Jonathan's blog

Sometimes at bed time, when Finn Diddle is not quite ready to go to sleep, he gets out of bed and comes to his bedroom door...and falls asleep on the floor:

Everyone's been hearing about the bird flu lately and the potential of a pandemic. Some people are taking the threat very seriously, but I don't think most of us are too concerned.  On the other hand, it's a fact that there have been 10 pandemics in the last 300 years.  Based on that, you'd have to say it's not really a matter of if but of when.  There was an interesting discussion about this on a recent episode of Science Friday, about the disruptions in that there'll be in the economy, distribution systems, etc. if a pandemic strikes.

Another silly controversy...from an article in USA Today:

This Christmas, no prayers will be said in several megachurches around the country. Even though the holiday falls this year on a Sunday, when churches normally host thousands for worship, pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day. Critics within the evangelical community, more accustomed to doing battle with department stores and public schools over keeping religion in Christmas, are stunned by the shutdown. It is almost unheard of for a Christian church to cancel services on a Sunday, and opponents of the closures are accusing these congregations of bowing to secular culture.

From a story in The Washington Post:

Ford Motor Co. said it will stop running ads for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the gay press, helping to avoid a confrontation with conservative Christians but setting up a fight with gays and lesbians. The American Family Association, a conservative religious group, launched a boycott of Ford this year for extending marriage benefits to same-sex couples and giving "thousands of dollars to support homosexual groups and their agenda," the group said in written statement. The group criticized Ford for supporting gay commitment ceremonies and gay pride parades... Ford is the latest company to be ensnared in the culture wars over homosexuality, religion and American culture. Microsoft Corp. became a target of religious groups this year for its support of a Washington state bill to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians. The company withdrew its support for the bill, saying it was not caving to pressure but wanted to avoid taking a stand on a politically sensitive issue. After protest by employees, Microsoft reinstated its support for the anti-discrimination bill. Ford became a target of the American Family Association in May. The association was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of a United Methodist church in Mississippi at the time. It claims to be one of the largest pro-family organizations in the country with nearly 3 million supporters. The association owns 200 radio stations under the American Family Radio name, according to its Web site. In the past, the group has targeted Walt Disney Co. for extending benefits to gay couples and criticized the Fox television series "Boston Public" for sexually oriented story lines.

This, to me, is distasteful. It seems like bullying, meddling.

Here's a photo I borrowed from Grandma B. It's of Finn, Elliot, and Coby playing in the leaves on the day of Coby's birthday party in October: