the gun debate.

1)  Agree with Universal Background checks.  Even 70% of NRA members approve of them.  And CEO LaPierre said in Congressional testimony a few years back, it would be a good thing.  This alone would improve the view of Americans of the NRA tremendously.

There is such a huge national consensus on this – 82% of Americans – that fighting it just makes the NRA look ridiculous, and out of touch with America.  Do an about-face, and move on.

2)  Support legislation to untie the hands of the ATF so they can start enforcing laws already on the books.  There are too many irrational limits on the ATF – they can’t use computers or the Internet to work on cases.

The NRA constantly says all we have to do is enforce the laws we have.  But they pushed thru Congress absurd limitations on the AFT – they can only visit a gun store 1 time in a year.  No matter how many investigations may point to that store, they have to wait till next year if an agent has set foot in that store in this year. 

If the NRA really wants to enforce the laws, then come out in SUPPORT of a truly affective Bureau of Alcohol, Tabaco, and Firearms, and get rid to the limitations.

If the NRA did just these 2 things, even I would praise them unconditionally.

The Better Iago at OSF

I have seen two masterful performances of Iogo in the 20 years I have been attending OSF.  I have seen Anthony Heald, and Dan Donahue preform the part if Iago.  I think he is one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters, so I love to see how he is interpreted.  And I thought I would have a hard time choosing between who I liked best… not so.

When I saw Dan Donahue play Iago, it was so clearly a completely different Iago than Anthony Heald’s had been, that I lost all concept of comparison..

Anthony Heald played an Iago who was relishing in the achievement of getting closer to his greatest goal.  He was pleased with each step along the way, but the ultimate goal of his thoughts was what mattered.

Dan Donahue’s interpretation was completely different.  His character had a goal… but to him, it was getting there that was all the fun.  Each individual victory was savored… and fawned over.  His ultimate goal was not as important to him, in the moment, as his immediate goal.

To Dan, it was all about the journey.  To Anthony, it was all about the goal.

How could I possible decide which performance was better??  Two of the greatest performances I have ever seen.

What Doesn’t Kill You…

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

Is it true?  First, you can’t take it literally – a man walking down a Tokyo city street does not make me stronger.

But the point of this saying is that if you survive the things that get in the way of life, you are stronger for it.  I think this is true… though the change may be very small.  It may be too small to notice on the surface.

There…

 

Taliban and Islamists

There are people who do not like where the world has gone.  They want to go back to where they think everything was better.  They want men to be in charge, and women to be obedient, and be mostly out of site.  The want God’s law to be Man’s law.

They fight progress, and see it as taking away their Biblical rights.  It’s all tied up in their Religion, and the teachings of their Holy writings.  Or at least, their interpretation of those writings.

There is no using reason with them, because they are “above” real world considerations.  And the laws of Man are not as important as what they see, as the word of God.  They read their own ideas into their Holy Book, and other writings.

So they try to turn back the clock.  They look to the past, and see a sort of paradise lost.  And they want to bring the world back to their idea of a perfect world.  They don’t care what the majority thinks… it is a matter of doing what they see as right.

Who are these people?  I am writing about conservative Evangelical Americans… mostly Republicans.  This is what they are.

Sorry about the misleading title.

The NRA… as un-American as they come!

Thanksours Day

Thanksours Day is coming up on January 19 this year.  It’s time to start planning.

For the uninitiated, Thanksours Day is the post holiday version of Thanksgiving… but this one is only for the live in family.  After the string of holidays with family and friends over, this one is just for us.

We will get a small turkey, and make all the fixing to go with it.  It’s turn off the phones, emails, and messaging, and enjoy your day with home family.

This year will be a special Thanksours Day too… that’s because it is the first one!!  So start planning now to hunker down, and enjoy the day at home, lounging around and doing as little as possible.

Enjoy!

Grover Norquist – the Biggest Loser

The US Congress finally got around to passing a stop-gap measure to prevent us going over the Fiscal Cliff.  They did not actually solve anything… they did what Congress often does… they are passing on the problem to the next Congress.

Mostly this is all happening because of some stupid pledge to no increase any taxes.  Grover Norquist is a lobbyist who has managed to convince many Republicans that all tax increases are bad.

I think most tax increases are bad… but not all.  It depends on what happens to the extra money.  Laying down a blanket rule is just plan stupid… and Norquist seems to agree.

Grover has changed his view on the fiscal cliff, and NOW says it does not count as a tax increase to let some taxes go back to what they used to be.  Almost every tax could be raise by that argument – the great majority of Federal taxes have been reduced over the last couple of decades.  So any of them could be raise according to Grover’s new argument.

Obviously, he has recognized he is losing this argument, so he adjusts his position to make it look like this is his plan all along.  What a joke.  He is just another publicity hound who will say anything to keep the dollars coming in.

This is how he makes his living.  People give him money to lobby against taxes… unless he doesn’t.

What’s the Common Thread?

From Vincent C. Stamper

What did the shootings in Connecticut, Colorado, Oregon, Virginia, and far too many others to list have in common?  Before you jump to the obvious answer, and the only one we all seem to be discussing consider that besides guns, they also had something else in common.

In each case the shooter had been identified as having a mental illness, and yet the social safety net did not provide them with the intervention and or help they needed.  I know mental health is a complex issue, and solving it will be difficult, but while you are all distracted by the gun control issue redirect, our mental health safety net will continue to be dismantled and privatized.

The next shooter is out there right now, most likely with parents, teachers, and counselors desperately trying to figure out how to get them help.

Who is Crazy?

Neurotics build castles in the sky… Psychotics live in them.

That’s the old joke, but it is not too far off the mark.  And we are thinking about this now as we try to come to grips with what has happened in Connecticut.  What was wrong with this person that he could do such a thing?

There are a lot of people with mild to sever depression, bi-polar disorder, or any of a number of other neuroses, and they live relatively normal lives, and never hurt anyone.  Many are treated with theropy, and/or meds.  They never pick up a gun and shoot anything.

So what was wrong with this guy?  FIRST, don’t try to make sense of this shooting, it will only make you crazy.  There is no answer here that will ever make sense to any of us.  He may have been psychotic, or been a sociopath.  But we will never understand why he did this.

Pundits will tell us all sorts of theories about what was wrong with him, or why he did this.  It’s of no use.  We will never understand it.  Psychotics live in a different world, and there is no way for us to look into their world.

Psychotics can be particularly difficult to identify, because they have learned to fit in.  Often they are quite intelligent, and know how to not be detected.   They may seem a bit off, and the vast majority of them are harmless.  But every now and then, one of them goes over the edge, and does something horrible.

It does not actually happen as often as it might seem from the news.  There are millions of people with deep problems, but these events don’t happen every day… or every hour!  So even though it does not seem like it, these things are fairly rare.  Lori wrote her Master’s Thesis on this very issue – the availability heuristic.

Even IF any of these people can be identified, there nothing that can be done to “cure” them… there are treatments that may help them manage their problems, and make them more successful in society.  But there is no cure.

People like this shooter are almost impossible to identify even within this group of sociopaths.  Just as we can not fathom why they do what they do, we can not predict any of this behavior.  Sociopaths are more likely to be conmen than killers.

But it falls upon those who know these people, and society in general, to help identify those having serious issues early enough that they never get to this point.  That is the only thing we can do.  Be aware, and try to help… try to find help for those who need it.  And show them you care.  Then, we can start to prevent this kind of event.

(Im)Practical Jokes

I have always hated the concept of practical jokes.  We have recently seen how they can lead to very serious negative results.  The biggest problem is the drive to always pull a better prank.  Todays joke has to be bigger and better than yesterday’s.

I have 2 personal rules for Practical Jokes ::

1) Keep it small!  No-one should get hurt, or embarrassed in front of people that could make them uncomfortable.

2) The Joke should be such that no-one is really sure it was a joke at all.

The best joke I ever heard of was back in the late 70’s when a Washington State ferry captain turned his ferry around – end for end – after his last run on March 31st.  On the morning or April 1st the ferry looked exactly the same.

But there are small differences in the layout of the ferry.  Flip it around, and the entrance to the café becomes the woman’s restroom.  The stairs all go the wrong way.  People’s hiding places for chess sets and such are now at the other end of the ferry.

Passengers who rode the ferry to work every day were confused, and things were not right.  When I read about it in the paper I could not stop laughing.  It was so subtle that people couldn’t even figure out what was going on, or even if anything was different at all.

It was a perfect Joke!  No-one was hurt, and most people did not even notice.  But some people were way confused by it.  Even the passengers thought it was a great joke when they found out what had happened.  The whole city got a laugh out of it.

That’s what Practice Jokes should look like.

Personal vs. Social Morality

"The Democrats have replaced personal morality with social morality which means to be a good person you no longer have to worry about your personal failings but your societal failings…You can be a drug addict, leave your family in shambles or steal from your boss but, as long as you drive a Prius and are concerned about polar bears, you are a good person."

This was in an email sent out by the chairman of the Republican party in Washington County, Oregon, Gary Bray.  Sadly, this is what a lot of Tea Baggers think of Democrats.  Just so you know… I do not drive a Prius, but I am concerned about the plight of polar bears.  Note: I lived in Washington County for 10 years, until about a year ago.

To me, our personal morality and societal morality are the same thing.  We should care about our personal actions as much as our social actions – they are too intertwined to define a difference.

It should be noted that many Republicans have said they are “bothered” by Bray’s comments.  A state party official said, “We do not endorse or support what he is saying, those are his beliefs, not the party’s."  Wow… that sure is a strong statement.  NOT.

I condemn what Gary Bray said.  It is destructive to the electoral process, and has no place coming from a party official.  He should step aside, and let someone else take the chairmanship of the county party.

Sushi Picnic

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