Ask Steph

Ok then, so I'm still waiting for Lee Kavanagh from the Drug Law Reform Party to reply , and haven't managed to track down contact details for Trevor Bishop from Family First. I did leave a request on the Family First website , but they haven't responded. I could probably guess most of Trev's replies though, especially on his party's policies on treating the LGBTQI community with fairness and human decency. My inclination to defend your right of religious freedom strains when you start using your religion as an excuse to enforce your view of how other should live their lives, when it has no effect on you. I can only feel desperately sorry for you, that your marriage and relationship with your children is so fragile that the mere thought of 2 men getting married is sufficient to lay waste to those relationships completely. Also there are several studies , from people without any religious agenda, that backup the reality that children who are loved by their pare...

So many stories start with those words.  Funny stories , sad stories , tragedies ... it's hard not to add on your own leanings as you hear or read them. So much is going around about  Oscar Pistorius at the moment, opinions, strong feelings, some fanaticism on both sides of the fence. I'm not going to go through what I think, I do believe there is far too much pre-judging going on at the moment, but I will share with you something that happened to me about 4 days go, and let you draw your own conclusions. I woke up around 5:30 am , unable to sleep, it was a hot muggy night and morning ( Melbourne has been averaging the high 30's for the last week , with unbearable humidity ) . I was feeling down , as my mother's visit was coming to an end , and all of this added up to me being unable to sleep very well. It was pitch dark in our room, the blinds are flipping brilliant at blocking out almost every smidgen of ambient and street light . I got up quietly , so a...

Just so we are clear - I am talking in philosophical terms here - not about specific people , or any particular incidents that may or may not have happened to me in the recent ( or distant ) past. I am expressing my beliefs and comments on world affairs. No more. This is a personal opinion, and it does not change my view of my Christian friends and family, whom I love dearly.  :  Christians think of themselves as a flock of sheep , following their shepherd. And truly - I cannot think of a more truthful analogy. There are few things more comforting that knowing that all the hard decisions in life are already made for you. You don't need think about all those really tough ethical issues - like what is right and wrong exactly , and how to determine whether your construct of the universe works well or not. It's handed to you , a ready made rule book , with a knowledge expert ( priest/ pastor/ counselor ) who will help you to understand something , or just t...

so - where does one draw the line between freedom and safety. And is it fair to assume that just because people say they have your safety at heart , that they really do ? Call me cynical , but I find the whole US reaction to this Wikileaks embarrassment a trifle vain. Who the hell are they to decide that we don't need to know about things in our own countries ? Who the hell are they to decide what's best for the rest of the world ? Who is Hillary Clinton except some snotty woman who thinks that because she says so , it must be so .... ? Anyone with 'Top Secret' across their communications deserves what they get when they start using 'Top Secret' to cover up things that have no business being 'Top Secret' . I couldn't give a rats ass if the US relations are damaged with Australia , The UK , or any other country for that matter. It's about bloody time to be frank. We should have marched to our own drumbeat decades ago. I don't buy for one...

Just read a really dreadful news article about gays and lesbians across Africa being persecuted , raped , and killed. So ... *climbing onto the soapbox* Seems some people have yet to understand that silly notion, where it's immoral , to kill people for their sexual orientation. I use the word orientation and not preference, because preference implies that there is choice. And having learnt a small amount about genetics in my years at University, I have come to the conclusion that this is , unfortunately,  one of those things that genetics and not environment determines the most. I say it's unfortunate, because I  believe that given a choice , a great many people would not choose a life of persecution , pain and suffering. I am certain no-one would choose to be different in such a way as to induce pure unadulterated hatred. Being male or female , is about so much more than just the bits that come with your body. We know this for a fact. There are t...