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Two days before my 37th birthday, my mother confronted me about my beliefs. I didn't handle it well. She had been drinking and had herself worked up about my son and my unwillingness to have him baptized as a Roman Catholic. She said things that hurt me gravely, and I returned the volley. I had always envisioned taking the high road if and when this topic arose. Boy did I blow it. Now my mother and her husband barely speak a courteous word to me. They incorrectly blame my wife for my atheism. My relationship with my mother is, to borrow from Yates, changed utterly.

The arrest of a local Muslim in connection with an alleged terrorist plot against malls has me captivated. I like a good espionage-type story and I really like it when it involves a major religion. The alleged conspirator, Tarrek Mehanna, was a teacher at a Worcester Islamic school. Now the school has issued a statement, which the T&G published in this story (http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091022/NEWS/910220676). One quote leaped off the page:

“Violence and aggression in any way, shape or form is absolutely against the teachings of Islam”

Um,

Once again the battle of thought versus belief is on display at the T&G website. Today's forum centers on the hysteria over seasonal and H1N1 influenza vaccine.

The T&G reports that some 38% of parents are unwilling to allow their children to be vaccinated because of concerns about the vaccines' safety. I donned my NannyBanhammer costume and entered the fray.

There is absolutely no such thing as a safe medical procedure. Never has been, never will be. All medical procedures carry risks. Medical decision making is about weighing the risks of treatment versus the benefits of treatment.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has recently run a series of stories about pit bull terriers. A few weeks ago, a 3-year old city boy was mauled by a neighbor’s pit bull, and the T&G saw fit to publish the boy’s picture, after he had received some 100 stitches to his face. The graphic image apparently served its purpose, as the T&G has continued to publish additional articles about the topic with thinly-veiled editorializing sprinkled in supposed “news.”

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