Censings

The ongoing debate over health care has overlooked my very simple solution. What is missing is a discussion whether health care is a right. I say it is, and that there should be no compromise on that. Everyone is entitled to health care, period end of story. My proposal to deliver it is as follows and should be in the form of an Amendment to the US Constitution 1. All persons lawfully present in the United States are entitled to all medically necessary necessary health care. 2. "Medically Necessary" is as determined by the patient's Primary Care Physician. It includes dental care and tattoo removal. The only exclusion is plastic surgery not necessitated by injury or illness. 3. All patients are entitled to a Primary Care Physician of their choosing who is licensed to practice in the jurisdiction in which services are rendered. 4. All health care providers will be compensated in accordance with the Official Medical Fee Schedule, no more, no less. All health care providers ...

Holy Week begs the question, “Why did Jesus die on the cross?” Many Christians believe in “penal substitution.” They believe: all humankind has sinned, God's justice requires a penalty be paid for sin, so God sent Jesus to suffer the penalty in our place by dying on the cross. But what does that say about God, and is that how Jesus saw himself? “Penal Substitution,” the dominant theory of Calvin and Luther in Sixteenth Century Continental Europe, has been widely adopted among conservative protestants and can be heard from the lips of every storefront preacher. According to this theory, the crucifixion was not a natural consequence of Jesus displeasing the status quo of his day, but was orchestrated by God, who destined Jesus to be afflicted with extreme suffering so that humankind could escape the divine wrath of Judgment Day. For Calvin, not only was humankind totally depraved (the first point of Calvinism) but God in His capacity as judge was angry toward us and someone—Jesus---m...

Having been a lifelong baseball fan and having umpired from 1970 to 1984 (including the minors), I have concluded that Organized Baseball needs a bit of a facelift and updating. First, we need to expand by two franchises to cover up and coming metropolitan areas. One is the Winston-Salem North Carolina area and the other is Portland, Oregon, both of which now have minor league teams so we know there is interest there in the game. That would bring the total teams from 30 to 32. Second, we need to exploit regional rivalries to create and maintain passion among the fans. So I would put the eight teams into four leagues: Northeastern would have Toronto, Boston, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington. Central would have Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinatti, and Denver. Southeastern would have Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Winston-Salem, Kansas City, St. Louis, Arlington. West Coast would have Se...

This election is known as a "watershed election," also known as a "political realignment. Having been raised by a liberal Democrat mother in a progressive Angl0-Catholic parish, one would expect that I would reflexively support Barack Obama and the rest of the Democrat tick and would vote NO on Proposition 8. That is indeed how I will vote. But even if I did not have those background cultural advantages, I would still arrive at the same conclusion. This is not even a close call. The last eight years have seen an unnecessary war, loans made by irresponsible banks who did not exercise due dilligence to either their stockholders or their borrowers, resulting in home prices out of sight which have now come crashing down along with everyone's life savings in the stock market (including mine), all of which have handsomely profitted the people who supported Bush while leaving the rest of us holding their feedbags. Just this morning, I heard on the news that three financial...

My favorite job in Church is that of thurifer. While I usually shy away from literally interpreting scripture, I do believe there is one verse every Christian church should take seriously: "And in every place, incense SHALL be offered unto My name, thus says the LORD." (Malachai 1:11). Thus, I am known for stoking the thurible for maximum smoke output and making it do tricks in processions, such as 360's, double and triple 360's, figure 8's, corner swings. Some may say I'm showing off, but that's not how I see it. For me, it is my prayer, my offering in worship, just as some write prayers, some sing, some preach, some read lessons, carry candles, preach, and of course, collect money. We all have our contributions to worship, and each is equally valuable (I think there's something about that in I Corinthians 12:4-11).