Link Alright, so the gist of the link: Alderman Darrell Leftwich thinks that soccer should be banned in White House Municipal Park on Sunday mornings because it happens to coincide with the time church services take place. I don't even think I have to elaborate about why this is a problem. The alderman feels that the seventh day is a day of rest and worship, and should be spent as such. A friendly dissenting alderman points out in the article that the seventh day is actually Satur...

Link Alright, so this just caught my eye as I was busy killing the three hours between my classes, and trying to put off a much-anticipated showdown with the accounts receivable department of the particular institution I attend. It seems especially fitting since my first soccer game of the new fall season is tonight at 6:30. (I'd ask you to wish me luck, but we're playing a team from the Pharmacy School. We being a contingent known as IFC, or Internationale Football Club, made up of ...

I'm watching the news. I'm seeing New Orleans. I'm seeing volunteers passing out food and water and offering medical help. I'm seeing people smile and wave and be grateful. I'm seeing relief workers sharing meals with lost dogs. I'm seeing men and women who were hurt while venturing out into contaminated water to check on their elderly neighbors. I'm seeing concerned citizens directing doctors to homes of people who may be hurt, and who for some reason or another can't venture out of their...

Link Well, I've been gone for awhile, but here now I do make my glorious return. (cue fanfare and adoring throngs) It appears that South African inventors have come up with the "Rapex." No, it's not an aerosol spray that kills rapists on contact. Those are still called guns. What it is is a device that is inserted by a woman into the vagina if she senses she might be raped. If someone does attempt to rape her, the device effectively clamps onto the offenders penis and requires hosp...

For those of you who read my "On God and Spirituality," you've been expecting this. For those of you who didn't, welcome and I hope you enjoy. I ended my previous dissertation on God and spirituality with a footnote declaring myself rather low on the spiritual scale. Usually, I think, that is looked at as a disturbing revelation, and indeed it has an unmistakably ominous connotation in my mind as I write this. I think this is so because our spirit is such a vital part of us, we feel that ...

Link Rush Limbaugh, humanitarian that he is, has offered to help Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens settle their dispute. The obvious question that comes up here is "Huh?", along with "What the hell...?" and "Why?" Are his ratings slipping? Is he getting desperate? What the hell's going on? He says he can help because "he's been there." Fine. I'll give him that. But still. Isn't this just a little...oh...out of nowhere?

Link George W. Bush has signed into law a bill that would create an electronic monitoring system to prevent the abuse of prescription drugs. Do you hear that folks? No? Here, quiet down. Listen again...there in the distance. Do you hear it? Rush Limbaugh weeps. (HA! Sometimes Philomedy cracks himself up!) Anyways, back on a serious note: While I support the attempt to crack down on prescription drug abuse, there is a part of this bill that makes no sense to me. There is no part...

On a different thread, the idea that a belief in God and spirituality are not the same came up, albeit briefly, and I was encouraged to elaborate on the point in a separate article. Here goes: I think the best way to present my point of view on the subject is to state, directly, the point from which I start: God and spirit are not the same thing. I think the relationship between God and spirit is like the relationship between Christianity and religion, or the relationship between Judaism a...

Link For those of you who want to check out the link, there's a picture of the guy I will be talking about. If you don't care about visual aids, don't bother going, as I'll be summarizing pretty completely here. In Japan, when political people want to jockey for political positions, it appears that they employ informational posters, as opposed to our commercials and lawn signs, to get their message out to the public. I'd like to share with you the poster of one Mr. "Jesus" Matayoshi. ...

Since it appears that my last article has gotten me into some hot water with some of the people here, let me just state, loudly, clearly, and definitively: I LIKE IT HERE!!! I like blogging here. I'm happy here. I like the debate, I like the discussion, I like the fact that it's never boring. This does not mean that I forfeit the right to criticize if I see fit. The last time I did this, someone graciously suggested that I go blog elsewhere. While I thank that gracious individual fo...

Alright, lets play a game!!! It's called "Guess who said what!!!" Here's how it goes: I will give you two statements that I saw recently made on this site, and you tell me which one was written by a right leaning member of JU, and which one was written by a left leaning member of JU. Ready?!?! OK!!! Statement number 1: "Fuck you, you asshole." Statement number 2: "You really are a dumb fucker." Can't tell who said what?!?! Confused as to who's on the right and who's on the left?...

I was watching the news last night. Their top story was about a 21 year old soldier from Indiana, Specialist Adam Harting, already on his third tour of duty, who was killed when a roadside bomb exploded. Lost in the background of the coverage of this man's funeral, and of the town that turned out in its entirety to mourn him, was a group of people holding up large, colorful signs and parading back and forth across the sidewalk. I thought, "What bad timing for those picketers, couldn't they...

I saw a quote a little while back, and while I cannot remember where I saw it, and so cannot name my source, the quote has stuck with me. It really doesn't need any explanation, so i'll just hit y'all with it here: Attention Muslims: Watch out...Your religion is being hijacked by dangerous extremists. Attention Christians: Ditto.