47 Years For Reading The Bible – That is the very unlikely worst-case scenario for some protestors at a gay pride event in Philadelphia. Four people were arrested for reading the Bible out loud at the event, focusing, of course, on passages that condemn homosexuality. After homosexual activists became irate, city officials told the protestors to move. “City officials told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the video did not show the start of the confrontation, when they said Marcavage tried to interrupt an onstage performance with his preaching and then disobeyed a police order to move to the perimeter of the “block party” to avoid the potential for violence…”They were not prohibited from preaching,” said Karen Brancheau, a lawyer for the district attorney’s office. “A reasonable request was made to prevent a situation from becoming dangerous to their own safety, as well as the safety of the participants.”” The four protestors face several charges – criminal conspiracy, ethnic intimidation and riot and five misdemeanor charges. It’s hard to know how to react to this. The protestors should have obeyed the officials who told them to move. Then again, it is a scary thought that they could face serious charges based on reading the Scriptures. You can get the story here.
Low Carb Craze Over? – It seems that the low-carb craze as popularized by Robert Atkins may be coming to an end. Thankfully. In February of 2004 9.1 percent of Americans were on a low-carb diet, but by November that number is down to 4.9 percent. Of course the holidays are now upon us and Americans will be glutting themselves with all sorts of fatty, high-carb foods, so perhaps January will see a resurgence. “As a result of dietary turnarounds…many companies that rode the low-carb wave are either out of business or refocusing their strategies.” Already. While the diet provided fast results, it is also somewhat unrealistic to expect that people will stay off carbohydrates for the long-haul. For me it was never an option. I’ve been known to buy a baguette (ie french stick loaf), but it in half, butter both halves, and eat it all in one go. I could exist without carbs.
Cold Snap – It was -24 degrees when I woke up this morning. It is now up to a balmy -22. Of course there is some wind too, driving temperatures below -30. For those of you in warmer climates, let me just tell you, that is really, really cold. This house we live in (we rent, not own) is terribly insulated, so it becomes a constant, and very expensive, battle to keep it heated. The kitchen is directly over the garage and is very poorly insulated so it is almost painful to stand on the kitchen floor when it is this cold. Don’t get me started on how cold the bathroom is! Anyways, judging by the forecast we should be getting into warmer temperatures again by tomorrow.
This Week’s Picture – This week’s picture, which you can see at the top of each page, is provided by Kathy Marie Kolb. Kathy has a blog that she doesn’t seem to update all that often, unfortunately. So thanks to Kathy for the picture. If anyone else would like to supply a photo, please contact me.
