Mike C Sees

“The phrase ‘under God’ was added to the Pledge by Congress in 1954, and the Supreme Court has not ruled on its constitutionality. Representing the U.S. government, Solicitor General Theodore Olson avoided the notion that ‘under God’ had a current religious meaning. Olson argued that the phrase is viewed as an ‘acknowledgement’ of religion’s role in the lives of America’s founders. Under a 1985 court opinion, such acknowledgements amount to a ‘patriotic exercise’ and not an ‘endorsement,’ Olson said.”

“[Justice Breyer said] Congress also could have a right to insert the phrase “under God” into the Pledge because ‘it serves the purpose of unification.’ The phrase, the justice said, could be ‘meant to include everybody’ in a statement of common purpose. ” [Yahoo! News]

Saw a video on Accuweather with a nice shot of the five planet alignment thing that’s going on overhead this week

“Through the mid-20th century, medical students typically spent hundreds of hours dissecting. Working in small groups with scalpels and scissors, they would tease out every major structure in the body, including tendons, arteries and nerves, memorizing dozens of tortuous pathways and hundreds of Latin names in the process. But as the focus of medical science has shifted from whole organs to cells and molecules, more and more teaching hours are consumed by molecular biology and genetics.” [NY Times]

“The plaintiffs contend the new documents show that Microsoft violated nondisclosure agreements with Go, and then used that information to build PenWindows, a competitor to Go’s PenPoint operating system. The documents included Microsoft’s internal e-mail messages showing that it had detailed knowledge of Go’s product plans. ” [NY Times]

“‘We think this is good advice whether the drugs did it or not,’ said Dr. Robert Temple, associate director of medical policy at the agency. ‘If someone commits suicide, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s the drug or the underlying disease. In either case, you need to pay attention.’”

“The drugs in the warning are: Prozac; Zoloft; Paxil; Wellbutrin; Luvox, from Solvay; Celexa and Lexapro, from Forest Laboratories Inc.; Effexor, from Wyeth; Serzone, from Bristol-Myers Squibb; and Remeron, from Akzo Nobel.” [NY Times]

An author named Michael Gelb has developed the Seven Da Vincian Principles, [How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci : Seven Steps to Genius Every Day], a guide to life based largely on the ideas in da Vinci’s notebooks. They are:

• “Curiosita- An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.
• Dimostrazione- A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
• Sensazione- The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.
• Sfumato- A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
• Arte/Scienza- The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination. “Whole-brain” thinking.
• Corporalita- The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
• Connessione- A recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Systems thinking.”

NYTimes Driving

This site offers some nice gifts, best of all the free gift of this movie, with these wise reminders for us all:

“What surprises you most about humankind?
That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again;
That they lose their health to make money, and then lose their money to restore their health;
That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future;
That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived.

As a parent what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?
To learn they cannot make anyone love them - All they can do is let themselves be loved;
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others;
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness;
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them;
To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least;
To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply do not yet know how to express or show their feelings;
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently
To learn that it is no enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.

My time is eternity. Just know that I am here. Always.”

[theInterviewWithGod.com]

“The toll of global poverty is a scandal. But deploring economic injustice is no answer” [Economist.com]

When I recently read Thomas Cahill’s book on The World Before and After Jesus, it included my first reading on the Shroud of Turin. It is obviously a much-discussed topic, and today I note The Shroud of Turin and the Resurrection Problem - an Anglican/Episcopal perspective