July 2009 - Secular Humanity

If you answered yes, I have a paradox I would like your input on...

First, I must confess, I heard this idea on a radio bit, I was channel surfing and didn't catch who mentioned it in a comedic way. When I heard the words I began to think, and a real paradox appeared.

So what is your answer? Do you believe homosexuality is a choice that is made, and can be just as easily unmade? Or do you hold that it's part of how a person is "wired?" I am confident that the latter is true, but there are oh so many who think the former. If you do believe that a person who leads a homosexual lifestyle does so only because it was what they "choose" I have a quandary for you to explain.

A qualifying statement first. Although I do accept the fact that homosexuality is much deeper than just a choice, I still wouldn't have any problem with people who made that choice. And I also accept that people who cannot accept it do so from their own weakness, not that of the person leading a homosexual lifestyle.

But on to the paradox. If it were true that a person chose to be homosexual, than it holds that others made a different choice. If one can choose to be homosexual, they must also be able to choose not to be. So what are they at the start? You know, before the "choice?"

If a person can choose their sexual orientation at will then it must be assumed that they are all starting from zero, so to speak. Maybe all people are born bisexual? Or unisexual? Or asexual? I'm serious, what explanation can there be, if sexuality is a choice to be made as a person comes to maturity, then that same person can't have the choice already made for them.

Or perhaps there is a simpler answer. Perhaps we aren't all made in the image of what someone imagines their god to be. Maybe, just maybe, we are all individuals with our own traits, or own foibles, and our own personalities?

What do you think? C'mon, doesn't that make more sense than thinking we all "choose" some so basic, so instinctual, as our sexuality?

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Posted By: Jeff Musall - Category: No Category

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July 16th, 1969

July 11th 2009 17:06

When Apollo 11 roared off the pad on July 16, 1969, everyone alive sensed something important. The "Space Race" had been going on for a few years, but this was the first time anyone would be walking on another piece of real estate in space. If you were on earth, your eyes were to the moon. And the promise of the future.

Well, it hasn't turned out quite as the promise painted it. When Kubrick's view of 2001 came out, it didn't seem that outlandish to imagine us soon taking vacations on the moon. It is rather ironic that the spacecraft in the movie had the logo of Pan Am, the long defunct American iconic airline.

In spite of all the problems confronted in the 60s, there still existed a strong feeling of "we can." We can confront civil rights and see change. We can move women ahead. We can fight against an unjust war. The struggles may be long and hard, but "we can" take action.

Could we do the same today? America went from being a leader in areas of expertise and exploration to being at best an also-ran. Corporate power so infused itself in the American landscape that it became hard to do anything except enhance corporate profits. Sure, we could still make good movies in America, and we can make war machines like nobody's business. But couldn't we do more?

Working together on big plans became "socialism" while greed and avarice became traits to be admired. Americans began to admire some of the least deserving of admiration among us simply because of wealth. Education took a back seat to profit. The Reagan era gave us a new hollowness, and a division between those of us who still had hope for a better America and those who wished to give everything to the consolidation of power, profits.

With the election of Barack Obama came a renewed sense of hope for many Americans, and a sense of fear and loathing to those who wanted the status quo. Will it continue, and can the sense of "yes we can" overcome the entrenched power of "no you can't?" We confront huge energy, environmental, and social problems. Why can't we, as a society, decide to overcome them?

On energy - In WWII in America we could build a liberty ship from keel to launch in three days. Are you telling me we can't build windmills? Or solar panels for every roof in America? Electric cars that work and are affordable?The conservative answer is to step back, to "drill baby drill," to grasp at maintaining the status quo. We need to ignore them and move ahead.

On the environment - We know we need to change the way we do things - are you going to tell me we can't, just because big oil doesn't want us to? We can't reduce our carbon footprint dramatically? The conservative answer is to let "the market" sort things out, but the market has no interest in anything but profits.

On health care - America spends more than twice as much per person as the second highest country, but with less effective results. Are you telling me we "can't do it here?" Or that it "won't work in America?" Why the hell not?

On infrastructure - The United States that built the interstate system has bridges crumbling and roads decaying. A plan to build a modern transportation system - now that's a stimulus package!

In America we need to figure out that we can, or here's some news - we will be walked right past and left behind. The countries that colonize Mars won't be American, and that will just be a symptom of what happened. Perhaps, that might be good in the long run, if we became another player among many instead of the "only superpower."

Still, if we are to avoid a slide into second or third tier status. we need to embrace "Yes We Can!" Don't you want America to be known as something besides the world's biggest consumer? Shouldn't we work to be part of a world that works together to find real solutions, instead of just being the neighborhood bully?

President Obama is overseas right now, working to that end. We need to not only help him, but to work to make sure he and other leaders work for us, and not for corporations and the uber-wealthy. If we want real change, we need to be part of the solution. We need to stand up in numbers large enough so that our voices are heard over those who would hold us back.

Make no mistake, change will come to America. We can embrace it and move ahead, or we can wait for it to happen and pick up the pieces.

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Capitalism and Democracy - friends, or not compatible?

July 11th 2009 15:59

We have been told the virtues of the "free market" for decades. What does it mean, and what has it done for (and to) us? What do you truly get when you let capitalism run unfettered through an economic landscape?

There are examples of capitalism with little or no real regulation, where the only allegiance corporations have is to maximizing profit through whatever means. They include modern day Mexico, recent Russia, and emerging China. China, you say, aren't they communist? China is much more a fascist economic empire in development than a communist state these days. Look at China today and see the world tomorrow, if corporate interests have their way.

We hear alot in America about "free markets" and letting the market take care of problems, most people not understanding that we don't have anything close to what they imagine a free market to be. The exceptions might be your local farmer's market or the guy who does your lawn, but on the big stage free markets don't exist.

Corporate interests have so melded with the political and social landscape as to make it hard to tell where one ends an another begins. That's what you get when you allow corporations so-called "personhood," when you allow corporate money to flow unchecked at politicians, when you decide as a society that wealth is personal worth, that might makes right, and that the ends justify the means.

The battle waging over health care in America right now may well determine just how far we have fallen into a pit of corporate control. Over one and a quarter million dollars are being spent by health care lobbyists in Washington right now. Industry that sense a potential sea change from the public are doing whatever they can to stop reform. When a majority of Americans favor single-payer health care and a huge majority (76%) favor at least a public option, we hear the phrase "we don't have the votes."

Why, because all the Republicans and enough of the Democrats are far more concerned with their corporate sponsors than with their constituents. In a time when many Americans are struggling with a deep recession, big banks and insurance companies get huge bailouts. There is a word for the merging of corporate and government, it's fascism.

I know, that's a "buzzword" that is often thrown out without real understanding of what it is. Pure and simple, it's the mixing of corporate and state interests, usually to the detriment of the individual. Remember, before Hitler was exposed as the true monster he was, he had many fans worldwide, including many in corporate America.

Corporate elitists weren't happy at all with F.D.R. building up the common person, starting a social safety net, listening to workers, or reigning in their excess. They liked the idea of a special bond between business and government which would recognize their assumed superiority. It's no accident that "The Family" began in 1935.

The Family is a secretive group of politicians and corporate leaders who hold the position that Christianity had been misinterpreted for centuries, that it was actually meant to bestow a select few "chosen" ones to power and wealth. The Family is in the news now because of the affairs of Mark Sanford and Nevada Senator John Ensign, who along with implicated Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, are all Family members and all share the same house.

Little by little, elitist groups looked to do away with the reforms of FDR and the new deal, and found rapidly increasing success in the 1980s. The Reagan presidency did what elites had been unable to do up to that point - align their interests with huge numbers of voters. How? by embracing the religious right. Corporate fascism and religious fundamentalism grew together, both using the other for their own purposes. Now America is truly at the threshold.

Capitalism and democracy can be compatible, as long as the former knows the latter is in charge. As America - and to some extent the U.K., Italy, and some other countries - moved to corporatism, others chose another path. Those countries are riding out the worldwide downturn much better, and have strong social safety nets. It's not "un-American" to say we might have made the wrong choice. Can we correct our course?

The most potentially progressive leadership since FDR is having trouble breaking from the status quo. Climate change is so obvious a problem that it can't be ignored by any but the most ignorant, yet real action is threatened. Health care in America is approaching unsustainable, and yet real change is in doubt. The system is badly damaged - and sadly, may have to be broken completely before real change happens.

The key is health care, and that's why the battle is so well funded. Real health care reform will open the door to other people-driven initiatives that can begin a return a balance to capitalism, democracy, and social justice. If health care fails, the conservatives may well return to power and continue the drive to make America a Third World country.

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Kseniya Seminova takes Ukraine's Got Talent

July 6th 2009 05:00

Surely almost everyone has heard about Susan Boyle and her run at fame in the United Kingdom recently, but have you seen what Kseniya Seminova did in Ukraine? The show really does have worldwide appeal, and is produced in more countries than just the UK and USA.

There are several different performances of Kseniya's available on youtube. I selected my favorite for the link below. What Kseniya does is haunting and beautiful, especially when you understand the context. Look at the reaction the crowd has. They are deeply moved

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More from the wacky right - "Light Bulb Tyranny"

July 5th 2009 00:51

Determined to oppose everything even to the point of laughable lunacy, the right is ranting about efficient light bulbs.

It's fairly obvious the right wants to oppose anything and everything the Obama Administration even thinks about doing. With nothing but tired policies and defunct agendas, the strategy is to stall and and to obstruct, with a hope of regaining power if Obama fails. Yes, it's true, they are openly rooting for him to fail - and not just on single policies, but on every level

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Sarah Palin - Crazy smart, or just crazy?

July 4th 2009 00:30

Sarah Palin chose probably the slowest news cycle time in the entire summer to drop a bombshell announcement, that not only is she not going to run for a second term as governor, she is quitting and leaving Alaska to the Lt. Governor. She claims it's to save Alaska from the cost, both time and money, spent defending baseless accusations against her governorship. What's really behind it?

Did Sarah Palin commit political suicide? Probably, but was it on purpose? Is she really going to fade to black, leaving political aspirations behind and thinking only of family? Or does she think she is outsmarting the opposition, looking to propel her political career into a 2012 presidential run, or at least an anchor job on FOX News

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You can't have a valid opinion on climate change if you think the earth is 6,000 years old.

July 2nd 2009 00:27

Science and religion mix like oil and water. Most people have heard that before - I would say science and religion mix like rocks and water. Sure, enough rocks can hold back alot of water, but sooner or later, if there is enough water, it spills over the rocks of ignorance and knowledge moves ahead.

It's interesting to note, those who believe some of the most outlandish mythologies are the first to deny real knowledge. Not surprising, really. Since people first began to question the world around them mythologies have arisen to explain the unexplainable. As time went on, what had been explained through myth gave way to scientific method

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Conservatives and health care in America

July 1st 2009 02:53

Just who are Senate conservatives working for, anyway?

I use the term Senate conservatives because there are enough turncoat Democrats on the take from health insurance companies that real health care reform is in danger. Senators like Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Max Baucus (D-MT) have come out against a public health care option just when we need a solid front for real reform

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November 2009

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