The Tribune Online, 53

Stepping Up...Finally!!

AP Article from the Roanoke Times, Tuesday, January 18, 2011:

"Bills would rein in Cuccinelli's climate change probe"

"Richmond...Lawmakers will consider bills this winter that would restrain Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's civil inquest into University of Virginia climate change research.

Legislation by Democratic Sens. Donald McEachin of Henrico and Chap Petersen of Fairfax County would curb the Republican attorney general's ability to use civil investigative demands to challenge academic inquiry.

The Democratic legislators say their bills won't give blanket immunity to colleges to defraud the state. But they would stem politically motivated probes.

McEachin and Petersen, both lawyers, said Cuccinelli had abused authority the office obtained under a 2002 law.

Their legislation would force Cuccinelli to sue and obtain subpoenas as is required of other civil litigation, affording defendants the right to defend themselves and use discovery to examine evidence against them."

Finally, Virginia's lawmakers have seen fit to put the brakes on this wayward AG, with his morally loosening screw...back when he tried to make the exposure of the breast on the state's shield as something tawdry and should be covered up. It follows this right wing harangue that's surfaced across the nation, from trying to make "creationism" a legitmate science worthy of academic study, to Virginia's effort to promote the moral integrity, this April, of the traitors that attempted to destroy the very nation giving life and liberty, not subjugated by personal and/or religious moralisms.

A Combustible Fuel...religion and politics

Statement by newly elected Alabama Governor, Robert Bentley:

"Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother."

Blogger's personal comment: "Not brethren of the same religion, but just voters in a democratically held election that put him into office." More about religiosity at  http://theroanoketribune.com/guest_book.html

Faith Healers...False Prophets

Last evening, I caught this story on "Inside Edition" featuring a young man from some country in Europe, who was now appearing in California, supposedly with a gift of healing. He climbs a stage, and simply stares at people for about ten minutes, descends from the stage and disappears. The camera showed people coming in by the droves seeking a cure to their condition...everything from paralysis to cancer, although no definitive prognoses, just statements of symptomatic improvements.

It has been shown that a patient's psychological outlook can vastly affect one's healing time or even curtailing a progressive disease. The feature stated that the "faith healer" cautioned that his "gift" should not be a substitute for legitimate medical analysis. Also, there's a caveat of which he profits generously from the sale of his appearances, books, and tapes.

What this showed is that people generally around the world have not progressed all that much from the days of the "witchdoctors" and "soothsayers" in seeking something for nothing, or possibly an "instant cure" or dare I say a "miracle" for some sickness that they may have incurred through their own and quite possibly consequential lifestyle? Just doesn't work...most of the time. As MLK,Jr phrased it...when we expect God to deliver as some sort of "cosmic bell hop" to our human consequences.

Yet, I am very much buoyed, when I see "miracles" performed by those doctors and surgeons in the case of the Arizona Congresswoman...true acts of divinity. Nevertheless, these "healings of faith" are based on years of empirical study and practitioning skills updated often, and exercised by means of a universal, and truly divine connection.

Dislodging Stereotypes...

From: BlackAmericaWeb.com, January 21, 2011 by Denise Stewart: "Jindal Considering Merging HBCU, Other Colleges"

Article: "Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is considering merging the historically black Southern University at New Orleans with the University of New Orleans, a move that faces stiff opposition from black lawmakers in that state."  

Here's a classic example of why black and white southerners have to get a grip on American reality, that's no longer in a black and white state of mind as in the days of "Jim Crow". Just as the Confederate flag that whites from the south want to cling to, blacks have to dislodge their historical need for HBCUs. Why? They are simply crutches representative of racially segregated days long gone and hopefully never to return, under the watchful guidance of a free and equally accessible national government.

In support of this initiative by Governor Jindal, considering  Louisiana's financially distressful burden, I refer to a senior alum from my grade school in Mobile (all black due to segregation) who went on to become a chair at the University of New Orleans and developed a doctoral engineering program for minority students. That's true progress...and not just ethnically. His name is Ernest Chachere and you can find out more about the diversity program at the University of New Orleans at http://diversity.uno.edu   

The "Big Ten" in schools...not a bad idea

There is a controversy brewing in the Giles County School District of Virginia concerning replacing the Ten Commandments on the walls of the public schools. It's not as though they want to place some large boulder out front of the schools featuring the "Big Ten" like the "crazies" in Alabama wanted to do some time back, as if to send some sort of definitive mandate imposing their Christian ideology on the rest of society. By the way, as I have stated before, I qualify my assessment because Alabama was my home.

You see, some time back, Alabama was in the storm of controversy about wanting school kids to pray in school rooms...the Christian version. An attorney, who happened to be Muslim, objected to his kids having to cater to the Christian intonations...thus, school prayer was out.  The state even submitted a prayer composed by his or another governor's son, that was thought to be "deity neutral". This attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling was likewise blocked...and I say well done.  Why? The same idiotic assumption, just a few days ago was re-ignited with the newly elected Republican Governor, Robert Bentley, in trying to impose his religious beliefs on civil society. See what I mean by "stump-jumping" dumb in Alabama?? 

The "Ten Commandments" are not necessarily laws of religion, but the basis of religion of which the nation's government stands civilly since Moses introduced them after the Exodus from Egypt...a basis of belief for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim alike, and not too far from the precepts of Buddha and Confucius...which practically covers all of humanity, including atheists.

So, until or if the "Big Ten" are used to promote a particular religious ideology, such as Christianity, or support bunk science such as "creationism" ...I say these civil standards outlined by Moses represent a reasonable paradigm for a more well-rounded individual. Certainly, a better paradigm than that seen on the "boob tube" by these young people. Oh!! I better strike the term "boob" being that the right wing Attorney General in Virginia ordered the one exposed on the state's shield covered. This is a good example of religious or personal moralism gone awry.