Open Brain Surgery

A Sad Day in the USA

It's a sad day for the United States. For as much progress we have made, it is obvious the age of enlightenment has come to a close.

A Kansas school board has redefined the state's science curriculum to include intelligent design, which is an obvious attempt to include creationism and downplay evolution. How soon before we overturn the efforts of John Scopes, whose famous 'Scopes Monkey Trial' in Tennessee in 1925, and return to a nation that bans Darwin's theories?

Janet Waugh, a Democrat from Kansas City who is on the board said, "We're becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world." Well, Janet, the world, which had up until now been watching Paris burn with a degree of Schadenfreude, agrees.

If this all wasn't bad enough, the Great State of Texas has decided to include a ban on gay marriage in the state Consititution. The effect is that the judiciary will have no ability to interpret the previous Constitution in such a way as to allow gay marriage, as Massachusettes had done.

I had overheard a few conversations of people talking about how they were planning to leave the state. Sad.

You'd think that tolerance and acceptance would be values taught to the conservatives and strongly religious. Instead they are propogating fear, hatred, and relying on power and manipulation. Is this what they want to be teaching their children?

UPDATE: Pennsylvania won back a few points for the USA, as voters ousted the school board members who had supported the inclusion of a statement about intelligent design in biology classes. One citizen of Pennsylvania, Jill Reiter, said, "My kids believe in God. I believe in God. But I don't think it belongs in the science curriculum the way the school district is presenting it." Thank you Jill! Would it be too much to ask that you spend a little time in Kansas, sharing your beliefs with people? I'll pay for your flight!

Words Which Resonate for me

Evolving Entry - List of Words Which Resonate for me
(i.e. ones that I pause for when I see them)
Harmony
Equality
Humanism
Emotion
Respect
Buddhism
Love
Androgeny
'Being on a Path'
Balance
Beauty
Self-Discovery
Peace

How many of these resonate for you?

Test - Which Punctuation Mark Are You

I'm an Exclamation Point!



What are you?


My Results:
You scored 69% Sociability and 52% Sophistication!

Yes, you are fine around others. Fine. But you wish you could have just a *little* more alone time. Okay, well, a lot more alone time. In fact, you'd be happier if you didn't have to go out nearly as much. You get along very well with the period, who tries mightily to take up as much of the load as he can. But fools will not listen. You want to scream, "Cut it out, for the love of Safire!" But, all of that notwithstanding, you do your duty. And, if sometimes you feel like a Chicago street hooker, you also remember that you really do have an important role to play. Your soul remains pure. Hold your head high!

Compared to other people my age and gender:

You scored higher than 91% on Sociability.

You scored higher than 33% on Sophistication.

Words Which Warmed my Soul

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"First they came for the Communists,
But I didn't speak because I wasn't a Communist.
Next they came for the Jews,
But I said nothing because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
But I remained silent because I was a Protestant
Finally they came for me,
But by that time there was no one left to speak"
-- Martin Niemoeller (Germany, 1944)