Story of Joseph is story of Government Assistance

   I sometimes consider the story of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, and how he gathered food during the seven good years, and how the government provided during the seven lean years. Government assistance? It surely was, and the whole of the land and all of the people were on it.
   I think sometimes, we get too caught up in whether the government is providing a service or doing something, when what is important, is not who is doing it, but that it is getting done.

Whether Health Care is a Right, is it Right to Provide it to Everyone?

    A picture of someone holding up a sign, saying, "Health Care is a Human Right," rolls across my Facebook page, and Connor Boyack, the poster says, "No, it's not."
   I reply:
  Maybe we should view the question not from a standpoint of whether it is a right, but whether it is right. If you can help someone, should you? If someone will suffer without medical attention, should you leave them to suffer?
   Never has society beheld such medical advances as what we have today. So, such medical care could not be offered in past societies. Today, we know how to treat many diseases and conditions, and the question is whether we should ensure that as many people as possible are reached with these benefits.
   Have them pay for what they get, then? I have no problem with that. I do not know what work provisions Utah Cares has, but I understand Healthy Utah does have some. My thought is, it would be wonderful if every person placed in Healthy Utah (or Utah Cares) were also placed in a job, even if it were a second job as their first doesn't earn enough money.
   Don't know if that could be done, but I think it would be ideal. And, I know it won't get done unless we try. So, I say, make the effort to place them all in jobs.

Respect Those of Same-Sex Attraction & Those Who Don't Believe in it

  I believe you have the right to believe as you do, the right to practice same-sex unions, without being discriminated against in the work place and without being denied housing.
  But, I also believe I have the right to believe that same-sex marriage is wrong, that marriage should be between man and woman. And, I don't feel I should be discriminated against by being fired for expressing my belief.
   Perhaps that is a fair summation of the sentiment that has brought about legislation drafted in the Utah Legislature and announced today. The state is hailing the bill, SB296. And it is indeed an achievement, that a bill should favor defending the same-sex marriage, and, at the same time, defend those who do not believe in such marriages.
  The bill has attracted supporters from those in the LGBT community. That is of note. We will wait to see if it also draws opposition from others in Utah's same-sex community. I hope not. It would be neat if the bill pleases both sides.

Would be Nice to have a Study of Ways Body Sometimes Defends Itself

   So, the body adapts to its environment. If it takes in a lot of food, it gets fat, etc.
   What if we were to only consider the times the body rejected the environment, the times it resisted it?
   Like the 100-year-old person who smokes or drinks. Or the person who doesn't get fat, albeit he eats as much as an obese person. Or the person who swallows poison and it doesn't harm them. Such a study would be interesting.
   I do wonder about the body's ability to build up immunities, and I wonder if there are ways the body rejects harmful environments beyond what we discuss as building up immunities. I wish someone would study of this, analyzing incidents and what has caused them.
   (Blog altered 3/4/15.)

I Fear the Very Thought that a Constitutional Convention is Being Considered

   The very Constitution is being questioned. There have arisen those who would assemble a new constitutional convention to change the document.
   Me? I say, forbid. I love our Constitution. Oh, this is not to say there are not changes we might make. But if amendments are to be made, make them amendments, only, not a rework of the document. I fear those who would staff a constitutional convention. We would not be assembling a body of men and women equal to those who founded our nation. I fear what changes they might bring.
    And, I fear the very thought that a constitutional convention is even being considered. I haven't overviewed all the movements. Perhaps most call only for amendments, not reworking the venerable document entirely. Still, I fear that a group would get together where massive changes would be possible.
(Post added to and changed 3/3/15)

Little Steps Lead to Big Ones

   I wrote the first two lines long, long ago. Had it on a piece of scratch paper among so much junk needing to be thrown away. Ran across it yesterday and decided I better finish it so I could throw the scratch paper away.

  Little steps are big ones,
Small steps lead to great,
  The first step may seem tiny,
But it is it that decides your fate.

City Planning Suggests Land Near Airport a Natural Fit for Other Uses

   The land near the airport is on the list of suggested sites for the prison relocation, as you may know. I do wonder about that. No, I am not so worried about what those flying in will think, to find the prison at our gateway. On that, I wonder if perhaps it will not bother them.
   But, use of the land? The reason for giving up the Draper property is that a higher use of the land is foreseen. Why would we, then, not be concerned about the proper use of land near the airport? It, too, is a valuable resource. Some companies value being near an airport, as they fly their people in and out quite often. Once that land is taken to build a prison, it will no longer be available to lure those businesses to Utah.
   Convention space? True, we already have situated a lot of our convention space downtown, but not all of it. Placing a convention center in the vicinity of the airport would, surely, be attractive to those considering where they hold their conventions. If we do think we might should add to our convention space anytime in the next 50 years, let's leave that land available.
   The proper use of land in a city, as we  all know, is called city planning. I suggest, if we are planning our city, we should see that the land near the airport has uses that fit in with it quite naturally. We should perhaps leave the land open for those uses.