Blumner: Gay marriage will come – Salt Lake Tribune
Here is what I predict the future holds for states resistant to recognition for same-sex marriage: When their economic development people try to lure Information Age companies to relocate there, the answer will come back, “How can we move to a state that doesn’t recognize the legal status of some of our employees’ marriages or their legal relationship to their children?”
Children’s Health: Trusting God Over Doctor | Mother Jones
On May 20, 2009 a Wisconsin mother who followed an apocalyptic religious website said in a videotaped interview played at her trial that she did not call a doctor when her 11-year-old daughter was dying of untreated diabetes, but instead prayed for divine healing.
I received this notice of a new networking site for contacts and forums related to Buddhism. It’s just getting off the ground, and could use some support.
Buddhist Network Site – Powered by CO.CC
BERLIN, May 28 — The Obama administration’s push to resettle at least 50 Guantanamo Bay prisoners in Europe is meeting fresh resistance as European officials demand that the United States first give asylum to some inmates before they will do the same.
Rising opposition in the U.S. Congress to allowing Guantanamo prisoners on American soil has not gone over well in Europe. Officials from countries that previously indicated they were willing to accept inmates now say it may be politically impossible for them to do so if the United States does not reciprocate.
Europeans Say U.S. Should Take Some Guantanamo Bay Detainees – washingtonpost.com
I just got an online petition from the Union of Concerned Scientists, via a friend. They want me to help convince the Senate that they should ratify the Nuclear Arms Nonproliferation Treaty.
I suppose petitions are better than nothing, but this one ends with a line that makes me question the entire UCS, at least when it comes to their understanding of syntax. Taken literally, it would make you question their concept of reality as well. Maybe it has something to do with quantum theory.
These steps will reduce the likelihood that more nations and terrorists will acquire nuclear weapons and make the world safer.
Next thing you know, we’ll have a petition by the Union of Concerned English Teachers.
Anyway, if you want to sign — I did, and it’s not a bad idea — you can find it here.
BTW: If you really want to influence your senator, write a snail mail letter (I am). Then they know that you really care, as opposed to taking 90 seconds of your valuable time to do an online petition that anyone could have done in your name. You could even print out the scientists’ letter and mail it. It’s like the difference between an e-card and one from Hallmark. Really.
Dalai Lama moves to save US university’s Buddhism department – Tibetan Review
(TibetanReview.net, May 28) — The Dalai Lama has offered to make a personal donation of $ 100,000 as an effort to save the Department of Religious Studies at Florida International University (FIU), according to several local news reports May 25. The department is slated to be closed, along with several others, as part of the state’s $27 million budget cuts for the university.
Aaron Zelinsky: Why the California Court’s Decision Is Good for Gay Marriage
Supporters of gay marriage should recognize that we are reaching the limits of judicial leadership on this issue. While Brown v. Board enunciated important values, real change came through the politically enacted Civil Rights Act of 1964. Similarly, repeal of discriminatory measures like the Defense of Marriage Act will take legislative action. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell must also be retired by political, rather than judicial, means. More…
Gay rights: Benefits for federal workers the next logical step | Seattle Times Newspaper
The law, introduced with the aid of two Republicans, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, would provide federal health insurance and enhanced dental and vision benefits, retirement and disability benefits, and family, medical and emergency leave. In other words, benefits married couples enjoy.
Journeys – A Humble Road to the Noble Truths in India and Nepal – NYTimes.com
Some travelers take a more upscale route, riding on air-conditioned trains and luxury tour buses and staying at full-service hotels. But as Buddhists living on a Peace Corps budget, Julia and I opted for a more authentic experience. Our goal was to travel to the original four places as the Buddha might, making our own way, leaving room for serendipity, enduring minor hardships and seeking refuge in simple monasteries.
Popular film wins Cannes, but Antichrist lingers | Entertainment | Industry | Reuters
Shot in black-and-white, and set in a north German village on the eve of World War One, The White Ribbon explores how an oppressive upbringing can shape the way children act and think.
Getting to know the Dalai Lama | Religion | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
The 14th Dalai Lama cuts a familiar figure, with his shorn head, hedgerow-thick eyebrows, tinted eyeglasses, smiling visage and loose-fitting maroon and saffron robes.
“I am just a simple Buddhist monk — no more, nor less,” he has said.
But likening the Dalai Lama to “a simple Buddhist monk” is akin to saying the Pope is just another priest….
…Many of us would recognize him on the street, and yet we know little about him….
Obama’s new rules | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, FL
The national fuel-efficiency and emission-control standard announced this week will significantly raise the requirements for vehicle manufacturers, foreign and domestic. But the standard also will enable automakers and regulators to pursue the goals more efficiently.The new rules…
Just a reminder:
Make sure you create unique passwords to help keep someone from breaking in to your accounts. Here are a few tips for creating your password, and keeping it safe courtesy of Google and y’r ob’d't s’v't:
Remember that a dictionary word can be cracked by a program running on an ordinary PC in a couple of seconds, with the right software (readily available on the Web). Use something like the first letters, capitalization and punctuation from a favorite quote:
Fazya,ofbfutcann,
(Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation,)
Use something less common than that, but you get the idea.
Remember: he wasn’t tied up and helpless, under the total control of people who he was convinced hated him. Nonetheless, now he agrees — it’s torture.
Only trouble with this is, now that they’ve seen how to do it, a bunch of kids will be trying it. Look for it to appear in frat houses, too.
