Of human (and humane) decency

I've been thinking of execution quite a bit. The term "cruel and unusual" are being discussed by a layperson, (though one who is studied) so that I will give you.  But here we are, living in the year 2011, with Canada, Mexico, Ireland, the UK (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales), France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland (among many others) ... all living without the death penalty.  Not smoothly. Not easily.  Families do suffer grief when they take their loved one away.  But, nevertheless, legislators in each of these countries decide

Horrible dingbats

 Toward the beginning of the month, US Navy SEALS moved into position around a house in Pakistan.  In the bedroom was Osama bin Laden, arguably the most feared man of the decade.  A half a world away several people were watching by sattelite - President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton, and the topmost brass of the military.  The SEALs told him to freeze, he moved, the SEALs shot him, dead.  Obama, Biden, Clinton and the military were relieved.  Later in the morning Obama told the world.

This past week, Anders Breivik, a fundamentalist Christian, blew up a building in Oslo,  killing over 70 people.  Oh, bin Laden, he's so passe.  Breivik is the latest nutjob.  Until the next one strolls along.

During the past 20 - 25 years, we have had our fill of these, uh, "stars".  Earlier on, Timothy McVeigh made his own claim to fame.  He demolished a federal building in Oklahoma City.   Hundreds were killed, including children.

What we do to stop these massacres, I do not know.  Stopping them is somewhat akin to hauling a huge rock up a mountain,

Boring, yet important issues

Before I dig in on the issues, I want to apologize on being so tardy.  I'm so sorry.

As I consider the issues going on in the world, there are, of course, some major issues going on in the world.  Global warming is an issue.  Nuclear weapons are important (not to mention freakin' frightening).  Our relations with the rest of the world is equally important.

But I haven't mentioned toilets.

Yeah, yeah, I know.  On the scale of earth-shattering movements (!) this one's way, way, WAY down there.  But I ask you to consider this: In the year 1775, (1) the toilet was invented.  Since that time, improvements have been made (porcelain structure, plastic seat, etc.) but none to where the human waste winds up.  Since 1775. Considering little Connecticut has a population of 3,574,097 (2)(3), and every single human being puts out solid or liquid waste daily, it ceases to be a source of amusement pretty quickly.

The other is sidewalks. It isn't really so bad as some areas, not really.  But when a community as wealthy as this one shows forth flaws, it is of concern.  Across the street from where I am, the walks in front of CL&P are badly rutted.  On Buena Vista, you can take the sidewalk - until the road turns.  Then there is no sidewalk.  Crossing the road is loads of fun - the walk is virtually impassable.

I have a suggestion.  When workers are repairing or building sidewalks, they should automatically assume wheelchairs, canes, and crutches, not just assume walkers.

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(1) www.cnn.com
(2) United States Census Bureau
(3) www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut

Election Day

It's almost Election Day again. For the GLBT community, this is especially important. The easiest way to decide  is to vote straight Democratic.  That was easy, wasn't it?  Well, it is--- unless the Democratic party decides to throw a curveball at you.  (In my case, Tom Colapietro(D) provided the frustration.)   You have a real conundrum there, don't you?


 The vagaries of American politics can be quite frustrating.  As a rule, we can generally say that Democratic politics are preferable to Republican politics. Now, if the differences were something minor, say, the times that liquor may be sold, it would hardly matter.  But this is my life we're talking about. It matters beyond all measure. It matters that I can have dinner with my boyfriend without being hassled or kicked out.  It matters that, if we wish, we can be married. Fully married, not half-assed "married".  And when one of us comes close to the end of life, one of us can comfort the other.

Now, I know what you're thinking.  I live in Connecticut, one of the states which had the good sense to legitimize same-sex marriages. You're probably of the opinion that if Connecticut does marry same-sex partners, well, that's good enough.     Well, what of our neighbor, New York?  The minority party, the Republicans, voted against it - that's to be expected - but a small number of Democrats voted against same-sex partners marrying as well!  Isn't that atrocious?  And Illinois - a fairly liberal state, the state which provided our President - has (as of now) no same-sex marriage provisions!

Now, what of the conservatives among the GLBT movement?  I'm not here to duke it out with you, but I think you must accede a tougher road to hoe among conservatives.  The conservatives have put their feet in their mouths, and you sit in front of your TV, saying "What do I do?"

It's a little late for 2010 elections, but for the year 2011 and beyond, whether Democratic or Republican, there is but one question to be asked:

Why don't you run??

My musings...

Sorry I haven't been around here too much, people.  In lieu of my absence, I'll try to make this one an interesting bit of bloggery.

After I added a few extra lines to my sister blog (to go there, see Emily's virtual rocket ) I decided to browse about among fellow bloggers to let them know what's up.  Well, the first one was a happy couple, and they were so devoted to either a very handsome little boy, or a precious, pretty little girl. And  then there was another, and another, and another.   Oh, how they would gush.  I'm not certain how they got put together by their computer, but no doubt it was a sizable amount.

What occurred to me, though, was this:  how are you going to deal with your little cutesie-pies if they turn out to be homosexual?

I chose heterosexual vs. homosexual behavior because these are the most widely studied and known groups.  There is bisexualism and transsexualism to be considered, but this is a good starting point.   Some researchers count homosexuals as low as 3 percent, some as high as 13 percent (a few are as high as 20 percent), but the bulk are approximately 10 percent.

Now, here's where you come in.  Grab yourself a 10-sided die.  If you don't have one, a specialty store will sell one to you cheaply.  Next, write down a number, 0 to 9. I can't see you through the blogosphere, but please don't cheat or fudge. (If you are playing with someone, have her/him write it secretly.  This makes it fairer.) Now roll the die, write down the number, then roll it again, then write down the second number. (1)

Any die which you have rolled which matches the original  number is an imaginary homosexual child.

Even if no child met this criterion, the odds of 1 in 10 being homosexual are extremely  common.  If you play the game where ping-pong balls are drawn, it's like that - but only one machine being used, balls numbered 0 through 9.

Now comes the hard question - if one of your children turns out to be homosexual, will you love that child?  I hope so.

Notes

(1) The average number of children per fertile couple in the United States is slightly more than two (2.06) (Wikipedia).  For the sake of convenience, I have rounded it to the nearest whole number [two].For other countries, or to compare it to the world as a whole, please see here.

Hello!

Welcome to Moscow, Moscow City, Russia - Clearwater, Florida - Melbourne, Australia and Scottsbluff, Nebraska!

Rest in peace, Percy :-(

Percy Sumner
died August 21, 2010
when you met a sad, depressed person
you made me smile, laugh
rest in peace, Percy

Pat's phony diatribes

What Pat thinks of you...  (Courtesy: Alex Entwege)

I have to admit, I'm a Jesus-follower fan.  Be it Falwell, Robertson, Schuller, Roberts... hell, I watched this one guy, Gene Scott, just staring at his video camera, totally silent, for 45 straight minutes!  I was fascinated by this guy.  The only sound you heard (or dared to hear) was him puffing away on his cee-gar.

Now, before you haul out the butterfly nets, my interest was (and is ) of the psychology of these people.  I have no interest in singing Onward Christian Soldiers, or any of their liturgies.

But then we have the particular problem of Pat Robertson. You see, he fancies himself not only as a Christian minister,but as a world political leader. In fact, he championed two leaders - Charles Taylor

important...

In our sister blog, "Emily's virtual rocket" there were two stories, one about a murder, one about a molestation.  In other cases such as this, *please* turn them into the police.  They may be transsexual, but they are murders and/or molesters FIRST.  Put them in jail, where they so richly deserve to be.

On the fritz (grrrrrrrrrrr...)

The  server at Starbucks went out of service this Sunday, and it hasn't come back as of yet.  Shorter runs for now...

A very funny blog!

As I am busy perusing the various blogs people submit, once in a great while I see a perfect gem. His name is Don Austin, and I salute him!
-----------------

ITM,
Deuteronomy 22:13-21
A marriage shall be considered valid if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed.
Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A
friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not
Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in
Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair
price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in
her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem
is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it
creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my
neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I
smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus
35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally
obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than
homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there
'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I
have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading
glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some
wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the
hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden
by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig
makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two
different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing
garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester
blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really
necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town
together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to
death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep
with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy
considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can
help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and
unchanging.

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Be sure your "friend" is your friend

I just read a story in the New Zealand press regarding a 32 year old case involving a transsexual who was murdered which was just solved.  (The entire case can be read by clicking above.)   And who was the culprit in this crime? Why, the police, of course!

By far, most of the police I know are decent and honorable people.  The ones I meet do hard work, and it is thankless.  But that .01 percent  must be watched out for. Just...be careful.

Comics, the serious medium

"Working with animals
is a source of suffering to all of us. 
We treat them like babies who cannot speak. 

 The more time passes,
the more I'm sorry about it.
We did not learn enough from the mission
to justify the death of the dog."


-quotation by Oleg Georgivitch Gazenko, Rick Aradzis, Laika
 
Last night, I went over to the local library. As usual, I took a look at the comics selection.  The comic books were on the bottom shelf, in the teen section.  (once again, as usual)

just a brief one...

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