I like www.congress.org. They send me emails about pending bills and have an easy way to air my eccentricities to my elected representatives. One of the bills coming up that they alerted me to has to do with stem cell research funding. A couple of thoughts:

Like another famous Virginian, I firmly believe in separation of church and state. And, like the French say, it ought to go both directions. Just as the government should stay out of church operations, churches should stay out of running the government. Of course, each of us has religious beliefs and those beliefs are important in how we live our lives. There is nothing wrong with pastors airing their wisdom with their flocks. But churches should not specify what health care I get. Or a bunch of other things in my life.

In principle, I am against both the death penalty and any degree of destroying the unborn. The decision of life and death should be between the person and God. Opening that decision to anyone else sets a precident that is unacceptable and dangerous. And, as a scientific type person, I respect the miracle of our DNA and the molecular reproduction process. Life starts at the first bunch of cellular divisions. But, the killing of folks who have a medical problem that could be cured by stem cell treatments also falls under this principle. A true dilemma. Which is murder and who is the murderer? And then there is the treatment of the severely disabled. My decision in this case is that we – including the Federal government - should support medical research, including stem cell. It leads to new and miraculous things, and this holds much promise. Let's support stem cell funding research. A blastocyst that will be destroyed anyway is not in the same category as a child or adult who is ill or injured.

While weeding in my garden today, I noticed that some plants pulled a couple of days ago were still struggling to survive, even though all the soil left to them was a few tiny bits still clinging to their roots. The tenacity of life. It is amazing. The mind wanders to what this means to us.

Of course, we have that same tenacity. Our bodies are marvelously built to keep going and to repair nature's ravages. As are our mental and spiritual strengths. Spiritual strengths? When we pray for the strength and ability to get through all that happens to us, does God answer our prayers? The answer is, of course He does. He already did. That tenacity that He gave to those weeds, He gave to us. And we can call it up at will. All we have to do is pray and we answer those prayers with the gifts God has implanted in us. We and our world are miraculous.

There have been some news shows on the news and in National Geographic about the medical care in Iraq. The advances in medicine are stupendous. Of course, there is the aspect that our medical establishment is making money hand over fist from our disasters. The doctors and nurses in Iraq make it obvious that there are other reasons, too. We just plain care about each other. And want to help. Where did that come from? Our evolved need to work together to survive? Of course. And from the Author of all of our evolution and survival. Pray for survival from the ravages of this life and the system that the God who gave us evolution has provided comes to our aid.

The power of prayer.

Recently, one of our daughters found a dog she loves, Callie, at an animal adoption agency. This act certainly adds a new dimension to a city dwellers life. We had dogs for much of our lives, but it was different back then.

Bo was the joy of my pre-adolescence. He was the ultimate free spirit. He roamed the small college town where we lived and would be gone for days. He would chase his tail and bark at objects on command. The only complaint we ever got was when the police said he was drunk. The college boys had just gotten him to bark at a beer bottle. Finally he went to a hunting camp where he could really roam. We saw him every so often when the vet had to remove porcupine quills from his muzzle.

The best was our Bambi, the dog of our children growing up. Bambi was an abused mixed breed young dog from the animal shelter. We lived on a school campus and Bambi could roam the school at will and was friends with all. She was a delight, playful and loving, playing hide and seek with us and helping me in my garden, home almost all of the time. The only trouble she got into was being a part of the school's outdoor graduation exercises.

We never concerned ourselves about who was the alpha and whether Bo or Bambi were anxious or insecure. We enjoyed and loved them and they were happy and loving. We never concerned ourselves about where they pooped unless we tracked it into the house.

Callie is a condo dweller. The Dog Whisperer is a big part of life with her. Of course, Cesar is right. We need to understand her and her communications with us. The poop does need to be picked up. And Callie needs to be walked, rain or shine. Things have certainly changed. For the better? Probably. It is enjoyable to work with Callie when we visit. But the good old days with Bo and Bambi were certainly fun, too.

Today is the Winter Solstice. It is an appropriate time for holiday wishes.

Recently an e-mail arrived from a wild-and-crazy brother-in-law with the salutation “Happy Saturnalia”. At about the same time another one came with a string: “Merry Christmas to those of you who observe that holiday! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noel! Happy Chanukah for those of you who will be lighting your sixth candle this evening! Happy Kwanzaa coming up on the 26th! A sparkling winter solstice ! A festive "Festivus" for those Seinfeld fans out there!”

I enjoy all of those wishes and the warm and friendly sentiments behind them. Anyone who greets me with any of them is appreciated.

Why would anyone object?

One of my favorite sayings is “Things could be worse. You could be one of them.”

Salve Saturnalia ab omnia. (My last Latin class was LV years ago.)

I am afraid I have neglected blogging for too many weeks. A couple of reasonable reasons, however.

The first is visiting the kids at Thanksgiving and all of the festivities of the season. That is important and a good interference. It also interrupts the habits of blogging that were in the process of forming. Not an excuse but an extenuating circumstance.

Another thing that has come up is online tutoring. Should have started this before. It is enjoyable, rewarding, and you get paid for it. There are several sites that do online tutoring. I found Tutor.com and am very pleased with a well run company with admirable standards. As a teacher in a boarding school, there were students at my home for tutoring many times. I enjoyed the associations and helping kids who were concerned about their science education. Even though it is through a chat box and whiteboard instead of vis a vis, the students once again want to learn science and seem appreciative of the help, and they learn. The chemistry and physics did not drift away despite several years of retirement. Good stimulation for the brain and the soul. I would give it my recommendation to any educator with the time.