Runner's Heights: Prop. 8 Licence to Hate

Cumulative mileage: 205 miles

So, we have some answers about the tingling feet, pins and needles, or numbness in the foot during running. I checked several runner's forums and some of the observations seem to be:

* Tight shoes (solution: wear thinner socks; get a larger shoe-size; loosen the laces; be sure that your heel is right against the heel-cup of your running shoe by kicking a wall with the back of your shoe)
* Tightness in the calves -- this was the case during my last run (Solution: stretch your calves midway through your run; try stretching exercise with emphasis on the muscles around the calves)
* Tightness in the veins/arteries around your ankles (Solution: please talk to a qualified sports therapist or an orthopedist)

There might have been a few other recommended solutions but the bottom line is this. If it happens a lot during your runs, please see a doctor or a specialist. Today, I got some Nike, moisture-wicking, thin socks and I will try these on a run because I am really not keen on buying another pair of running shoes.

In this election year in California, one of the hot potatoes is probably going to be Prop 8. In effect, it is a Same-Sex Marriage Ban and implies that "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Once again, it is an effort by religious bigots to decide what the morality and meaning of marriage is. It is not enough that these religious fanatics and sheep are content with following some ancient scripture in deciding what to do with their scripted lives, but they have to define it for others who don't subscribe to their canned-life-out-of-a-holy-book lifestyle. If the Same-Sex-Marriage opponents are so fired up about saving marriage as an institution why don't they use their energies to fuel a California Proposition that makes divorces illegal? For every issue that they raise, the Religious Right conjures up a passage from the scriptures to convince the people that they in morally right. Not too long ago, many sections of the Christian church justified and condoned slavery by conjuring up a relevance between the institution of slavery and biblical morality. Today, they are doing the same, using morality to deny the joy of two same-sex couples who want nothing more than to enjoy the benefits of marital bliss, a right and a choice that should be guaranteed to all citizens of a certain age who wish to enter into matrimony. Talk about dogs in the manger!

To see what happens when theocrats decide on matters of state, just look to Iran and Saudi Arabia. The founding fathers of this nation were right in separating the church from the state. Religious ideologies and dogma have no place in social governance of an egalitarian society composed of believers and non-believers, straight and gay.

Say no to Prop 8!