The People Are Wrong

A son defends his gay father's marriage.

If my mother and I can support the marriage of a man whose sexuality threw her life off course and jarred me into adulthood, then how is it that perfect strangers won't even do my father the courtesy of not going out of their way just to stand in his?

Torture for Propaganda

It is now clear that the Vice-President authorized torture against Kahlid Sheik Mohammed in order to get him to make a false confession that Al-Qaeda had a connection to Iraq. They needed that confession because they were already invading.

Where the Superbugs Come From

It seems that waste treatment plants can be enhanced breeding grounds for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And where does that water go? Back into our rivers and streams.

Republican Colors

Light is shed by "Joe the Plumber" on the kind of people that make up the (thankfully dwindling) Republican base. He persists in believing the myth that the Founding Fathers based the Constitution on Christian principles. Then he moves on to talk about individual freedom when what he really means is freedom to exercise his prejudice. He respects religious freedom only so far as it is Christian. He thinks taxes are fair only when it's the same flat rate for everyone. Regardless of the fact that the required rate would be crippling for poor people and windfall to the rich. Rationality isn't much of a concern for him. If something troubles him he just speaks to God and God just makes him feel better. His hero is his own pious father. He's a poster child for George Lakoff's strict father model of a conservative mindset.

Countering these kinds of folks is much like deprogramming victims of cults. They are so caught up in their belief system that straight-forward, reality-based arguments have no effect. These folks are like die-hard racists. You can not change their minds. All you can do is criminalize their destructive behavior and educate the next generation on genuine, reality-based, and rational principles. Until that happens the rest of us will just have to suffer the burden of their sins.

Today their disconnects from reality are obvious. We can only hope that they don't recover sufficient intelligence to do better at hiding their true colors.