Have you ever noticed how some people seem to be happiest when contemplating the unhappiness of other people? And, no I am not talking about journalists! Although, I will admit to being creeped out sometimes when watching a tragic news story, then watching the sunny smile on the TV anchor’s face the moment s/he switches to […]
Archives for 2013
Christians, vaccinations, and ethics
Should a Christian refuse to vaccinate their children with some vaccines because they were cultured on cells extracted from aborted fetuses? This is a question that was so difficult to answer that in Roman Catholic circles it went all the way to the Vatican in 2003, and was dealt with by the Pontificia Academia Pro […]
The problem with walking off a cliff
The old joke says that falling off of a cliff is not a problem, it is sticking the landing. The day before yesterday I commented that, “I give this silly example because it will help me to make a point about the way all too many people in America are handling the subject of science […]
If you jump off a cliff, you fall
If you step off of a cliff, you fall. That is the general rule. When one makes that statement, one is speaking truth. If someone says that this rule is simply your perception, your “truth” (meaning that it may not be truth for everyone), all you need to do is invite them to step off […]
Today’s version of reality
Sadly, the attitude pictured above is more common in practice than one might think. For instance, recently I was listening to a report on a radio broadcast about how measles was almost at the point of being considered eradicated in this country. Now measles rates are going up again. Why? The answer turns out to […]
Clergy catwalk fashion show
I must admit to being somewhat flabbergasted when I saw this video of a clergy fashion show in England. Mind you, the Orthodox do like their bright colors and designs, and Orthodox clergy clothing supply stores do post photographs of men wearing available clergy clothing. But, somehow, handling the promotion of clergy clothing in this […]
Small every day deeds keep darkness at bay
In the movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the following dialogue is found: Galadriel: Mithrandir… Why the hafling? Gandalf: Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness […]
Meeting the parents
Somewhere around 35 1/2 years ago I took that fateful trip that so many men must take, the trip to meet your girlfriend’s parents in order to ask for her hand in marriage. My wife’s father was a first sergeant of a detachment on an Army post. Even though I was a veteran, or perhaps […]
Beginning of Obama second term
As I am typing this, I am watching the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America for a second term. Yes, I know that the legal inauguration was yesterday, due to the requirements of the law, and that this is “merely” a reenactment. Yet, it becomes obvious that the people […]
If you’re gonna play in Texas, watch out for the man with a shotgun ‘cause the eyes of Texas are upon you.
Whatever your viewpoint on laws concerning guns, you must admit that Texans have a rather old-fashioned view about thieves. So, my question is, in modern Texas, is the theft of a large flat-screen TV equivalent to stealing your horse in old Texas? Laws in Texas are rather, uhm, “open-minded” on the defense of spouses, home, […]
