Hearing Aid; Iowa Caucus Results; Dishwasher Fix; Supreme Court Dissents; Lack of Free Speech at Universities

"Hey, Joe Vaughan, I hear you got a new hearing aid today..  what kind is it?"
"Four o'clock."

Yes, I got my new hearing aid today and I think that it might actually help me to hear a little of what I've been missing audibly for some time.  We'll see.. or rather.. we'll hear.

IOWA!

Well.... the crazy caucus system in Iowa has come up with the following "winners":

Republicans

1. Cruz 
2. Trump
3. Rubio

Democrats

1. Clinton (but almost tied with:)
2. Sanders

We have one drop-out.... O'Malley.

.. and now... on to New Hampshire for more traditional voting.. although I heard a number of commentators say that the caucus system is more "American."   Maybe.

Gurgle!

Our maintenance department sent a guy around to fix our overflowing dishwasher.  Before it was fixed, I had to stand near by all the time it was running, so that I could bale (sp?) out the overflow sink and keep dirty water from flooding the kitchen floor.  Now I can relax a little.

Once, when my late wife was trying to earn a little money towards our wedding, she signed up to watch some kids.  The parents asked her to hand wash the dirty dishes after she got the kids to bed.  Whoa!  Elaine's family had a dishwasher and there was no way Elaine was ever going to hand wash dishes... so, she quit that job before she started.  And you know what was the first appliance that we bought when we got married. 

And, whenever it became necessary for dishes to be hand-washed.. you know who performed that function.  Just look at my "dish-pan hands."

The Supremes

I am still listening to the Great Courses lectures about the U. S. Supreme Court.  Very interesting to me.  According to the Nation Magazine, the Court's recent decision that struck down State laws that banned gay marriage was Obergefell v. Hodges, which  holds that such laws violate the 14th Amendment's due-process and equal-protection clauses.

Four of the Justices were not happy with the decision and each decided to write separate dissents, a very rare action.  Perhaps these four would like members of our Gay communities beheaded like they could be in certain countries around the world.

I read recently that people who are violently opposed to gay people, suddenly change their opinion when one of their children come "out of the closet."    Remember Dick Chaney and his daughter.

Surely there is Free Speech to be found in Universities

In the latest Nation magazine, Katha Pollitt talks about the lack of free speech in religious colleges.  Think about these things:

Wheaton College in Illinois requires faculty to sign a faith statement declaring their belief in the literal Adam in Genesis.

In 2011, John Schneider, a professor of theology at Calvin College, was forced to retire when he questioned the story of Adam and Eve.

Patrick Henry College (like many others!) insists that its faculty and students profess that every word in the Bible is literally true.

Some Universities (like Yale?) are not allowing students to hear and observe controversial speakers and learn about controversial issues..  May I quote: "If students are being denied a broad, mind-stretching education at universities often considered among the best in the world, what about the biased, blinkered, partial education that students are receiving at religious colleges?...Isn't education supposed to challenge one's settled beliefs?"

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