Obamacare

Having amassed a very frightening pile of research and information about the health care debate, I have decided it is finally time to talk about this with you. There are dozens of big questions, and loads of different viewpoints. But at the end of the day, the real question is whether we should continue with things basically they way they are right now or whether we should create a huge new government health policy for all Americans. I know we won’t get to everything in just one hour, and we may wind up talking about this extensively all week long. But we have to start somewhere, so today we start at 5:00.

Weblinks
Health Insurance in US (Wikipedia)
Medicare (Wikipedia)
Medicaid (Wikipedia)
Obama’s health reform plan (Wikipedia)
Health care reform debate in US (Wikipedia)
Gov’t coops really aren’t (WSJ)
Republicans shouldn’t compromise (WSJ)
Obama’s trust problem (NY Times)
Basis for elderly fears seen in plan (NY Times)
Healthcare endgame near but uncertain (Findlaw)
Healthcare reform: time for action (John Dean)
Truth versus facts and the media (LA Times)
A public option that works (NY Times)
Rationing is scary (Newt Gingrich)
Obama and the practice of medicine (WSJ)
Language in the health care debate (CS Monitor)
Why we need health care reform (Barack Obama)
Health care’s generation gap (NY Times)
Tell grandma no (NY Times)
The Swiss menace (NY Times)
Whole foods boycotted for editorial (WSJ)
What death panels might look like (WSJ)
Alternative plans muddy debate (NY Times)
Health co-ops = government care (WSJ)
Obamacare and anesthesiology (WSJ)
Single payer for kids (WSJ)
Plain English on health care (NY Times)
Priority test: health care or prisons? (NY Times)
Obamacare’s contradictions (WSJ)
Canadian and British lessons (Larry Elder)
Obama frames issue around faith (Wash Times)
Rep imposes civility rules at townhall (Denver Post)
Doctors versus the AMA (Forbes)
Thousands quit AARP over Obamacare support (CBS News)
Obama’s tone-deaf health campaign (WSJ)
In healthcare debate, “reality” in dispute (CS Monitor)
Separating fact from fiction on health care (WSJ)
A primer on the health care debate (NY Times)
Whole foods alternative to Obamacare (WSJ)
Truth about health insurance (WSJ)
Medicare for all isn’t the answer (WSJ)
10 steps to better health care (NY Times)
If Uncle Sam becomes your doctor (CS Monitor)
Obama’s healthcare horror (Camille Paglia)
ObamaCare’s real price tag (WSJ)
Health insurance and car insurance (CS Monitor)
Healthcare bill’s troubling religious exception clause (Findlaw)
Obamacare all about rationing (WSJ)
Health care co-ops (NY Times)
A health insurance lawyer tackles scare tactics (CS Monitor)
USPS a scary model for health care (Wash Times)
Does Obamacare require euthanasia consults? (Politico)
Dr. Obama’s tonsillectomy (WSJ)
Is health care a right? (WSJ)
Correcting Obama’s fact errors (NY Times)
State-by-state impact of Obama’s tax surcharge (Heritage)
FixHealthCarePolicy.com (Heritage)
Obama attacks docs and cops (Bill Kristol)
Text of Obamacare press conference (NY Times)
GovernmentCare’s assault on seniors (WSJ)
Congress’s health care numbers don’t add up (NY Times)
World’s best health care (NY Times)
Maternity bed shortages in UK (Daily Mail)
Health care in the early church (Christianity Today)
Mr. Obama, you promised health care (LA Times)
Health care fit for animals (NY Times)
Obama targets Medicare Advantage (WSJ)
Obama’s health-rationer-in-chief (WSJ)
Elderly have concerns about Obamacare (AP)
Rationing has always been the norm (Findlaw)
You’ll lose 5 key freedoms under Obama’s plan (CNN)
2 rules by which to judge a health reform plan (Health Care Blog)
A detailed analysis of candidate Obama’s health plan (Health Care Blog)
5 biggest lies about Obama’s health care reform (Newsweek)
Top 5 lies about Obama’s plan (MoveOn.org)

Naum's Links (A loyal, liberal, Christian listener)
10 Reasons to Support Health Care Reform
A Canadian Doctor Diagnoses U.S. Healthcare
A Christian Creed on Health Care Reform
A Socialist Attends a Town Hall Health Care Meeting
A System From Hell
Another Poll Shows Majority Support for Single-Payer
Bill Moyers Journal (8/28/09)
Buy Health, not Health Care
Compulsory Insurance Will Not Work
Conservatives are Wrong About Free Market Health Care
Debunking Canadian Health Care Myths
Doctors Just Want to Be Doctors
Ezra Klein
Five Myths About Health Care in the Rest of the World
Health Care Abroad: Japan
Health Care and the Christian Tradition
Health Care Destruction
Health Care Fit for Animals
Health Care Hypocrisy
Health Care is a Human Right
Hope for Fundamental Health Care Reform
How American Health Care Killed My Father
How does the quality of U.S. Health Care Compare Internationally?
Inequality is Unhealthy: Dr. Stephen Bezruchka on How Economic Inequality is Dangerous to our Health
Insurance Industry: The Parasite That Feeds on US Public Health System
Mythbusting Canadian Health Care Part I
Mythbusting Canadian Health Care Part II
Obama's Doctor Speaks Out for Single-Payer Healthcare Reform
Our Health Care System is Just Fine as is!
"Paying for" Health Care Reform
President Obama and Congress: If You Missed Wise County, Join Me in L.A.
Pro-life but Anti-Health Care?
Quality of Life and an Economic Bill of Rights
Remember When Health Insurance was a Great Idea?
Recession Causing Massive Health Insurance Losses
Scoring Truthfulness in the Health Care Debate
Socialism for Children, Capitalism for Adults
Socialist Health Plan? In Norway, Obama's Plan Not Even Close
Socialized Medicine: Only 13% of Americans Purchase Their Own Health Insurance
The Cost Conundrum
The Evil-Mongering of the American Medical Association
The Health Care Debate, Early Church Style
The Health Care Cruise
The Health Care Debate: Another Country Heard From
The Health Care Debate From a Doctor's Perspective
The Health Care Industry vs. Health Reform
The Real Health Care Question: Who are we, as a people?
The Real Issue
The Truth About Socialized Medicine
Top World Healthcare Systems
True Competition A Myth in the Private Health Insurance Marketplace, Part 1
Understanding Health Care
Washing Health Care Clean
Wendell Potter on Patients and Profits
When it comes to healthcare, U.S., Britain, and Canada are hurting
Why Conservatives are Radical on Health Care
Why I am a Conservative on Health Care Reform
Why We Must Ration Health Care
Why we need health care reform
Yin vs. Yang on Health Care: Conservatives Make a Few Points

Ethics Class, Session 18: Criteria 49-52

Tonight we are going to try to get through the next set of criteria in the ethics syllabus. (You can get more information at http://andrewtallmanshowethics.blogspot.com.) This means we will be talking about:

49. Explain Virtue Theory
50. Critique Virtue Theory
51. Explain Divine Command Theory
52. Critique Divine Command Theory

In order to facilitate discussion amongst those of you either taking the class or wanting to discuss these ideas in more depth, I will be posting each of the criteria separately without much (if any) actual explanation simply so you can have your discussions on those particular ideas.

Various Current Events

Kennedy (CS Monitor)
Kennedy (WSJ)
Kennedy (NY Times)
Christ the King bells case (ADF)
Arizona should ban paddling students (AZ Republic)
The high cost of liberalism (WSJ)
The real CIA news (WSJ)
The Pelosi-Obama deficits (WSJ)
The dairy quandary (NY Times)
Tight controls on CIA interrogations (NY Times)
US Ed Sec dodges question on MLK ethics (CNS News)
Study says Americans will take any job (CNS News)
FCC chief wants public dominance of media (CNS News)
IDT advocate tells students to learn evolution (Christian Post)
4000 convicts get stimulus checks (Boston Herald)
UN wants 5-year-olds to learn about sex (Fox News)

Theological Tuesday

~Non-Biblical Christian mythology.
~What does it mean to render unto Caesar and God?
~What should we make of Josh Hamilton’s lapse?

Ethics Class, Session 17: Criteria 47-50

Tonight we are going to try to get through the next set of criteria in the ethics syllabus. (You can get more information at http://andrewtallmanshowethics.blogspot.com.) This means we will be talking about:

47. Explain Social Contract Theory
48. Critique Social Contract Theory
49. Explain Virtue Theory
50. Critique Virtue Theory

In order to facilitate discussion amongst those of you either taking the class or wanting to discuss these ideas in more depth, I will be posting each of the criteria separately without much (if any) actual explanation simply so you can have your discussions on those particular ideas.

Workplace Pet Peeves And Reverse-Peeves

For those of us who work every day, a significant portion of our lives are spent in the business environment. This of course means that there are many opportunities for other people, machines, and the environment itself to frustrate us. Since venting about such things is both fun and also instructive to others who may not realize their own predilection to irritate others, I thought we’d talk about office pet peeves. Also, since I like balance, perhaps we’ll talk about workplace reverse-peeves: small things that regularly make our lives better, whether we notice them or not.

Links:
Workplace pet peeves (ChacoCanyon)

Various Current Events

Arizona’s tax cut plan (WSJ)
Lifelock under fire (AZ Republic)
Questions answered on Afghanistan (NY Times)
Gender at issue in female runner’s victory (NY Times)
Rudeness isn’t un-American (Findlaw)
Candles = pollution (Wash Times)
The Hillary doctrine (WSJ)
Lesbian of the year married with kids (News Busters)
Date set for Prop 8 challenge (CS Monitor)
Guns by the President? (Findlaw)
Protestor part of publicity stunt (AZ Republic)
Afghans in Kabul prepare to vote (LA Times)
Boycott Israel (LA Times)
Michael Vick’s second chance (WSJ)
More opting out of clergy funerals (USA Today)
Fortuneteller challenges ban (Wash Post)
Burquini required at British pool (Telegraph)
Rationing is scary (Newt Gingrich)
Obama and the practice of medicine (WSJ)
Language in the health care debate (CS Monitor)
Why we need health care reform (Barack Obama)
Health care’s generation gap (NY Times)
Tell grandma no (NY Times)
The Swiss menace (NY Times)
Whole foods boycotted for editorial (WSJ)
What death panels might look like (WSJ)
Alternative plans muddy debate (NY Times)
Health co-ops = government care (WSJ)
Obamacare and anesthesiology (WSJ)
Single payer for kids (WSJ)
Plain English on health care (NY Times)
Priority test: health care or prisons? (NY Times)
Obamacare’s contradictions (WSJ)
Canadian and British lessons (Larry Elder)
Obama frames issue around faith (Wash Times)
Rep imposes civility rules at townhall (Denver Post)

Wacky Wednesday--You Shouldn’t Have Children

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~Having children is the single most ungreen thing you can ever do.
~Who wants to bring a child into this world of corruption, danger, and uncertainty?
~We are overpopulated, and somebody’s got to start being responsible.
~Pregnancy is a major health risk to women.
~Children often turn out badly.
~How can you have a great career and take time off for pregnancy as well?
~Children are one of the greatest sources of stress for a marriage.
~They cost you sleep.
~They cost you money.
~They certainly don’t provide you with more free time.
~They make messes, and break things.
~There is no greater challenge to your self-image as a competent, intelligent person than parenting.
~Children could keep you from going on the mission field.

Links:
Tie your tubes and save the planet? (LA Times)

American babies are ruining everything (WSJ)

Wacky Wednesday--We shouldn’t build church buildings

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~We are the temple of the Holy Spirit now.
~That money could certainly go to more Scriptural uses: widows, orphans, the poor, community outreach, and community service.
~Single-use facilities go unused most days of the week.
~Didn’t Jesus pretty much condemn the temple? And God finished this off by having it destroyed in 70 AD.
~Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am among them.
~Just as most people waste their money on the home they live in, most churches waste their money on a church building, especially including interest payments if there is a mortgage.
~Growth of congregations in any area is historically in an inverse relationship to the emphasis on church buildings in that area.
~Jesus told His disciples to not take any provisions with them on their missionary journeys.

Theological Tuesday

~Should you take notes during a sermon?

~What should we make of Josh Hamilton’s lapse?

~Is abstinence too much to ask?

~What does it mean to render unto Caesar and God?

Them and Us

I read an LA Times piece last week that I thought was brilliant for one simple idea. The author was making the case that the divide between conservatives and liberals in America (as showing itself strongly in the health care debate and townhall events) is that liberals tend to think of government as “us” while conservatives tend to think of government as “them.” Since a couple of questions have come up recently on the subject of political philosophies (libertarianism, socialism, etc.), I thought it would be useful to explore this concept further and also talk about some of the labels we use for political views.

Links:

Them and Us (LA Times)

Ethics Class, Session 16: Criteria 45-48

Tonight we are going to try to get through the next set of criteria in the ethics syllabus. (You can get more information at http://andrewtallmanshowethics.blogspot.com.) This means we will be talking about:

45. Explain Kantianism
46. Critique Kantianism
47. Explain Social Contract Theory
48. Critique Social Contract Theory

In order to facilitate discussion amongst those of you either taking the class or wanting to discuss these ideas in more depth, I will be posting each of the criteria separately without much (if any) actual explanation simply so you can have your discussions on those particular ideas.

Various Current Events

A primer on the health care debate (NY Times)
Whole foods alternative to Obamacare (WSJ)

Truth about health insurance (WSJ)
Medicare for all isn’t the answer (WSJ)
10 steps to better health care (NY Times)
If Uncle Sam becomes your doctor (CS Monitor)
Obama’s healthcare horror (Camille Paglia)
Townhall challenges “Un-American” (Pelosi + Hoyer)
White House responds to Pelosi op-ed (ABC News)
Townhall protestors like KKK? (Weekly Standard)
Obama Hitler poster exposed (Blogger)
Obama should extend marriage promotion (CS Monitor)
Muslim teen threatened for Christian conversion (Fox News)
Hillary’s meltdown over question about husband (ABC News)
Junkyards clamor for trashed clunkers (AZ Republic)
Government should help dairy farmers (CS Monitor)
Napolitano: We’re not Bush (CS Monitor)
FCC officer advocated radical public radio funding (CNS News)
Miley Cyrus video (You Tube)
Fox News on Miley Cyrus (Fox News)
Prostitution legal in Rhode Island? (Boston Globe)
What of non-job seekers? (CS Monitor)
Exercise won’t make you thin (Time)
Teen unemployment remains high (WSJ)
$12 million pro-Obama ads hit airwaves (Politico)
AZ “No More Deaths” littering case (LA Times)
AZ Republic coverage of the case (AZ Republic)
Iraqi Shiites show restraint in face of attacks (NY Times)
White House upset about poster (Wash Post)
70% say wife should adopt husband’s last name (USA Today)
No lemonade stands in Tulare, CA (Fresno Bee)
Them versus us (LA Times)
GDP RIP (NY Times)
Bud Schulberg’s heroism (LA Times)
Lessons of the stimulus bill (WSJ)
Tax withholding undemocratic (WSJ)

Wacky Wednesday--Utilitarianism Is An Excellent Theory

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

Utilitarianism says that we should always act to maximize happiness and pleasure while minimizing pain and suffering, and we should count every person equally in doing so in an effort to maximize the good for all people.

~Robin Hood took from the rich to give to the poor, right?
~This theory results, by definition, in the happiest people.
~Treats every person’s pain and pleasure as equally important.
~There are no incompatible duties on this theory. Your job is to take and my job is to give.
~Sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
~Helps us resolve very difficult cases especially some kinds of moral dilemmas where it seems that people are going to have to be hurt no matter what we do.
Majority rule is a utilitarian concept.

Wacky Wednesday--Selfishness Is Good

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~Everything we do is in fact selfish.
~It’s so basic to our nature that it can’t possibly be bad.
~People really do usually act this way.
~Selfish people are predictable and persuadable, plus they never fail to meet your expectations.
~The foundation of most capitalist assumptions is self-interest.
~If everyone takes care of himself, society does seem to go pretty well.
~We often do good things because we will feel badly if we do not.
~When you are driving, you hope everyone else is selfishly wanting to stay alive.

Christian Basics 4: Helping the Poor

Questions:
~Why do we help the poor?
~To what degree are we obligated to help the poor?
~How much should we give?
~To whom should we give it?

Bible References on helping the poor: Deut 14:28-29, Deut 15:7-10, Psalm 68:10, Psalm 72:1, 11-14, Psalm 112:1-10, Psalm 113:1-2, 5-9, Prov 14:21, Prov 14:31, Prov 17:5, Prov 19:17, Prov 21:13, Prov 22:9, Prov 28:27, Prov 29:7, Isaiah 10:1-4, Isaiah 58:1-12, Amos 2:6-7, Micah 6:8, Matt 5:3, 13-19, Matt 6:1-6, 16-21, Matt 7:15-29, Matt 10:42, Matt 18:1-6, Mark 10:38-41, Matt 19:16-26, Matt 25:31-46, Luke 6:20, Luke 6:46-49, Luke 14:12-15, Luke 16:1-31, Luke 19:1-10, Acts 3:1-10, 2 Cor 8-9, Gal 2:1-10, Gal 6:1-10, 1 John 2:8-11, 1 John 3:16-20, 1 John 4:19-20, James 1:27

Links on helping the poor:
The Gospel and the poor (Tim Keller)

Sports and Steroids

In recent years, use of steroids and other performance-enhancing substances has become a major source of controversy for professional sports. There are really two different questions here. The first is whether such substances should be banned or controlled by the sporting oversight agencies. The second is whether players should obey the rules put in place by those oversight agencies, particularly when the rules are not being enforced and are, in fact, being secretly violated by so many of one’s competitors in the sport.

Links:
Anabolic steroids (ESPN)
Steroids in sports (SportsMedicine.com)
Steroids in sports and baseball (Steroid.com)
Should we have steroids in sports? Discussion. (NPR)
When banned, only cheaters get an advantage (Jon Swift Blog)
Mitchell Report (ESPN)

Ethics Class, Session 15: Criteria 41-44

Tonight we are going to try to get through the next set of criteria in the ethics syllabus. (You can get more information at http://andrewtallmanshowethics.blogspot.com.) This means we will be talking about:

41. Explain Egoism
42. Critique Egoism
43. Explain Utilitarianism
44. Critique Utilitarianism

In order to facilitate discussion amongst those of you either taking the class or wanting to discuss these ideas in more depth, I will be posting each of the criteria separately without much (if any) actual explanation simply so you can have your discussions on those particular ideas.

Various Current Events

Senate roll call on Sotomayor (Senate.gov)

More cash for clunkers? (WSJ)
Gay marriage, democracy, and the Supreme Court (WSJ)
Jobless grad sues college for tuition (NY Post)
The case for early marriage (Albert Mohler)
How much is that clunker in the window (Jonah Goldberg)
Too soon to leave Iraq (LA Times)
Let felons vote (NY Times)
The Hiroshima Rorshach test (WSJ)
ObamaCare’s real price tag (WSJ)
Psychological barriers hinder climate change action (Yahoo)
Health insurance and car insurance (CS Monitor)
A spy’s take on Iran (CS Monitor)
Healthcare bill’s troubling religious exception clause (Findlaw)

Wacky Wednesday--We Shouldn’t Have Sacraments

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~God is everywhere in everything.
~Sacraments try to make a distinction between the sacred and the profane.
~But as Christians, don’t we believe that every day all the day what we are supposed to be doing is reaching out into this corrupted world and redeeming it? What sort of a message does it carry to say that the only place you can receive redemption is from a special ceremony conducted in a special place by a special person?
~Most Evangelicals believe that sacraments don’t actually do anything. They are really just vestigial versions of the Roman Catholic sacraments.
~Most Evangelicals believe they are purely symbolic, and if so, isn’t it better to avoid the mistake of letting them indicate to people something more than is actually going on?
~They distract people from the real message of the Gospel which is love of God and love of people and instead get them focused on an empty ritual, which is in any case external rather than internal.
~External rituals are at best a crutch or training wheels for people of weak faith.
~There is a mistaken notion that God is only shown by miracles and that we are supposed to go directly and only to Him for everything we need. Sacraments are just another version of this fallacy.
~You don’t need a sacrament to bring you into relationship with God, Jesus did that when He died on the cross for you. Everything else is derivative.
~God is available to all who seek and wait upon Him. These other practices run contrary to this simple truth.
~Sacramental rituals are apostacies because they lead people to mistake outward form for inward substance.
~Sacraments mistakenly treat ongoing spiritual processes as one-time events.

Wacky Wednesday--We Shouldn’t Have Pastors/Priests

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~The word is only used once in the New Testament, and it carries no real explanation with it.
~Having designated leaders sets the whole church up for a fall when those leaders fall away or go astray. How much loss in credibility does Christianity suffer when someone like Ted Haggard or Jim Bakker falls from the stage?
~If you didn’t have pastors, you wouldn’t get cults. Cults are always dominated by particularly charismatic heretics.
~We shouldn’t be going to particular people to get our needs met, we should be going to our close network of people to get them met.
~Having pastors facilitates the clergy/laity distinction which carries with it all sorts of problems like lazy faith, spectator Christianity, and a spiritual caste system.
~Many reject the strict and rigid hierarchical system of the Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, etc. but having a pastor is just a vestigial form of this system.
~It costs money to have a dedicated pastor. Wouldn’t those funds be better used to serve the community?
~Anyone who is baptized can baptize. Anyone who is a Christian can serve communion. Why are pastors necessary?
~Why would you pay one person for his spiritual gifts when you don’t pay everyone for theirs? Is it fair for the pastor to take a salary and ask everyone else to simply volunteer?
~Paying people for spiritual gifts is simply what Simon the Sorcerer wanted, wasn’t it?
~Many people resent pastors, thinking they don’t really do anything. This would eliminate such resentment.

Theological Tuesday

Parables of the mustard seed and leaven.
Bible References: Genesis 18:1-8, Ezekiel 17:22-24, Matt 13:1-52, Matt 16:6-12, Mark 4:1-34, Mark 8:14-21, Luke 12:1-12, Luke 13:10-22, 1 Cor 5:1-8, Gal 5:5-10, Rev 18:1-2

Parable of the Mustard Seed (Forerunner Commentary)

Parable of the Leaven (Forerunner Commentary)

Christian Basics 3: Communion/Lord’s Supper/Eucharist
Bible References: Exodus 12, Matt 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-26, Luke 22:14-20, Luke 24:13-35, John 6:26-58, Acts 2:42-47, Acts 7:20, 1 Cor 10:14-21 , 1 Cor 11:17-34

Change in Comments Protocol

Just an FYI. I have disabled anonymnous comments on my blogs. They are still open to anyone to post, but you have to identify yourself with a Google account or some other form of online ID. I didn't think I would need to do this, but I strongly prefer to know with whom I am speaking. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this may cause any of you.

Ethics Class, Session 14: Criteria 37-40

Tonight we are going to try to get through the next set of criteria in the ethics syllabus. (You can get more information at http://andrewtallmanshowethics.blogspot.com.) This means we will be talking about:

37. Explain Individual Relativism
38. Critique Individual Relativism
39. Explain Cultural Relativism
40. Critique Cultural Relativism

In order to facilitate discussion amongst those of you either taking the class or wanting to discuss these ideas in more depth, I will be posting each of the criteria separately without much (if any) actual explanation simply so you can have your discussions on those particular ideas.

Phoenix Summer Escapes/Day Trips

This is our fifth summer in the Valley of Mild Weather, and so we got away for the day last weekend to Flagstaff. This is the fourth (or so) time we’ve been there, and it occurred to me that we’re probably missing out on cool stuff to do there and elsewhere as well. So, seeing as how it’s over 110 these days, I thought it would be useful to share you favorite places to go to escape the heat of Phoenix in the summer as well as fun to imagine those places. Where do you go to get away from the heat, and specifically what activities or locations or eateries or whatever are your favorites in those destinations?