Bahá'ís are discouraged from serving in the military and cannot voluntarily take a combat role. Nevertheless, there have been and are Baha'is in the American military, some of whom die in service (particularly during the draft for Vietnam, I'm sure). American Public Media's Weekend America radio news "magazine" is exploring the topic of how some of the nation's smaller religions honor those who have died in service, including the Bahá'ís. Other than a local neo-pagan group I am not sure who will be featured, as I didn't have time to ask many questions.
April 2007 Archives
Speaking About Baha'i Services for Fallen Soldiers this Saturday on Weekend America
Making Sense Out of Senseless Grocery Shopping
I recall one day in the spring of 2002, shopping at the H.E.B. grocery store on Riverside Dr. in Austin, TX, being struck by the horrible nutritional value on display on the conveyor belt before me. The shopping list seemed to consist primarily of donuts, chips, soda, and a few other items of questionable healthiness (white bread, milk, beef, no fruit, ...). Surreptitiously, I looked up at the woman buying these things, probably to feed her family (I don't remember thinking she seemed particularly overweight herself). I thought to myself, "what mother would feed these things to her child?"
Out With the Dandelions
Today I had my first therapy session with the dandelions. Therapy involves me using various means to rip the dandelions from the ground, preferably with 6 inches or more of root attached. It was a good day for therapy.
Imus and Justice
I've been thinking about writing about the Imus thing since I heard about it. Hesitated not just because of time, but because its so overdone. Well, even though I know they'll never know it, I want to thank NBC and CBS (and their advertisers) for doing the just thing and removing Imus from the airwaves and twisted copper cables.
Chairman Uncle Ben
The New York Times writes about the Uncle Ben's company's new advertising campaign, featuring "Uncle Ben" as the chairman of the company. I had no idea that "Uncle" was a racially biased way of getting around calling someone "Mister". I figured the butlerish image wasn't all on the up-and-up, but it has more negative connotations than I realized.