QotD: Treat People Thusly

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be,
and you help them become what they are capable of being.
--Goethe

Asian Markets Up After Debt Ceiling Agreement

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/asian-investors-anxiously-monitor-us-debt-talks/2011/07/31/gIQAAyq9lI_story.html?wpisrc=al_economy

I guess they're happy that we can keep steering their freight train toward that cliff. Obama is the pragmatic fall guy, demonized by most. He calmly goes about the business of finding something productive that we can agree on. He is willing to disagree with his own party, which is refreshing and hopeful. His positions make sense to me. I have long been disappointed that he could not take on big business more directly. I know he wants to, the socialist pig. Just now though with today's agreement we see that the guys with the corporate jets have as much control over the law as everyone who is afraid to see medicare cut.

Buddhist Sexual Ethics

http://www.buddhanet.net/winton_s.htm
A worthwhile read. Draws a distinction between ethnic religions and universal ones. Ethnic ones are value systems based on maintaining a tribe. Universal ones transcend tribal identity. Non-procreative sex, ie homosexuality, is banned by ethic mores but in universal terms is seen more openly.