We live in a time when social and political issues are presented in black and white. One must either be “pro-choice”, that is, in favor of abortion on demand, even in the case of a full-term baby, and even paid for by taxpayer’s who oppose abortion, or “pro-life”, that is, opposed abortion even during the first few weeks of pregnancy, even in the case of rape or incest, even if the child will be mentally or physically impaired, and sometimes even if the health of the mother is at risk. One must favor all tax cuts, even those benefiting only multimillionaires and their heirs, or be opposed to all tax cuts, even if those cuts stimulate the economy sufficiently to increase total government revenue. In fact, the vast majority of Americans do not agree with either extreme position on these and most other issues (or wouldn’t if they ever noticed a choice other than one of the extremes). In the university community we often have “both sides” of an issue presented by extremists in order to achieve a “balanced view;” as if two piles of shit sums to something other than shit! It's time to examine the LOGICAL MIDDLE ground!
Professor Emeritus, Ohio University. Specialization: Demography; Economic Development; Latin America. Served with the 82nd Airborne, 1959-61; Peace Corps in Peru, 1962-64; Guest professor at Universidad de los Andes in Venezuela, Centro Panamericano de Estudios e Investigaciones Geograficas in Ecuador, Escuela Polotecnica del Ejercito in Ecuador, and Chubu University in Japan.
Why are the sun and moon the same size as viewed from earth? All astronomers know this, but it makes them very uncomfortable to talk about it. Why? Because that is a pretty amazing coincidence, with a probability about equal to your probability of winning the lottery twice in a row.
Need proof? Next time the moon is full, extend your hand at arms length and notice that your little fingernail will cover it nicely; then do the same thing the next time you see the sun rising or setting (so you can look at it). In fact, both are about one-half a degree in diameter in our sky, which explains why the moon can eclipse the sun almost perfectly. [Actually, the orbits of the earth and moon are both elliptical so that there is a very tiny difference in the size of the moon (as viewed from earth) from time to time; but let’s not quibble over that.]
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