Carl Sagan rescues Dr. Laura

       Dr. Laura is being accused of practicing ideological

    witchcraft in teaching that homosexuality is a MISTAKE

    of nature.  Biologists understand that Mother Nature is

    always making mistakes. Often enough the Great Designer

    seems asleep on the job . Even our many allergies are just

    a cruel mistake, the body mindlessly attacking itself.

           I was amused to read in Carl Sagan's biography

    ( William Poundstone, page 88 ) that he feared that his

    son, Dorion - ironically named in homage to Oscar

    Wilde - might be led astray by a gay companion :

        " A worried Carl sat down and lectured him that

    homosexuality was not the way the species propagates

    itself. "

            Indeed natural selection was a better argument

    for Carl here than quotes from Leviticus.

            Sagan was not at all hostile to gays. He had

    a " long and productive " collaboration with Jim Pollack,

    a fellow scientist who studied the Venus greenhouse effect.

             Obviously homosexuality is not fatal to human

    society because it is an " aberration " . But homosexuals

    as individuals can make great contributions to human

    culture - and indirectly  contribute to the survival

    of the species.

           In our overpopulated world I see them as a

    blessing !

Golden showers instead ?

Good morning, Bob .  I fancy myself above jealousy

    but those golden parachuters reminded me of a Camus

    quote : " The look of success when worn in a certain

    way will infuriate a jackass ".

             What they REALLY deserve is a golden shower, but

    those kinky clubs are being shut down.

          Yes, here is one issue that won't go away : the

    gap between the rich and the poor in Rhode Island AND

    everywhere else in this land of compassionate conservatism.

           Thanks for not losing touch .

                                Ron R.

Ohlemeyer's view not ridiculous

Thanks to a conscious CHOICE  when I was a teenager -

    and honest popular magazine articles ( " I Am Joe's Lungs " -

    Reader's Digest ) , I never became  a cigarette smoker .

            In vain  I urged my own father to quit. Smoking

    was a factor  , I believe, in his mortal illness . True

    enough,  tobacco is highly addictive - just as alcohol.

             Still I find myself oddly in agreement with

    William Ohlemeyer of Philip Morris that the recent

    Florida verdict  against the tobacco industry -

    $145-billion punitive damage award is rather outrageous

    ( USA TODAY ,July 17 ) .

             That sum of money is best invested in a national

    health care plan , not rewarded to  cigarette addicts

    out of sympathy for their plight.

            Imagine becoming almost prosperous as a result

    of life-long bad habits -  habits avoided by the brighter

    half of the nation !

           Also a jury in Florida has no right to redistribute

    the national wealth in a grand way. THAT must be done

    a little more democratically by -YES - BIG GOVERNMENT.

    And done a little more efficiently.

            I myself am addicted to the Welfare State. Loved

    THAT MAN - FDR !

Words NOT the essence of bigotry

 " Crucify her, she's an anti-Semite ! " is what I

    really hear while reading : " Time for Slur-Monger Hillary

    to Withdraw from Senate Race ". ( NewsMax.com , 7/16 )

          WHATEVER Hillary said a long time ago in a fit of

    loser fury does NOT confirm her as an anti -Semite .

         As a  New York  Senator she will serve ALL New Yorkers


     honorably.   How many  business managers could survive

    the DID YOU EVER SAY THAT ? test ?

          Real bigotry is not what anybody says in an emotional

    state. It is what they DO over an extended period of time. It

    involves ACTIVE MALICE , the conscious desire to hurt and

    destroy.

           Nixon once called Henry Kissinger , I read , a Jew Boy.

    Yet Henry was  crying  at the funeral of the Chief .

            Kissinger, the diplomat, knew how to weigh words !

        Do we ?