Thursday, May 17, 2012

Homosexuality and HIV

Dear Reader,

I was chatting with a friend of mine (we'll call him Mark) who remarked, off-hand, that he didn't think that homosexuality was that damaging of an issue, and thus as Christians we should not be vocal on preventing homosexuality. As we talked, I remember hearing from somewhere that homosexuality placed men at greater risk of contracting HIV, but I could not remember a citation off the top of my head (for a researcher, this is painful, btw). So over the following posts, I am beginning my cataloging of some of my findings for a future article on the topic.

First of all, I decided to go to one of the most qualified sources (and usually anti-whatever-my-position-is sources) available: the American Medical Association. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), for all of the bad press I may give it every now and then, is actually a fantastic collection of articles, studies, and informative materials that will keep you up-to-speed on what is going on in your world in the realm of human health and treatment. They had an article from 2000 regarding a study on internet sexual solicitation and the rise in HIV, which I found fascinating because it included whether the individual was heterosexual or homosexual in their study and analysis.

According to the article summary, "internet seekers were more likely to be men (P<.001) and homosexual (P<.001)," along several other indicators that those who seek partners via the internet 1) are homosexual, and 2) are HIV positive. Now, this by no means indicates that those who are homosexuals are the same people who contribute to a higher number of people who are HIV positive, but it raises eyebrows as to whether this is purely coincidence or not -- and this type of research is what I will be honing in on in the coming weeks.

Final aim: truly understand what the dangers are that face homosexual couples beyond the soul ramifications that come from the act. Until further research comes, I remain,

Watching the stars,

Centaur

"I watch the stars, for it is mine to watch, as it is your's, Badger, to remember." ~ Glenstorm

Friday, May 11, 2012

The Return: Welcome Back to the Insurgency!

Dear Reader,

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted! Life has changed a lot in the past few years, and now that things are finally settling down, I'm picking up some new topics to assist the old ones. As was originally envisioned for the Insurgency, the plan was to build a resource collection of defenses for absolute truth, the strength and truth of the Gospel, parental rights, traditional marriage, etc., and I find myself now with an opportunity to pursue these interests to the full.

I will also probably be stocking the How with other random projects I'm working on, like some short stories and other pieces of fiction that I'm writing, as well as other random pieces that could use storing here. In any event, if you see a number of highly unrelated topics and articles coming up on the page, just know that this is intentional.

It's good to be back -- now to set the place in order,

Watching the stars,

Centaur