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Showing posts from May, 2012

Same-sex Marriage

As Americans, it seems as if we always need something, usually sexual, to get all worked up over. Last month it was the young lady who testified about the need to have contraceptives covered by medical insurance. It seems to me that if “ceptives” such as Viagra and Cialis are covered, it is only fair to cover their “contras.” It's fairly obvious that the healthcare law is written by men – women's needs are excluded. But this month the concern is about same-sex marriage. Now I know that the Bible says that says that homosexuality is an abomination, but it also says the same thing about eating shellfish. So I would be more impressed by the Biblical argument if those who are fighting so adamantly against same-sex marriage were to campaign just as vigorously against the crab and lobster industry. What about the argument that same-sex marriage will destroy conventional marriage? I doubt that I would love my wife any less if the couple next door to me turned out to be mar

Living Under Extreme Conditions

The Discovery Channel recently ran a series, Frozen Planet , which featured detailed and closeup pictures of life at the North and South poles. From penguins to polar bears, walruses to crabs, the persistence of life under these extremely harsh conditions was beautifully displayed. One episode focused on the life-style of humans who live at the extreme Northern areas of human habitation. (There are no areas of permanent human habitation in Antarctica.) I am not speaking about those scientists who spend years living at the poles studying various conditions – I am talking about people who live there permanently: the Inuits. And for me this episode raised a question: Why? Let me give you a few examples: In Siberia, the reindeer herdsmen have their homes built on sleds, and every few weeks when their flock has used up all the feed in a given area, they hitch the animals to the sleds and move to a new area. I realize shepherds have always had to drive their flocks to fresh