The FCC & Free Speech:
StopFCC.com - Express you interest in free speech...


"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
-The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution"

Scratched Lenses:

Seeing the Universe through religion is tantamount to viewing a Van Gogh painting through badly scratched glasses. The painting in its natural beauty is there to be seen, but you can not view it without seeing the scratches. Soon these scratches take on significance, for how could the painting possibly be so beautiful without them? Without these scratches, who knows what it might look like? So you keep your scratched lense and continue on...

Soon you think, this lense scratched as it is, is a blessing, that you see these scratches which beautify all the world you see. You simply must share this with others...

You share the glasses with others, some like it and the picture it creates, the scratches seemlessly melding with the Van Gogh. They put on glasses scratched the same way, and set their children witht these glasses who never see the painting otherwise. For some with bad eyesight, it may help bring clarity to their vision, scratched though it may be.

And the Van Gogh continues to be naturally beautiful, indifferent to the filter you use to view it.

Now everyone around you can see the same scratches as you. They speculate on the significance of the scratches, probe them for their deeper meaning. Everything is wonderful, until you meet someone wearing different glasses. They may be tinted, maybe scratched in a different way and lo, there is more than one person with these different glasses. This is troublesome you think, for how could they gain the insights your scratches reveal if they can not see them? This is sad, you must share your vision with them...

Some willingly try your glasses, some even think it affords them a better view of the painting. Some resist at first, but determinded you physically remove their glasses for them, replaced by your own. They eventually adjust to their new vision and aquiese. Some struggle with you as you try to remove their glasses, and fight hard. You think these stubborn people, why will they not just see what I have to show them? You continue to fight with them. Not only will they not look, but they have the nerve to try and get the people around you to try different sets of glasses, ruining your stable community. They think your vision wrong and flawed by your wondrous scratches! How can they not see they'd all be better able to view the painting, and connect with its beauty as revealed by your scratches? Tensions and tempers rise, you look to others with your vision for support. The other side does the same. You vilify and fight each other, all to share your scratched vision.

And the Van Gogh continues to be naturally beautiful, indifferent to how you or anyone else sees it, or whether you see it at all.

Somewhere down the line, some of your group may decide to cast off their glasses, to see what the painting looks like without the scratches. Some do it simply to know the scratches are the best way to see the painting. But after using the glasses for so long, their eye muscles have atrophied and become weak. They depend on the glasses now to see at all. For some it is too much, they put the glasses back on, content with their scratched vision. They rationalize the scratches must be good, for why else would they not be able to see without them?

Others perservere, and excercise their eyes. The muscles tighten, their vision comes back into focus. They are overwhelmed, excited and awed by the natural splendor of the painting. They can see clearly for the first time in their lives, they realize the others they left have lost sight of the painting and focused on their scratches. They realize the painting doesn't care how anyone looks at it, but it is far more beautiful when seen with true clarity.

Angel:

The final episode of the TV series Angel aired tonight. I'm sad to see it go, as was I sad to see Buffy the Vampire Slayer go last year. They were quality shows, really funny at times, sometimes dark, usually dealing with complex moral issues in a world that was full of good and evil, great cinematography and special effects, quality acting, and throughout consistent and novel. (pardon the run on sentence fragment) Angel and crew took on the Demonic inner circle secret society of the evil Wolfram and Hart, the very hand of the Senior Partners on the earthly plane. Although I was sad to see one of the characters die in the attempt, it was a noble sacrifice for the greater good. (I'm not going to reveal who in case you haven't seen it.) All in all I was happy with the way Joss Whedon ended things. I was left wanting to see so much more, but alas I'll need to wait for that TV movie theres been talk about, or even better a new series based on my personal favorite anti-hero, Spike... We shall see.

Britain opens world's first stem-cell bank
Mission is to store, grow and distribute them for research

Updated: 12:17 p.m. ET May 19, 2004 "POTTERS BAR, England - Britain opened the world’s first national stem cell bank Wednesday, hoping to establish a lead in promising but controversial therapies using the master cells from human tissues.

“Stem cell research offers real promise for the treatment of currently incurable diseases. The bank will ensure that researchers can explore the enormous potential of this exciting science for the future benefit of patients,” said Professor Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Council.

The bank was set up at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control at Potter’s Bar, 12 miles north of London. Its mission is to store, characterize and grow cells and distribute them to researchers around the world.

The first two human embryonic stem cell lines to be deposited in the bank were developed at King’s College London and the Center for Life in Newcastle, England.

Regulations on cloning and stem cell research vary across Europe and around the world. The most liberal rules apply in Britain, where scientists can apply for a license to create human embryos by cloning in order to extract stem cells.

Stem cells can potentially grow into any type of human tissue. Scientists believe they could potentially be used to treat a range of diseases. Stem cells can be found in adults, but scientists believe they may not be as versatile as those in embryos.

Extracting cells from embryos created by cloning using a cell from a patient would in theory ensure the cell transplant is a perfect match, averting rejection by the immune system."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Its about time this research will get the chance to develop somewhere, the potential benefit to our species needs to be explored. Sadly it seems people are too afraid of our own biological mechanisms here in the US. Maybe if the religious right didn't have a deathgrip on the political puppets we have in office at the moment...

Boston's a Queer Place:

So as some of you know (and for those who don't, here's letting you know), I live in Boston. Massachussetts has as of yesterday started to allow same-sex marriages, many of which are being performed in Boston, probably right now as I write. I listened to the radio yesterday as either WBCN or WFNX (I forget at the moment) outed people from around Massachussetts and gave them River Rave Tickets, a day they named: Gay Day. The Host read an email he got from a listener earlier that day, responding to a report he had announced prior - Apparently there were anti-gay protesters outside the Statehouse yesterday chanting "God hates Fags", and the listener responded that when those protesters get to the Pearly Gates, they'll be suprised to find God hates hateful religious zealots even more. There are Rainbow Flags and Banners proclaiming Gay Pride Week in Boston lining the road between the Common and the Public Garden. I even saw a car with soap written windows yesterday proudly wishing Greg and Jeffery a happy marriage, as I drove my girlfriend home from work.

So, what do I think about all of it? I think its great.

Its about time the State stops discriminating against gays. I know there are a lot of people who will support gay civil unions, but not marriage. I think that attitude is just plain wrong though. This country has tried "Separate but Equal" before. It didn't work. There's no reason it'll work now. I know there are also a lot of people out there who think gay couples are an abomination. I'm not entirely sure where the hatred comes from but I'll give it a couple of stabs. First, gay couples are different from the majority. There's a large contingent of that majority that fears things that are different, and also change. That contingent then lets its fear misguide them, grows the seeds of hatred, which makes them 'bravely' proclaim how wrong it is to be different - and not only that its wrong to be different, but that its wrong to even allow people to be different. There's also the very 'brave' contingent of sheep who follow the will of their particular religious institution without question. These people believe a book, written millenia ago by mere men with agendas, mistranslated into the current language of choice by mere men with agendas, and interpreted again by mere men *yes, with agendas*, is the key to condemning gays because it is the will of their deity. Not only do they think its wrong for them to be gay (which is fine if you make that choice for yourself) but they believe they should stop others from being gay, and mash religion and politics (entities that should remain strictly separate) into a confused muddled mess. See I think its fine if a particular religious institution doesnt want to accomodate homosexuals into their dogma. But I don't think its ok for the State to discriminate against a particular segment of its population. A State marriage and a religious marriage should be separate, period.

I think that unfortunately in a couple of years when the legislature is able to amend the State Constitution, they're going to ban gay marriage, and revert all the marriages that occurred to civil unions. But who knows, maybe when it comes to it, the people of this state will have grown used to and comfortable with idea of gay marriage, and the Constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage will actually fail. I hope that it does.

I also think that in about 40-50 years, gay marriage will be tolerated as normal, and the majority of the people of that time will look back on ours and think, "How could you people be so horrible as to deny a loving couple of their rights?"

As a friend of mine said this weekend on the subject: "The cat's out of the bag." Hopefully it'll only be a matter of time.

Note to anyone who happens by: I havent posted in a while, nor even looked at my blog in ages. I realize the area where visitors could respond to my blog is currently down, and probably out. That unfortunately means that all the wonderful dialog I had is gone, I think for good. I will at some point try and get a new service up and running so you may respond again - assuming I still have any readers - and I think I'll be posting more in the near future too, so if you happen by, stop by again later there may be something new. Just had a lot of thoughts to get out recently, regarding many different topics... Gay Marriages, The War on Terror, Torture of Prisoners, Bush and Kerry, The Crackdown on Free Speech by the FCC, Some of my more recent trips, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Angels & Demons and the Da Vinci Code... Ah anything thats on my mind really. Can't promise it'll all be interesting, but that'll be for you to decide in the long run. SO, welcome back to Nezalhualixtlan's Demon Haunted Mind!