Subject: FW: Can you own a Canadian?
In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, she knows that homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 , and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura.
Dear Dr. Laura:Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
Your adoring fan.
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Biblical commandments
A brilliant response to Dr. Laura:
Monday, May 17, 2010
May 18th is the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, the most documented and dramatic volcanic eruption on US soil since the founding of the republic. (Mt. Shasta may have erupted in 1776, but California was not yet part of new country; Lassen in 1917 was rather small.) David Johnson, seen here in the picture to the right, is the eponymous geologist killed in the eruption near what is now called the Johnson Memorial Ridge. He was one of many people surprised by the sideways, lateral blast that carved out St. Helens' north side.
In many ways, I became a geologist because of this eruption, which at the tender age of 10 struck my consciousness like few things had before. I still have the dog-earred National Geographic magazines detailing the event in dramatic photos, and I spent many long hours staring intently at the glossy pages.
MSNBCS has a nice set of photos commemorating the event:
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Madness in SF: Rules for Bay to Breakers & Sit/Lie
Tomorrow, San Francisco will host its annual Bay to Breakers race, which is not so much a race as an extravagant parade composed of some of the stranger sites in an already strange city. The "race" began in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake as a way to promote civic pride. For decades, it was a wonderful raucous celebration, involving drugs, copious alcohol, and the necessity of open public urination. (San Francisco, for those of you unacquainted with the city, has almost no public restrooms, so public urination is something practiced by necessity even by embarrassed tourists to our fair city.)We're a long from the glory days of the Bay to Breakers. Tomorrow will be a corporate-sponsored, corporate-managed event carefully scripted to avoid any of its original vitality or fun. The race is now the "ING Bay to Breakers," ING being the acronym of the Dutch Internationale Nederlanden Groep.
It is unclear why this annual event of civic pride needs corporate sponsorship,
but for whatever reason, ING has sought to ban the very things that make the race worthwhile: floats, nudity, alcohol, fun. ING probably won't succeed in imposing all of the draconian restr
ictions it wishes, but the race has nonethele
ss lost its meaning. Perhaps in the future, citizens should organize an alternate parade--say, on the Saturday before the Bay to Breakers, that will simply be a flash-mob of people wishing to celebrate the original Rabelaisian spirit of the race.
At the same time that the Bay to Breakers is being strangled by Taliban-like bans, San Francisco is wrestling with a new "sit/lie" ordinance.
While the Bay to Breakers restrictions seek to impose unreasonable order, this sit/lie ordinance is being opposed by unreasonable advocates for the homeless. The reality in SF is that many areas of the city are so overrun with homeless sitting and lying on the sidewalk that no one in his or her reasonable mind would wish to go there.
The sit/lie ordinance is a rational first step toward cleaning up the city. There should be no right to camp out on city sidewalks, especially when that camping is so unsightly and disruptive.
Yet this sit/lie ordinance garners a tremendous about of vehemence against it by those who would protect the rights of violent, aggressive homeless against the rights of citizens and those increasingly-few tourists who wish to spend much-needed money in San Francisco.
SF needs to clean up--starting with the sidewalks. SF also needs to protect its unique cultural identity by not surrendering events such as Bay to Breakers to puritanical corporations such as ING.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Touching Home
Touching Home is a new movie starring Ed Harris, about the relationship of identical twin boys with their estranged, alcoholic, self-destructive father. The film is based on a true story, and stars Noah and Logan Miller, who produced, wrote, and directed this marvelous film.
In an age of Iron Man 2--ridiculous special effects meant to distract the viewer from the utter lack of character and story--Touching Home shines as real art. Movies have become too much about explosions, too little about the experience of living in this broken world among broken people. Touching Home speaks to these deeper issues, and does so unflinchingly, and at time, painfully
We see the self-destructive behavior without varnish. At the lowest point in the film, when Ed Harris' character robs from his own children to fuel a drunken gambling binge, we see what, for many families, is a total reversal of the nurturing role, a descent into familial parasitism. Cuttingly, we see the character of the grandmother watch Ed Harris as he steals from his son--she watches without comment, two generations of extreme dysfunction on pathetic display. And yet there is love, complicated love, the love of children sleeping indoor and pursuing their dreams while knowing their father sleeps under the redwoods in his truck.
Noah and Logan Miller are the stars of this film are utterly convincing and honest in their acting. One would never know that this was their acting debut (which probably says something about how claims of acting being a difficult profession are self-serving). Honest acting, acting without pretense, comes across plainly on the screen, just as false, ridiculous acting (Twilight, anyone?) is also easy to spot.
Touching Home was probably shot on a shoestring budget. But this, if anything, makes it the better film and multi-million dollar masturbatory festivals of explosions and cliches. Watch Iron Man 2 this weekend if you cannot manage an independent thought; watch Touching Home if you want to be moved. No one leaves this film with dry eyes.
non-California hazard zones
Living in California, we can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that we're the only state with significant natural hazards. Here is a Wired article about some of the non-California danger zones.
Of particular interest to populations are the dangers of the Pacific Northwest and Salt Lake City. Probably very few residents realize the full magnitude of the peril.
Friday, May 7, 2010
The View From Above
Ever wonder what the view of Earth is like from space? Happily, the International Space Station has a live webcam of the view from orbit:
To find out where the ISS is at a given moment, check out:
To find out when a good time to see the ISS with your own eyes will happen,
The ISS's passes are brief, but for a couple of minutes it's the fastest, brightest thing in the night sky. And it's a strange thing to look up a speck of light and think that there are human living right up there in space.