I just figured out how to view my audience for this blog. I have readers in the United States, South Korea, Australia, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Germany, China, and Russia. It's a bit shocking. I'm trying to figure out how my little shack on Mayne Island could have garnered readers from such far and wide locales. It makes me feel like I should be saying something quite profound on a daily basis... Unfortunately, I'm not that talented a writer. In any case, a big welcome from Canada to you all!

There is not much to report on the cottage. Just basic tinkering as we get set to install the ceilings and walls. Buying the built-in vacuum has delayed things a bit as it has to be plumbed in. The weather is turning a bit chilly as of late, and if we don't get the walls up, there is no heat. Mayne Island can be very cold at night - even in summer I like to have flannel sheets on the bed. Lorenzo is hoping to take a week off sometime in September and just go full steam ahead. He really needs to get this finished as it's taken quite a toll on him - he doesn't like taking time away from the business and will feel a huge sense of relief when this is finally done.

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I am wondering how it is that a nit-wit like Mitt Romney has managed to secure the Republican nomination for the presidency. This guy should have a giant eggo-waffle affixed to his forehead. One day he is adamantly pro-choice. Then he declares himself an advocate of the pro-life movement. This sort of political hypocrissy and dishonesty should throw one's entire credibility out the window. This is not a trivial issue.

Romney has a net-worth of about 250-million dollars, the bulk of which seems to be mysteriously socked away in off-shore accounts. A member of the richest one-percent he repeatedly asserts that Obama's policies have deepened the recession - blatant lies and distortions which only serve to indicate his contempt for the intelligence of the average American. He is a reflection of all that is morally bankrupt in the Republican Party. He doesn't believe global warming to be human caused; while governor of Massachussetts he cut funding for environmental protection by a third. He disagrees with the Kyoto protocol. On and on it goes...

But most disturbing to me is his religion. Not Mormonism specificially, but religion in general. His contention that social change cannot occur without "dependence on God" sends a cold chill down my spine. There are no persons more dangerous to the future of this planet than the religious. When pressed, they will generally espouse the belief that everything is ultimately pre-ordained, fated, god's will, and/or a sign of the coming apocalypse. If life sucks on earth, there is always the glory of an after-life to look forward to. We can float around on fluffy clouds while looking down on a planet in ruins. The bible gives man dominion over nature, so destroying the planet is sanctioned by God anyway. So who cares if snapping turtles are facing extinction?

There is something wrong when a politician refuses to disclose his tax returns because it's "against" his religion. And we allow it. The press allows it. No one else is granted such privacy when running for public office - every possible skeleton is revealed for public consumption -  but if you're religious, somehow you are exempt. You're protected. We now have Moslems demanding that public schools allow time away from classes for prayer. The girls have to sit behind the boys because they're second-class citizens, and if they happen to be menstruating, they can't attend prayers at all. We can't say "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending someone but we'll allow this. When did ignorance become not only acceptable, but something to be accomodated?

And who is going to stand up for freedom from religion if the United States ends up with a president who wears magic underwear? Somehow, the most important tenent of the constitution is being disregarded. The First Amendment was an acknowledgement that separation of church and state was central to American democracy. "God" should not even be allowed in any political discussion or debate; it just opens the door to medieval thinking and stupidity. Instead of moving forward, we move backward. In the year 2012 we are still debating evolution...because of religion.