Random Thought

Pulling off a tasty and enjoyable thanksgiving is one of the most gratifying and humbling things to do.  Happy Holiday everyone :)

Oh, That's Interesting

Just when I thought I had a pretty good grasp on this whole gay marriage controversy, this interview springs up online.  I can't figure out yet if I agree with the general thesis, but it is very compelling:

The possibility that a whole new generation of American males is being raised by women without men is very challenging for the churches. I think they want to reassert some sort of male authority over the order of things. I think the pro-Proposition 8 movement was really galvanized by an insecurity that churches are feeling now with the rise of women.

Monotheistic religions feel threatened by the rise of feminism and the insistence, in many communities, that women take a bigger role in the church. At the same time that women are claiming more responsibility for their religious life, they are also moving out of traditional roles as wife and mother. This is why abortion is so threatening to many religious people -- it represents some rejection of the traditional role of mother.

I recommend the entire interview here.  

You know you live in LA when...

... rain is so rare, it dominates your Facebook news feed:

Heather John thinks everyone who is soo happy it's raining is retarded. Remember how there were fires last week? Yeah, that beeping you just heard? Flash flood warnings.  15 minutes ago
Scott Stenholm is in Chicago, while it rains in LA, just my luck...  18 minutes ago
Alison Knox is still wide awake... listening to the rain (finally) fall.  27 minutes ago
Brianne Castillo-Huang : "...Or I'll just end up walkin' in the cold November rain..."  56 minutes ago

Full disclosure... my Facebook status:

Travis is sleeping with his bedroom window open to listen to the rain.  3 minutes ago

Headlines That Brighten My Day

Opponents of stem cell research now face tough battle

Socialized Medicine

As Obama fills all the positions within his future cabinet, there is a clear tilt towards picking people out of the legislative branch in government. And if Rahm Emanuel's recent comments are any indication, Obama does not plan to let the economic slowdown hamper his future plans. The big buzzword from the right during the presidential race was "socialism." The fear of socialized medicine is a very real thing for many Republicans.

I have never understood this. Just about every other modernized nation in the world has government sponsored health care. It does not destroy their economy. Civilization does not crumble.

I recommend this article about the possible ramifications for the GOP if the U.S. successfully introduces Universal Health Care to the country (a big if). Chew on this:

Recently, I stumbled across this analysis of how nationalized healthcare in Great Britain affected the political environment there. As Norman Markowitz in Political Affairs, a journal of "Marxist thought," puts it: "After the Labor Party established the National Health Service after World War II, supposedly conservative workers and low-income people under religious and other influences who tended to support the Conservatives were much more likely to vote for the Labor Party when health care, social welfare, education and pro-working class policies were enacted by labor supported governments."

Passing Obamacare would be like performing exactly the opposite function of turning people into investors. Whereas the Investor Class is more conservative than the rest of America, creating the Obamacare Class would pull America to the left. Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute, who first found that wonderful Markowitz quote, puts it succinctly in a recent blog post: "Blocking Obama's health plan is key to the GOP's survival."

Sounds good to me!

The Official Start of the Holiday Season

... is today. KOST 103.5 has begun playing Christmas music. Feel the Cheer.

An Affront to Christians Everywhere (from my hometown, too!)

Well, not really.  But there are a bunch of Christians in Denver up in arms about some new billboards about Atheism.  The billboard, which comes across to me as a new support hotline, is up in a few random places around the Metro Area proclaiming, "Don't believe in God?  You are not alone."  A quick news clip:

There are a couple reasons why this story is immensely amusing.  

(1) They are billboards.  Metro Denver is a pretty large place, and they'll have a whopping 10 billboards in total.  Big deal!  If no one feigned persecution, the billboards would have been forgotten as soon as they went down.  The Christians creating this fake controversy are only giving the atheist group more bang for their buck.  Thanks to them, people are now more likely to pay more attention to the ads.  

(2) There are religious billboards up all the time.  People do not care.  Atheists do not freak out over them.  How insecure are you in your beliefs that you are taken aback by these billboards?  The billboards are not even directed at Christians!  They are directed at people who already do not believe in God!  

Do not get me wrong.  Religious people have been persecuted throughout history.  But pretending to be persecuted or affronted over something as uncontroversial and harmless as these billboards is just plain silly.  If you do not want to encounter anything in public that goes against your view of the world, do us all a favor and stay home.  

W. Really Is An Asshole

January 20th can not get here quick enough.

Spokes-gay

Gay marriage is hot topic du-jour on the news. TV debates about gay marriage can make me cringe if they get some spokesperson who is too polite or too stupid to defend themselves against the empty noise of the opposition.

So thank God for Dan Savage. Not only am I addicted to his advice column and podcast, but damn he is good on television. My favorite moment (in the 2nd video):

Tony Perkins: Boy, you can't get a word in edgewise
with this guy.
Dan Savage: Well, you stripped me of my rights and I interrupted you. Who's really suffering here?

Mr. Savage, I owe you my sanity.