A Mind ArousedFurther cultivating a life that requires my presence... Paying attention... Attempting to wed simplicity and clarity with chaos while resisting the mischief of the powers and principalities.Gay Marriage- May 29, 2008 I said my piece here; but this is rich food for thought, including the comments:The Libertarian Argument for Gay Marriagehttp:rpc.technorati.comrpcpinghttp://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/05/gay-marriage.html Book Review - Your God Is Too Small- May 24, 2008 Your God Is Too Small, by J. B. Phillips (1956)This book has been around a long time, always on my 'someday to read' list. I finally read it...We first learn about God as children and our conceptions can remain in a state of juvenile faith or more likely, the idea of God can become too small to affect "adult loyalty and cooperation." Or one cherishes a "hothouse God who could only exist between the pages of the Bible or inside the four walls of a church." Phillips acknowledges immediately that..http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/05/book-review-your-god-is-too-small.html My LiberalProgressive Credentials- May 15, 2008 I have many liberal friends although the new clarifying word consistent with the spirit of the age is progressive. Thats a smart term for self-identification because nobody wants to be its opposite, i.e. an intransigent moss backed fogy. Ive never considered myself either a progressive or an intransigent moss backed fogy (or a hand-wringing worrywart about lifes uncertainties) but, on various occasions, I have thought of myself: a curmudgeon, or a contrarian, or a skeptic, or an occasionally...http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-liberalprogressive-credentials.html I've Been Expecting This- May 4, 2008 From Instapundit:THE SILENT SCREAM of asparagus. "What is clear, however, is that Switzerland's enshrining of 'plant dignity' is a symptom of a cultural disease that has infected Western civilization, causing us to lose the ability to think critically and distinguish serious from frivolous ethical concerns. It also reflects the triumph of a radical anthropomorphism that views elements of the natural world as morally equivalent to people."Watch the linked farcical...http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/05/ive-been-expecting-this.html "Windfall Profits for Dummies"- May 4, 2008 From the Wall Street Journal, comes this neat little assessment:This tiff over gas and oil taxes only highlights the intellectual policy confusion or perhaps we should say cynicism of our politicians. They want lower prices but don't want more production to increase supply. They want oil "independence" but they've declared off limits most of the big sources of domestic oil that could replace foreign imports. They want Americans to use less oil to reduce greenhouse gases but they protest...http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/05/windfall-profits-for-dummies.html |