Wulfie's Wurld

If Christ had been hung instead of crucified, would Christian churches be sporting gibbets from the steeple rather than crosses? Would jewelry worn around the neck be small nooses, perhaps with a miniature figure strangled within? Would the game of hangman be considered blasphemous?

Isn't "Santa Claus" the same as "Saint Nicholas" and isn't he the Patron Saint of thieves? Isn't that why when you "nick" something, what you've really done is stolen it? We ask "Saint Nick" for things at Christmas, but as we check our wallets, hasn't something been nicked from us? And if we consider the government to be our Santa Claus, what happens on the Ides of April?

Why do Protestant churches have something against singing Christmas carols in Latin? Why do they have a block against singing about the Virgin Mary? Isn't Mary considered to be Biblical? And if you buy into the story, wouldn't the mother of God have to be at least extraordinary? And if you don't understand the words in Latin, so what? Do you understand the words in instrumental music? Doesn't Latin, as a language, have a certain music other languages don't? Can't songs be sung in their original languages for their original musicality?

Why is it that the apparently politically motivated right-wing Christian fundies have decided to make an issue out of Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays? Were there no other more pressing molehills to molest? Aren't these the same Christian fundies who think the Catholic Church is the "whore of Babylon?" Don't they realize that "Christmas" comes from the Catholic "Christ's Mass?" Or that "holiday" comes from the non-denominational "Holy Day?" Is it possible they have their ornament on backwards?

Remember back shortly after 9/11 when many were calling for the head of Osama bin Laden? Granted, it was a feel good, warm and fuzzy emotional response, but was it wise? Would blowing him away on site be equivalent to blowing Saddam Hussein away on site? Don't the Iraqi people need to come to closure on this? Don't we need some kind of closure ourselves? Wouldn't it do us and the world good to see him on trial for the psychopathic criminal he is, and not some holy man? Where is he now, by the way?

What is "cruel and inhuman" punishment? Since freedom seems to be natural state of humans, according to some, couldn't prison be considered inhumane? Is what happened in Abu Grabe, for example, cruel or inhuman? Which parts? Or should we consider bringing backs stocks and pillory? Where is the line between cruel and not cruel, inhuman and humane?

Since we have the right to a speedy trial, shouldn't we also have a right to a speedy execution? How is it possible that it takes two and a half decades for the appeals process to run its course? Do we really want our death row inmates to die of old age first? Do we really want to give these people a chance to do something worthwhile? Wouldn't it be best to spare ourselves the embarrassment of putting to death Nobel Prize nominees?

If you do something illegal, are you a criminal? What if you don't get caught? What if it's victimless? Are speed limits laws, or suggestions? Is there a cutoff point between criminal illegality and non-criminal illegality? Is there a priority order for laws?

Did God place a literal Adam and Eve in a literal Garden of Eden? Did God create genetic markers and the principles that govern changes to those markers? If so, why is God telling two different stories? If it can be said that scientists may not understand the science, couldn't it also be said that believers may not understand the Bible?

If being hauled into court is no joke, why are there so many lawyer jokes? Do we still trust a system that spills McDonald's coffee into O.J.'s lap? Should we, instead of being hauled, begin overhauling?

It's a common rule of thumb on the Internet that if a person invokes Hitler, or invokes Nazism, they have automatically lost the debate/argument. Who decided that rule? Who does that rule benefit? And what if there are definite parallels or patterns showing up that seem alarmingly similar to our friendly neighborhood fascists? Are we not allowed to mention it?

If lowering taxes is good for the economy, shouldn't lowering them more be better? Would getting rid of them all together be best? Or is there a balance point below which taxes shouldn't go? What would that balance point be? Wouldn't that point be where the income from taxes balances the spending of the government? If so, what should happen when spending goes down? What should happen when spending goes up? What would happen when the balance is destroyed? Should that be a concern? Or is lowering taxes not good for the economy?