separation of church and state??

The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to the 1st amendment recently. It is step one towards theocracy. The Court has now formally endorsed a christian symbol as a national emblem. That is what you get when courts swing to right. For years conservative Republicans have rallied against what they called, legislating from the bench, their code-phrase for judges who interpret the constitution as it was meant to be interpreted and refuse to endorse extremist religious views.

Now that the Roberts court is in session, true legislating from the bench is the law of the land. So we no longer hear those Republican voices.

First the court approved campaign contributions from rich corporations, and now it endorses christian symbols as American symbols. What's next you may ask?

Richard Dawkins correctly points out that we give religious types a very wide berth. For no reason really. Why do we hold back when priests abuse and rape children instead of being outraged and cleaning up the church? What stops the police from searching the premises for evidence of crimes? If any ordinary person abused children the way priests routinely do, we would put them in jail and throw away the key.

We have registries of sex offenders and we protest each and every time one moves into our neighborhood. Everyone gets really upset and we have laws keeping these criminals away from schools and parks. But what about the priests? We let them in and teach our kids!

While these "dangerous sex offenders" are often nothing more than boys who had sex with their girlfriend two days before her 18th birthday, these priests are men who molest boys (and sometimes girls) from age 7 onwards.

And we welcome and worship these men who abuse and rape our children. Why? Because they are priests? Because they are men of god and so they can rape our kids, while we stand around and watch? Surely, if god approves, who are we to criticize them?

And now we can watch when the Supreme Court protects the cross in the Mojave by endorsing it as a symbol of our nation. Go figure!

gusher

The proponents of offshore drilling better take a good look at the Gulf of Mexico. The disaster that is unfolding there should be reason enough to ban all offshore drilling forever. But I doubt that it will have any impact at all. Because the only right response to such disasters is not to protest, or to demand tough penalties, but to get rid of your gas-guzzling SUV.

That is right. Without demand, there won't be any reason to go look for oil in the Gulf or any other place, such as the Alaskan wilderness for example.

More than half the oil we "use" is wasted. It is wasted in traffic jams and needless driving. It is wasted in oversized and overweight vehicles, and it is wasted heating buildings that are empty or sparsely occupied.

It is wasted in generators that produce electricity to power lights, appliances and other devices that are left on 24/7 whether anyone needs them or not.

That is one giant oil spill that nobody wants to contain.

foreclosure

California foreclosures rose 92% in March. Analysts were quick to blame government programs that postponed foreclosures for the sudden rise. Nobody said a word about the newer, more ominous mortgages going past their five-year fixed rate period, although there is little doubt that herein lies the true cause.

Expect more trouble to come. Sure, consumers are spending again. But if you think that will lift the economy, hold on. Without jobs and with more foreclosures to come, it is hard to see how spending can be sustained. Sure, people are spending, but you need to ask yourself why?

They are spending because they have money and they have been sitting on it for a long time, holding their breath. Now it is time to let go. This letting-go is likely to last a bit longer as everyone is eagerly awaiting the recovery and making -wishful thinking- statements about it. There is little doubt we will see a bounce and that bounce may well last into summer.

With the advent of spring, reproductive juices are flowing and that always leads to more optimism, more joy, and more spending. When spring gives way to summer and no jobs appear reality will surely intervene sooner rather than later.

androgynous

As our modern society has expanded, longevity has become the rule. While many will attribute this to medicine and excellent medical care, the true causes are closer to clean water, good sewers and plenty of food.

Controlling infection is what longevity is all about. The less trouble bugs can make the better we humans fare. And the more androgynous we become. Bugs are, after all the true cause of sexual reproduction. Without infectious agents, there is no need for sexual reproduction. When the future is predictable and infection in check, asexual reproduction is the way to go. It is easier and faster.

A recent study showed that women who live in countries with high mortality due to infectious disease, prefer more macho looking men. They also tolerate polygamy and prefer to share one alpha male with other women. All in all it is a better deal than having your own -somewhat less alpha- hubby.

Clearly, when the future is uncertain, we want sex and we want sexual dimorphism. We want men that look and behave like men. Like or not, but aggression seems part and parcel of such male behavior. It isn't just aggressive looks that women in such situations crave.

When the future is more certain, and our offspring are more likely to survive, we prefer men with more feminine and tolerant traits and we don't want share them. Hence we become monogamous.

If we could, I guess we would become genderless as well.

In that sense we are very much like other species that manipulate sexuality and gender according to the environment. We are, fortunately or unfortunately, a bit more constrained and we can't simply change gender or become genderless on a whim. But we do display all the other traits, just stopping short of actual physical transformation. That is, of course, if you ignore those transgender surgeries.

All in all those who long for the past, "when men were men...," here is a simple recipe: bring back the bugs. Unfortunately, it looks like that is about to happen.

the good of the universal church

Everybody who cares to open their eyes can see that religion is all about sex and control. What better place to bring this all together than having a priest, who represents ultimate power and control to the believers, mess with their young children? After all who can blame men who trumpet celibacy as a virtue, for the occasional transgression? There is only so much one can do to live against one's innate drives.

Isn't it funny that those who rally against non reproductive sex engage in such acts themselves?Or that those who rally the loudest against homosexuality are closeted homosexuals? Do we smell a whiff of denial here? Didn't we just see politicians with free government health insurance rally against such insurance for others?

Unfortunately idols get away with a lot. Just look at OJ. No doubt the pope too is hoping that this glove won't fit and his innocence be thusly demonstrated. It would be best for the good of the universal church after all!