Thoughts Before The Alarm Sounds

     Thursday's Lancaster Intelligencer Journal headlined a story “Break Bread Together?” about a nearby restaurant, Prudhomme's, which offers a discount to customers who present a “current church bulletin.” A local member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, claiming discrimination against non-Christians. The parties received notification of the Commission's ruling during Thanksgiving week.      The ruling stated that discounts must be given to bulletin holders “from any group oriented around the subject of religious faith.” Note that the word “church” has been eliminated. Because atheists are considered by the Federal Courts to have a religious creed, the ruling covers them.      At first reading it seems like a reasonable ruling, and it appears likely that no problems will be encountered in the Lancaster County geographic area. But if it is extended to ...

     I am beginning to think that high schools and colleges have discontinued the teaching of science, particularly to Congresspersons. Especially in the Republican Party, a complete lack of scientific education appears to be a requirement for membership. And it's a damned shame, because the world economy runs on scientific knowledge, and to make vital economic decisions on the basis of superstition or lack of knowledge is like driving a horse and buggy in the Indianapolis 500. Here are a few cases in point:      A perfect example is the recent comment by Representative Todd Akin, the Republican Senate nominee from Missouri. “It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Rep. Akin said of pregnancies from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”      I presume that “legitimate” rape is the situation in which the victim is physically forced to...

There is no question that schools have changed over the years; some changes are positive, some are negative. Here are a few examples: When I was in second grade, I had a teacher who believed it was her duty to indoctrinate students into Christianity. She offered a Bible to any student who could memorize twenty verses. People who know me today will find it hard to believe that I received a Bible with my twenty verses underlined in red. (I myself find it hard to believe.) I am sure there were no non-Christian families in the Sporting Hill School area, so there were no objections. But can you imagine anything like that happening today? Americans United for Separation of Church and State would be all over the school board, the teacher and anyone else connected with the school district. Parents on both sides of the issue would be upset, and rightly so. Religion is not the territory of the schools. Our technology consisted of pencil, paper and a blackboard. Today ...

I n June, 2010, I was having a problem with my right leg, and the doctor's diagnosis indicated that it was caused by a pinched nerve in my back. Consequently, it was determined that I needed a laminectomy, an operation to remove a small piece of bone in order to relieve the pressure on the nerve. A s far as the operation was concerned, everything went well, but for some reason my bladder stopped operating. It was never determined whether it was due to the procedure or the anesthetic, but in any event I had to learn to use a catheter. The function gradually improved over a three week period, which pretty much coincided with the length of time it took for me to become reasonably adept at performing this rather personal procedure. One does not use a catheter without a lubricant, normally a water-based compound such as K-Y Jelly, so off I went to the pharmacy. To my surprise I discovered that lubrication is only one of the characteristics available in this product. (You must rem...

     One of our biggest military heroes, General David Petraeus, has been caught with his literal pants down! Perhaps I am being naive, but I cannot understand how anyone, particularly a high-ranking government official, can get involved in sexual hanky-panky, and think he can get away with it. What would make Petraeus betray us? (OK, so they can't all be great.)      I am reminded of the story of a little dog who was crossing the railroad tracks when a train came along and cut off his tail. When he turned around to look at it, another train came along and cut off his head. But he was not the first dog to lose his head over a piece of tail. Think of John Kennedy, Bill Clinton and John Edwards.      With cell phones as ubiquitous as potato chips, privacy is a thing of the past in today's society.      But when one is in a position of power or fame, thinking with the wrong head poses an even greater danger. ...

     Now that the election is over we will no longer be inundated by all those political commercials; instead we will be swamped by holiday commercials. But it is also a good opportunity to forge a consensus of we instead of us vs. them . After all, are we not all Americans?      In spite of the fact that we have different opinions on many matters, when I looked out on the morning of November 7, the sun had risen, birds were singing, people were going to work (at least many of them), and the world had not ended overnight.      Later that morning I attended the monthly breakfast of my high school graduating class, what few of us that are still here, and heard statements such as, “There's not much I can do about it,” and “I'm not sure the country can last for the next four years.”      Come on guys, what the hell do you think is going to happen? Is the country going to slide into the sea? Oh, I forgot, the ...

     (1) Large is small. According to the GOP definition, any business, e.g., a partnership or a Limited Liability Company, that passes its net income through to its owners for inclusion on their personal federal income tax returns is a small business. There is no limit to the amount of income such a company can earn! For example, privately owned companies Cargill and Koch Industries each had over $100B in revenues in 2011, yet qualify as small businesses under the GOP's definition!      While agreeing in principle that the tax code needs revision, the Democratic Party would limit the definition of small business to one that has a net income not exceeding $250,000. While that figure may be a bit low, it certainly makes more sense than basing it on how the paperwork is set up.      (2) The estate tax is killing small business. Through 2012, there is no estate tax on estates not exceeding $5M in value. Unless Congress extends...