I was listening to a little news talk radio (from South Africa) for my global mass media project and one of the current events they were talking about was that yesterday we found water on the moon. Apparently the water is in the soil which really just amounts to us finding that there are hydrogen and oxygen atoms on the moon. I'm unimpressed mostly because I see this as just another way for someone to capitalize on the ignorant masses. How long is it until we start seeing bottled moon water for sale? Of course the price would be astronomical...sorry for the bad joke.
The main problem that I have with this is that everyone is still so focused on outerspace when we hardly even know about our own oceans. This greatly bothers me considering that many people believe that we evolved out of the ocean and oh yeah the ocean cover over three quarters of our planet. It seems to me that we keep finding new life with crazy adaptations that often inspire and enthrall scientists worldwide. I can say that the space race and space travel in general has provided us with many technological advancements. I also believe that if we furthered our aquatic research we would see similar technological advancement and a lot of it would actually be applicable in every day life. I also think it would be helpful because underwater colonization seems like a more viable option than putting people in space. As a scuba diver I have enjoyed the ocean for about ten years and i honestly enjoy that it isn't overrun with people, I just wish there was more attention paid to it so that I could reap the benefits.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Lawnwork in the buff
I read this article about a guy doing lawnwork in his backyard naked getting a class c misdemeanor citation from a fort worth deputy. The guy was 71 years old. He was in his backyard. Naked. Doing lawn work. Wow. I would say that was fine except that the guy had a chainlink fence around his backyard that didn't have privacy slats. Oh and he lives across the street from a park and that street is heavily travelled.
The cop did a background check to make sure the guy wasn't a sex offender and the guy was clean so he just got a ticket. I gotta say I think getting a ticket is the last thing on my list of deterrents of working with sharp blades naked. Moreover I think this is a good exaample of a trend that I've noticed. Old people get away with just about everything.
Honestly I can't say that I know what would happen to me if I attempted something like this but then again the tought had never crossed my mind before now anyway. I can see why people wouldn't want their children seeing that but everyone else should just grow up. Every man who has ever been to a locker room at a gym has had that unfortunate sight before, and just about every woman will have to see a naked old man some day.
Sometimes I wish that this country hadn't been founded by puritans...
The cop did a background check to make sure the guy wasn't a sex offender and the guy was clean so he just got a ticket. I gotta say I think getting a ticket is the last thing on my list of deterrents of working with sharp blades naked. Moreover I think this is a good exaample of a trend that I've noticed. Old people get away with just about everything.
Honestly I can't say that I know what would happen to me if I attempted something like this but then again the tought had never crossed my mind before now anyway. I can see why people wouldn't want their children seeing that but everyone else should just grow up. Every man who has ever been to a locker room at a gym has had that unfortunate sight before, and just about every woman will have to see a naked old man some day.
Sometimes I wish that this country hadn't been founded by puritans...
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Court won't rehear goat-sacrifice case
I was reading this article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram today by Adrian McCandless. The piece talks about how a man in Euless had a court decision overturned so that he may now continue the practice of ritualistic animal slaughter at his home. The man is a Santeria priest and the slaughter of goats is a part of his religion, but I have to wonder where people need to draw the line on freedom of religion.
As I understand it, every citizen of this country has the freedom to practice any religion he or she wishes. My question is specifically at what point does freedom of religion no longer apply? The reason this man was ruled against previously in court was that there are laws about animal cruelty, slaughterhouse regulations, and jeopardizing public health. I understand these laws and I agree with them, but what of the man's freedom of religion? Are these laws unconstiutional because they interfere with a group's religious practices? I started to research and there seems to be a trend since 1993 of laws being overturned that were restricting peoples' right to worship. In this case, no laws are being overturned, just a court decision.
The city of Euless plans on exhausting every possible legal means to make sure that this man can't sacrifice goats in his home. The only real compromise that i can see is to make this man adhere to all of the laws applicable to a slaughterhouse and subject his house to ongoing health inspections. In my opinion people can believe in Santeria if they wish, but that doesn't mean they get freedom from the laws that restrict everyone else. Rastafarians don't get to smoke pot, Vampires don't get to drink blood, Mormons don't get to marry more than one woman, Cults don't get to sacrifice humans, and Santeria shouldn't get to slaughter goats in an unsanitary way.
As I understand it, every citizen of this country has the freedom to practice any religion he or she wishes. My question is specifically at what point does freedom of religion no longer apply? The reason this man was ruled against previously in court was that there are laws about animal cruelty, slaughterhouse regulations, and jeopardizing public health. I understand these laws and I agree with them, but what of the man's freedom of religion? Are these laws unconstiutional because they interfere with a group's religious practices? I started to research and there seems to be a trend since 1993 of laws being overturned that were restricting peoples' right to worship. In this case, no laws are being overturned, just a court decision.
The city of Euless plans on exhausting every possible legal means to make sure that this man can't sacrifice goats in his home. The only real compromise that i can see is to make this man adhere to all of the laws applicable to a slaughterhouse and subject his house to ongoing health inspections. In my opinion people can believe in Santeria if they wish, but that doesn't mean they get freedom from the laws that restrict everyone else. Rastafarians don't get to smoke pot, Vampires don't get to drink blood, Mormons don't get to marry more than one woman, Cults don't get to sacrifice humans, and Santeria shouldn't get to slaughter goats in an unsanitary way.
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