A Gateway Drug?

It should come as no surprise to those who know me that I've always resented the gov/media portrayal of Cannabis as a gateway drug. This is largely due to the observation that; all contemporary research points to the black market phenomenon (caused by government instituted prohibition) being, at least largely, responsible for exposure to Cannabis leading to concomitant exposure to Hallucinogens and harder drugs. Interestingly, the official stance of the government on drugs is war but the stance on religion is one of tolerance.
This disparity is disturbing in a free society purporting to uphold freedoms such as the right to worship without fear of persecution. In such a society, smoking pot is a freedom you would expect to be able to enjoy without fear of prosecution. Taken together, these two observations lead to an apparent paradox. At least for Islam and Christianity, our unwillingness to call attention to the ethical and philosophical disparities of the "soft-core" sects of practitioners is tantamount to condoning the fundamentalists. So one could argue that childhood indoctrination of the concept of faith and the parallel concept that others' faiths are unassailable in polite, politically correct society, are a prerequisite for the existence of fundamentalist cells of Evangelicals and Jihadists. If religion is the opiate of the masses, it is certainly a gateway drug. This particular gateway opens onto a path of coercion, dismissal of reason, terror, and subsequent societal collapse. Which gate would you rather your child open? Neither? Then you have your work cut out for you, at least here in America (Land of the semi-free and home of the occasionally courageous).

I keep hearing people say that comparing theology and science is like comparing astrology and astronomy. These are people who are attempting to snub theology. I just don't get it. Even if religions around the world are only complex memes evolving in the context of complex cultural dynamics someone could still benefit from studying what they have in common and where they differ. That is comparative religion 101 and falls under the heading Theology. It is certainly just as valid as Anthropology and Psychology as a field of research and endeavor. Also, as far as I can tell, there are many branches of astrology and while some are clearly moronic others attempt to use some relatively powerful tools to test some relatively interesting hypotheses about human nature. It seems like saying that comparing apples and oranges is like comparing plums and potatoes.

A new Age of Reason

The South aside, Americans surprised me this election by choosing the right candidate in an overwhelming fashion. I've been underwhelmed by the behavior of some of my African -American Friends and colleagues, but oh well, they were overdue. Does the lame duck, that rat bast., realize he will go down in history as the single worst American president to serve two terms? Perhaps he does. We can hope.

Farming for Profit?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/business/09conserve.html?em&ex=1207886400&en=f253cd20b5700fc7&ei=5087%0A

Ethanol is not the answer to offsetting carbon emissions and it may not even be an answer. If it turns out to be a balanced trade off of environmental damage from increased monoculture land use for a few million tons of CO2 emission eliminated then it will effectively be environmentally neutral much as the current non-carbon fiber hybrid vehicles with Li Ion batteries. Farmers will follow their bottom line to the grave regardless of their liberal/conservative political leanings and if consumer demand does not shift towards organic Produce and Protein then the increase in the world's middle class will result in clearcutting even in the industrialized nations. Agriculture is truly a double edged scythe and it is necessary to look long and hard at how sustainably it can be practiced in a world where global climate change, habitat fragmentation, and human housing encroachment, all continue to threaten wildlife and biodiversity. I am happy that we are at least talking about ways to lessen our ecological footprint as a nation of gluttons (for seemingly everything, including punishment), but we are far from reaching a sustainable status quo. Ethanol is two steps forward and three steps back.

From Dminor to Gaugmented and back again in 30 days...

Jeff Lynne on you tube discussing how he wrote Livin' Thing raises the question about you tube content that we should all ask as soon as we realize we are checking you tube every day: Is there a rubric for grading you tube content that would add value to the content? The star rating system is too subjective, clearly, but what sort of system would be better? Any suggestions people? Peace, love, and recycle....
http://www.youtube.com