WHORES, LOGIC AND HEALTH CARE

I'll preface this by saying that if you and someone else want to have sex and money changes hands, I don't care. That's between you and God. If the transaction furthers the criminal activities of others or causes harm to others in any way, that's a different story.

We live in a society of laws. Laws are necessary to the furtherance of society. They should be minimal and they should serve the common good. They also need to be respected and justly enforced. If society begins to believe that laws are enforced unjustly, any law and for whatever reason, the efficacy of all law will be called into question.

Prostitution, "the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money", is illegal in California. I don't know why and I don't really care. What I do care about is the fact that in a state where some poor lug, drunk and stupid on a Saturday night, can get arrested for following his base instincts, but not really hurting anybody, an entire industry based on the same act is allowed to thrive.

How can state regulators establish safety regulations for an illegal act? This is like saying that the get away car in a bank robbery must have seat belts! It seems as though, since prostitution is illegal that instead of checking the fit on somebodies rubber maybe they should be arresting some whores!

Because the porn industry pays taxes and lines the pockets of some politicians and cops, the fact that it is prostitution is overlooked. Because it is a source of revenue to the government it stands above the law. If the government doesn't respect the law why should anyone else?

There is no reason in our country any longer; no logic and no sense. Whether whores or politicians, bankers or lawyers, thieves or priests; the law has become a plaything. It isn't used to further the common good, just the personal power of the people that write it.

And so, tomorrow will see the health care bill passed.

PROSTITUTION:
the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money.
Merriam-Webster

"In California, Prostitution is a crime that falls under the category of Disorderly Conduct. Solicitation for Prostitution (also known as either Solicitation or Prostitution) is charged as a misdemeanor, while Pandering or Pimping is charged as a felony. According to the California Penal Code, Solicitation, Prostitution, Pandering, and Loitering are defined as follows:

Solicitation - Also known as Solicitation for Prostitution, the act of directing or asking someone to exchange money for sexual activity is defined under Section 647(b) of the California Penal Code.
Prostitution - The act of exchanging money for sexual activity is known as Prostitution and defined under Section 653.20(a) of the California Penal Code.
Pandering - The crime committed by a "pimp", Pandering is defined under Section 266(i) of the California Penal Code and is best described as:
Solicitation of customers for prostitution services
Recruitment of prostitutes for hire
Loitering - Defined under Section 653.20(c) of the California Penal Code, Loitering means to linger without a lawful reason for the purpose of committing a crime or engaging in prostitution. Loitering is a "non-priorable" and lesser charge crime which means it is not subject to Jail Enhancement Penalties."
LA Criminal Defense Attorney

"State regulators are expected to vote Thursday on a petition asking them to require porn industry performers to use condoms and to take other safety measures. The six-member California Division of Occupational Safety and Health standards board appears likely to create an advisory committee to report back on whether the law should be changed and how it could be accomplished.

The board, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has up to six months to act on a Dec. 17, 2009 petition filed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation that seeks to change state law to require safe-sex protections for adult-film workers, including mandatory condom use and more stringent safety training and testing for sexually transmitted diseases."
LA Times

A RATIONAL EDUCATION REQUIRES A STUDY OF RELIGION

"It doesn't take a degree from Harvard to see that in today's world, a person needs to know something about religion...

...But in practice, the Harvard faculty cannot cope with religion...

...Steven Pinker, the evolutionary psychologist, led the case against a religion requirement. He argued that the primary goal of a Harvard education is the pursuit of truth through rational inquiry, and that religion has no place in that."
Newsweek

I never went to Harvard and couldn't have gotten in the door if I wanted to. That's why I'm a carpenter. And I don't know much about evolutionary psychology, either. All that aside, I'd like to suggest some light reading to the esteemed professor regarding rational inquiry, something that I'm sure wouldn't tax his superior and oh so rational intellect; The Summa Theologica by Saint Thomas Aquinas.

I'm growing increasingly tired and far less tolerant of these overly enlightened, erudite boors. They can't see past their personal biases and political causes and refuse to teach the information necessary to the student to correctly understand the world around them. Regardless of whether the professor believes in God or worships Marx the student needs to understand the religious beliefs of those around him if he wishes to understand how people think.

How can a person even begin to understand the American government without an understanding of Christian beliefs? How can one do business in the Muslim world and completely disregard Islam? How do you read Shakespeare or Mark Twain for that matter with no knowledge of the Bible?

Also, this prevailing idea that reason and faith are somehow diametrically opposed to each other is not only dead wrong, it is dangerous. It is used to dismiss all spiritual understanding of the world and our place in it. The fact of the matter is that a spiritual reality exists and to pretend that it doesn't is to be delusional. Does Harvard consider delusion to be an acceptable result of four years of higher education?

Matters of faith are testable and can be examined through the scientific method. Again, I would refer you to Aquinas. Until our educational system accepts and begins to teach the fullness of reality our students will suffer the deficit. Maybe our teachers need to focus a bit less on temporal education and a bit more on eternal wisdom. Balance in all things is essential, even in education.