There is an outbreak of Mumps in Franklin county. Even though it isn’t known what led to the outbreak, the event started up discussion on the need to vaccinate. A friend of mine posted a story about the rates of vaccination in the county and I learned that there is a religious exemption to the requirement for childhood vaccinations. This bit of religious privilege makes me angry. I think that if parents decide not to vaccinate their children for non-medical reasons, those children should be registered with the state, like sex offenders are, so we can avoid those children and excluded them from public activities if an outbreak flares up.
Why Are Atheists Always The Ones Asked Not To Be Dicks?
Lindy West, in an article on the Jezebel website, said that she was embarrassed to be an atheist because some atheists are dicks. I get tired of such complaints. I agree that being a dick shouldn’t be our first move, but why should believers get special treatment for their irrational and silly beliefs when they tend to be used to hurt scores of people around the world. Why are atheists always the ones asked to change?
Hidden Scout Files Show More Interest In Preventing Bad Publicity
A few weeks ago, as the result of a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), files with names of people excluded from the Boy Scouts from 1965-1985 was released to the public. These “perversion files” list names and details of adults who were kicked out either because they abused the boys they were in charge of or were accused of abusing boys. The BSA attempted to keep these files hidden. One file for a man in my area illustrates why BSA and similar groups are on the wrong side of the child abuse reporting issue. Identifying abusers and protecting children is FAR more important than any bad public relations for doing so.
When the files were released I was interested in checking them out. I was a Boy Scout from the mid 70’s to 1985. Although I never experienced any abuse, I wanted to see if any leaders I might have known back then was on the list. Luckily there was no one from my area in the files.
Should Circumcision On A Child Be Criminal?
Earlier this month a German court banned the practice of circumcision on the grounds it causes bodily harm to babies. The decision upset Jewish and Muslim communities in Germany because they claimed making the ritual criminal violated their religious freedom. While I believe that circumcision on babies shouldn’t be performed by the medical community unless the child consents or it is medically necessary, I’m not sure if the practice by religious practitioners should be made criminal.
Pageant Mother Misses Irony After Child’s Photo Shows Up On Adult Website
On Tuesday the local news had a story about a mother who found out a photo of her young daughter, that had been posted on a reality television show website, showed up on a adult website. She called law enforcement and was told the posting and the disgusting message with it was not illegal. I probably would have more sympathy for the mother but the reality show she and her daughter was on was “Toddlers & Tiaras.” The story and the mother’s reaction is full of irony.