Maybe

"I'm not going to make the argument here, but say you had a logical debate about gay marriage, say on some famous blog, and at the end you realized that legalizing gay marriage would make for a more stable nation and generally happier people all around, then wouldn't you, as a good citizen, have to cast your vote in favor of it?"

Maybe, but that's not what happened. When Michigan voted to amend their constitution to prohibit gay marriage, I don't remember anyone making that argument. I understand that, since then, some people have changed their minds about the issue, but I still haven't heard that argument advanced until now and, even now, you say that you are not going to make the argument here. If you or anyone else could convince me that gay marriage is good for the country and will make most people in it happier, I might reconsider my position. Since it is now a done deal, only time will tell what the long term effects will be. Meanwhile, I still don't approve of it on general principles.

Cecil was in the news again tonight. With what information I got from that, and the information you have provided, I can now say that I don't approve of the way Cecil was killed. Apparently the government of Zimbabwe doesn't approve either because they are prosecuting the guide who set the whole thing up. They would like to prosecute the hunter too, but he is back home in the States and they would have to extradite him to prosecute him. I understand there is substantial sentiment both here and abroad for them to do just that, but it remains to be seen if they will actually do it. International extradition procedures can be touchy. They are usually spelled out in treaties, and I don't think we have the same treaty with every country, so I don't know what it would take to make it happen in this case.

Like I said, I am no expert on African hunting practices but, from what I have read over the years, I'm pretty sure that most trophy hunts are not conducted like that. Of course there are unethical hunters and guides all over the world, but there are also lots of ethical ones. I would like to believe that the ethical ones are in the majority, but I have no evidence to either confirm or refute that claim. All I can say with certainty is that the unethical ones do not write for the magazines that I read.

I have never had the desire to go off to some exotic place and shoot some exotic game. Even Alaska was too exotic for my taste. I do understand that some people are into that sort of thing and, as long as they do it ethically and responsibly, they are okay in my book.

I don't think that lions are endangered all over Africa. As with all wildlife, the habitat will only support so many of them in so many square miles. When the saturation point has been reached, you can either skim off the surplus or let Mother Nature do it herself. Either way, it's not pretty. National Geographic had an article about African lions awhile back. They said that the biggest cause of lion mortality is other lions. Males will frequently gang up to overthrow an alpha male, and then fight among themselves over his womenfolk. As soon as one of them establishes dominance, he goes around and kills all the cubs from the previous marriage so that the girl lions will come into heat faster. I understand that feral house cats will do the same thing if they get a chance. They don't call her "Mother Nature" for nothing you know.