No, really, it is.

In An Article on surveillance legislation, I found this comment particularly striking: "...allows the government to engage in wide-spread warrantless surveillance without getting warrants..."

Warrantless surveillance without warrants!? That's as bad as requiring the use of PIN numbers on ATM machines!

Priests and Marriage

I'm curious what, if any, opinions you guys have on Married Priests. I have to admit that there's some validity to the "if they could marry, more men would become priests" line, except for a few points. Most directly, anyone who's had to work two different positions at work knows that doing so degrades your work in both areas; that's the strongest argument against married priests that I've found. Trying to be both husband and priest, neither of which is 'easy' nor should be secondary, is far from ideal. Part of me also thinks that perhaps men who would otherwise be priests have the wrong priorities: why would being able to marry change things? What does that say about how you're treating this? I might argue that it's men buying into what society tells them they need to be happy. Life isn't easy, and every path in life has it's challenges and difficulties.

Anyone have input, either for or against?

A point of redemption.

"Cohen, a devout Jew who keeps kosher and the Sabbath when possible, says he purposely made his character prejudiced." (Form Here.)

This makes me feel significantly better about Cohen, the man. Borat, the movie, is still not worth seeing in my opinion, all things considered.

ADHD Medication

I'm skeptical of the conclusion in This Article on ADHD drugs. ("So, over all, new findings do not seriously challenge the consensus that most people who are properly diagnosed with ADHD will decide that the benefits of stimulant medications outweigh the risks.") Passing it along mostly because of my own interest in the issue.

This would be my left-brain talking.

I like to think, generally speaking, that I'm a fairly practical person on a day-to-day basis. I'm laid back, yeah, and I'm alright with doing little social things spontaneously, like grabbing dinner or a movie after work just 'cause nothing else was going on. But generally I'm a practical guy who understands that certain things are required for the world, and life in general, to keep moving along. We all make decisions about how we live our lives, and it's best to acknowledge the fact and work with it rather than blunder through subconsciously.

So when I think about getting married -- finding a girl and raising kids and all that -- I tend to think in rather practical terms. I'm looking for a girl who wants kids, for one, and preferably is good with children generally. Someone who agrees with me on fundamental issues so we don't argue about how to raise our kids. Someone I'm attracted to, because we all know where babies come from. And little things like being able to manage my diet (a task I find difficult) and encourage me to generally be a better person are also pluses, if not mandatory.

Nice, neat, orderly. Practical.

And then I find myself (mentally) screaming: I don't want to marry for practical reasons! I don't want to get married because it 'makes sense,' because all of the boxes are checked. I want to get married because I'm passionately in love with this girl.

Which, for me, is a rather frustrating thought. Because unlike check-boxes, I've found it's very difficult to manage how one feels.