I really hate it when a message board goes through several revamps, and each time, the older posts get filled with dingbats galore. It's even more of a pain when something you posted is locked, and forever more, your post looks stupid.
I haven't forgotten this blog, but I'm half-occupied with life, and I also happen to be half-apathetic.
**********
To those of you so-called Christians who voted for the person who currently occupies the White House, how's that bean dish tasting now?
Sometimes, I don't know who are the biggest sociopaths, you know what I mean? You are the ones who sold your birthright, and you cannot say that you didn't realize what he was like. He wore his flaws as if they were badges of honor.
Enjoy that bean dish, and eat every stinking bean. After all, you made everyone in this country pay for that stupid dish, and you should eat it.
At this point, I don't really care if the beans are rotten. After all I didn't vote for President Narcissus and Vice President Dense.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Places And Restaurants That Confuse Me, Part One
One restaurant that I have mixed feelings about is Mrs. Wick's Pies, in Winchester, Indiana. While I have eaten Wick's Pies on many occasions (and am rarely disappointed), their restaurant has never really impressed me. I've eaten there twice (once alone, and once with my wife) and both times, while the food was good, the service was extremely lacking.
It's as if the waitresses were being paid to gossip amongst themselves, instead of serving the customers.
The really confusing part is that I read the reviews for this restaurant on both Facebook and Trip Advisor, and the vast majority have had a great experience, and out of all the ones that had a nasty experience, only one had a response from Mrs. Wick's Pies that offered any recompense, with another person commenting that maybe the waitress was new and/or having a bad day.
I'm sorry, I've worked at Pizza Hut, and even when my day sucked, I tried my best to make the customer's order the way it should have been. After all, it wasn't the customer's fault that my day sucked.
Being new is also not an excuse. There is such a thing as training.
The real problem, from my experience working at Pizza Hut, is poor personnel management and poor time management. Of these two, the personnel management is the most important.
A good floor or shift manager will keep his/her wait staff on the ball, and pay attention to their employees and what they are doing - or not doing. He or she will also keep an eye on the customers. If something is amiss, it should be easy to see, address and fix.
A good floor or shift manager will also ensure that their staff - both wait and cook - are properly trained and able to do their jobs. The best wait staff in the world cannot make up for a cook who cannot follow a customized order or cannot cook.
I've been to slow service restaurants before (hard to believe that they're still around in this age of fast food), but from what I've been told Mrs. Wick's Pies takes the cake in slow service.
Yes, I know that pizza establishments are slow service restaurants, too, but that's the nature of the business, which is why Pizza Hut is really pushing its buffet at certain times. After all, you cannot make a pizza two hours before it's needed. The dough, yes, but not the actual pizza. In fact, one of the major strengths of Pizza Hut is that they make their dough fresh daily.
The only restaurant that, in my opinion, compares to Mrs. Wick's Pies in slow service is Steak and Shake. The difference is that every time I've eaten at Steak and Shake, the food is excellent, excepting the supposedly fresh made chili (I have had Hormel's before, you know, and can recognize it very quickly.)
I don't know if they still claim to make their own chili, but I don't order it anymore. Their drive-thru window also cracks me up. That's another story, anyway.
The time management factor is important, no matter if your restaurant is a fast-food operation or a slow-food place. You have to get the orders done in their proper order, you have to serve customers in their proper order.
If a customer has to wait ten minutes for their drinks, you're doing it wrong. If you have carbonized burgers or shrimp or fries going out to your customers, you're doing it wrong. One review even stated that they sent their food back and the cooks simply refried it and tried to sent it back as fresh.
Guess what? Just because you or your cooks might've read George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London doesn't mean that you can get away with the same stunts he mentions happened in both Hotel X and Auberge de Jehan Cottard. In other words, you are doing it wrong.
A good manager, whether or not he/she is a martinet, will keep a restaurant humming along, and try to keep the problems to a bare minimum. The staff will still have time to chit-chat, but not at the expense of the customers.
A bad manager is usually one who is ruled by his/her staff, or one who ignores both staff and customers.
In the end, I'm inclined to believe that the biggest problem with Mrs. Wick's Pies is that the management ignores both the staff and the customers. With a strong wait/cook staff, that can overcome the bad management...for the most part. But there are hiccups, even then, and the biggest sign of management that is apathetic is that they ignore most of the complaints.
When I worked at Pizza Hut - mostly pre-Internet - we were warned that very few people actually verbally complained of a problem. Most of them simply let it simmer, and then they'd tell their friends and family. We were told that one unreported bad experience could potentially translate into ten lost customers.
Nowadays, you have such things as Facebook, Trip Advisor and Yelp, which is a tool that management in my time would've loved to have. Only one attempt to fix a problem on Facebook tells any potential customer of Mrs. Wick's Pies all you need to know about whether you should go to someplace.
For me, I'll avoid the restaurant and get a pie instead.
Though, to be honest, my wife makes a better sugar cream pie. It goes without saying that she also makes a better chocolate cream pie.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
It's as if the waitresses were being paid to gossip amongst themselves, instead of serving the customers.
The really confusing part is that I read the reviews for this restaurant on both Facebook and Trip Advisor, and the vast majority have had a great experience, and out of all the ones that had a nasty experience, only one had a response from Mrs. Wick's Pies that offered any recompense, with another person commenting that maybe the waitress was new and/or having a bad day.
I'm sorry, I've worked at Pizza Hut, and even when my day sucked, I tried my best to make the customer's order the way it should have been. After all, it wasn't the customer's fault that my day sucked.
Being new is also not an excuse. There is such a thing as training.
The real problem, from my experience working at Pizza Hut, is poor personnel management and poor time management. Of these two, the personnel management is the most important.
A good floor or shift manager will keep his/her wait staff on the ball, and pay attention to their employees and what they are doing - or not doing. He or she will also keep an eye on the customers. If something is amiss, it should be easy to see, address and fix.
A good floor or shift manager will also ensure that their staff - both wait and cook - are properly trained and able to do their jobs. The best wait staff in the world cannot make up for a cook who cannot follow a customized order or cannot cook.
I've been to slow service restaurants before (hard to believe that they're still around in this age of fast food), but from what I've been told Mrs. Wick's Pies takes the cake in slow service.
Yes, I know that pizza establishments are slow service restaurants, too, but that's the nature of the business, which is why Pizza Hut is really pushing its buffet at certain times. After all, you cannot make a pizza two hours before it's needed. The dough, yes, but not the actual pizza. In fact, one of the major strengths of Pizza Hut is that they make their dough fresh daily.
The only restaurant that, in my opinion, compares to Mrs. Wick's Pies in slow service is Steak and Shake. The difference is that every time I've eaten at Steak and Shake, the food is excellent, excepting the supposedly fresh made chili (I have had Hormel's before, you know, and can recognize it very quickly.)
I don't know if they still claim to make their own chili, but I don't order it anymore. Their drive-thru window also cracks me up. That's another story, anyway.
The time management factor is important, no matter if your restaurant is a fast-food operation or a slow-food place. You have to get the orders done in their proper order, you have to serve customers in their proper order.
If a customer has to wait ten minutes for their drinks, you're doing it wrong. If you have carbonized burgers or shrimp or fries going out to your customers, you're doing it wrong. One review even stated that they sent their food back and the cooks simply refried it and tried to sent it back as fresh.
Guess what? Just because you or your cooks might've read George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London doesn't mean that you can get away with the same stunts he mentions happened in both Hotel X and Auberge de Jehan Cottard. In other words, you are doing it wrong.
A good manager, whether or not he/she is a martinet, will keep a restaurant humming along, and try to keep the problems to a bare minimum. The staff will still have time to chit-chat, but not at the expense of the customers.
A bad manager is usually one who is ruled by his/her staff, or one who ignores both staff and customers.
In the end, I'm inclined to believe that the biggest problem with Mrs. Wick's Pies is that the management ignores both the staff and the customers. With a strong wait/cook staff, that can overcome the bad management...for the most part. But there are hiccups, even then, and the biggest sign of management that is apathetic is that they ignore most of the complaints.
When I worked at Pizza Hut - mostly pre-Internet - we were warned that very few people actually verbally complained of a problem. Most of them simply let it simmer, and then they'd tell their friends and family. We were told that one unreported bad experience could potentially translate into ten lost customers.
Nowadays, you have such things as Facebook, Trip Advisor and Yelp, which is a tool that management in my time would've loved to have. Only one attempt to fix a problem on Facebook tells any potential customer of Mrs. Wick's Pies all you need to know about whether you should go to someplace.
For me, I'll avoid the restaurant and get a pie instead.
Though, to be honest, my wife makes a better sugar cream pie. It goes without saying that she also makes a better chocolate cream pie.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
An Idyllic Home Life, It Was Not
You know, it took me a long enough time to come to the realization and conclusion that my mother never really liked cooking for others. Yes, she cooked for my Dad, as well as for my sister and I when we were growing up. I just know for certain now that her heart was never in it.
From the things I've heard her say over the years, my mother preferred to sit back and be served, rather than being the one who served others. Even as a Christian who is called to served others, she wanted to be the one being served.
Don't believe me? When we would come home from church, she'd get herself a cup of coffee and sit down. After all, she wasn't hungry. It didn't take long for Dad to get the hint, and he'd start cooking.
She used to tell me and my sister about the time she went on a drive-in theater triple date, with one of her sisters and a friend. The boys, out of a sense of duty/obligation, would offer to buy the girls a soft drink and a sandwich. My aunt and the friend refused the sandwich, but took the soft drink. My mom would take both.
After the date, my aunt and their friend would chew out my mother. "You know he couldn't afford both!" they would say. "Why did you do that to him?"
My mother's proud response was, "If he couldn't afford it, he shouldn't have offered that to me."
A fair response...to an extent. She knew that he couldn't afford it, but if there's one quality my mom possesses and is willing to use, is that she will exploit any loophole to benefit herself. She would put Dad on a diet, but have the freezer in the garage loaded with every chocolate candy and ice cream snack she wanted.
Now, I am aware that cooking is not just the woman's purview, and that men do cook. After all, I do cook sometimes (not as much as I'd like), but do not promote yourself as a provider if you are not willing to live up to it.
Dad worked swing shift for so many years (I do NOT recommend it), so on many nights, at dinner time, he'd be at work. When we had learned enough to cook the basics, Mom refused to fix us anything and told us to fend for ourselves. She'd leave my sister and I to our own devices.
When my sister and I grew up and moved out, Dad took over more and more of the cooking duties...until he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, that is. Then, she tried to feed him, as his appetite and thirst diminished. Her attempts to keep his weight up became somewhat desperate.
That demise was heartbreaking to watch. Not only did I lose my Dad, I saw my mother lose her husband and how much it tore her up.
Yes, despite my earlier comments, my parents really loved each other.
But, when Dad died, her cooking experiences dropped down enough to be considered nearly non-existent. She eats out a lot, and I'm not sure she remembers how to cook a lot of food she used to make.
Hey, if you can afford it, and want it, then eat out. After, I'm pretty libertarian in many regards. That is your right, just as it is hers.
But, I could never picture my mother-in-law doing the same. Yes, my in-laws do get carry out a lot more than they used to, but my wife's mother still cooks a lot of their meals.
When my wife and her brother were growing up, even through their teens, their mother still cooked all their meals for them - without complaint. Why? She saw it as her responsibility.
If I were to visit my mother, we would sit in the living room and talk until I left. Visiting my in-laws would be a whole lot different. My mother-in-law would offer me something to drink and/or food, and then we'd visit. She'd even give me a care package to take home for everyone there, including me.
The funny thing is that I pictured myself as having the normal home life when I grew up. In some respects, we did have one, but not in all of them.
That's sad, when I think back on it.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
From the things I've heard her say over the years, my mother preferred to sit back and be served, rather than being the one who served others. Even as a Christian who is called to served others, she wanted to be the one being served.
Don't believe me? When we would come home from church, she'd get herself a cup of coffee and sit down. After all, she wasn't hungry. It didn't take long for Dad to get the hint, and he'd start cooking.
She used to tell me and my sister about the time she went on a drive-in theater triple date, with one of her sisters and a friend. The boys, out of a sense of duty/obligation, would offer to buy the girls a soft drink and a sandwich. My aunt and the friend refused the sandwich, but took the soft drink. My mom would take both.
After the date, my aunt and their friend would chew out my mother. "You know he couldn't afford both!" they would say. "Why did you do that to him?"
My mother's proud response was, "If he couldn't afford it, he shouldn't have offered that to me."
A fair response...to an extent. She knew that he couldn't afford it, but if there's one quality my mom possesses and is willing to use, is that she will exploit any loophole to benefit herself. She would put Dad on a diet, but have the freezer in the garage loaded with every chocolate candy and ice cream snack she wanted.
Now, I am aware that cooking is not just the woman's purview, and that men do cook. After all, I do cook sometimes (not as much as I'd like), but do not promote yourself as a provider if you are not willing to live up to it.
Dad worked swing shift for so many years (I do NOT recommend it), so on many nights, at dinner time, he'd be at work. When we had learned enough to cook the basics, Mom refused to fix us anything and told us to fend for ourselves. She'd leave my sister and I to our own devices.
When my sister and I grew up and moved out, Dad took over more and more of the cooking duties...until he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, that is. Then, she tried to feed him, as his appetite and thirst diminished. Her attempts to keep his weight up became somewhat desperate.
That demise was heartbreaking to watch. Not only did I lose my Dad, I saw my mother lose her husband and how much it tore her up.
Yes, despite my earlier comments, my parents really loved each other.
But, when Dad died, her cooking experiences dropped down enough to be considered nearly non-existent. She eats out a lot, and I'm not sure she remembers how to cook a lot of food she used to make.
Hey, if you can afford it, and want it, then eat out. After, I'm pretty libertarian in many regards. That is your right, just as it is hers.
But, I could never picture my mother-in-law doing the same. Yes, my in-laws do get carry out a lot more than they used to, but my wife's mother still cooks a lot of their meals.
When my wife and her brother were growing up, even through their teens, their mother still cooked all their meals for them - without complaint. Why? She saw it as her responsibility.
If I were to visit my mother, we would sit in the living room and talk until I left. Visiting my in-laws would be a whole lot different. My mother-in-law would offer me something to drink and/or food, and then we'd visit. She'd even give me a care package to take home for everyone there, including me.
The funny thing is that I pictured myself as having the normal home life when I grew up. In some respects, we did have one, but not in all of them.
That's sad, when I think back on it.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Monday, July 3, 2017
I Keep Hoping For Better, But It Isn't Easy
I keep hoping for something to change, something to give me at least a little bit of hope, but so far I've seen nothing improve.
Is it too much to ask that President Donald Trump actually act like the President of the United States, and not like he's in one of these annoying reality shows? It's as if he's competing with the Kardashians and their hangers-on for attention.
As for those of you who voted for him, I wonder about you. I wonder about your intelligence, your maturity, and whether or not you're just as misogynistic and nihilistic as he is.
Look the words up. If you don't have a dictionary in your house, that's your fault.
I'll keep praying for him, but he makes it difficult.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Is it too much to ask that President Donald Trump actually act like the President of the United States, and not like he's in one of these annoying reality shows? It's as if he's competing with the Kardashians and their hangers-on for attention.
As for those of you who voted for him, I wonder about you. I wonder about your intelligence, your maturity, and whether or not you're just as misogynistic and nihilistic as he is.
Look the words up. If you don't have a dictionary in your house, that's your fault.
I'll keep praying for him, but he makes it difficult.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Monday, May 29, 2017
Fourth Bean Dish Question
I'm back with another question for those Bible-believing Christians who threw their full support (and votes) to Donald Trump.
How's that bean dish tasting right now?
Does it still taste good to you? Of course, if you happen to think that people who are in less fortunate situations are nothing more than godless moochers who deserve to be poor, then the bean dish probably tastes pretty good. You also probably ignore the numerous Bible verses on how we should treat the poor.
Just saying.
If, however, you still have your conscience, I'm betting that you're starting to dread the taste and would just wish it was all over.
After all, when betting between a "crusading politician" and "The Swamp", it's a safe bet that the so-called crusader doesn't really care if he drains the swamp or not, and your vote for him merely served his purposes.
Just saying.
I'll ask you again later on, so that the dish has a bit of time to "ripen" even more.
Peace be unto you.
How's that bean dish tasting right now?
Does it still taste good to you? Of course, if you happen to think that people who are in less fortunate situations are nothing more than godless moochers who deserve to be poor, then the bean dish probably tastes pretty good. You also probably ignore the numerous Bible verses on how we should treat the poor.
Just saying.
If, however, you still have your conscience, I'm betting that you're starting to dread the taste and would just wish it was all over.
After all, when betting between a "crusading politician" and "The Swamp", it's a safe bet that the so-called crusader doesn't really care if he drains the swamp or not, and your vote for him merely served his purposes.
Just saying.
I'll ask you again later on, so that the dish has a bit of time to "ripen" even more.
Peace be unto you.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
The Values, Part One
This is the first in a series of posts on some of my values - tenets that I use (or try to, at least) to guide me as I go through my life. Some are biblical, while others come from personal experience and have been sharpened into my very existence by the pain that caused the lesson in the first place.
Value One: Nothing is worth massive stress. Nothing.
It's no secret within my family that I hated working at Pizza Hut. A few uninformed among them believe that it is because I'm supposedly lazy. I say "uninformed", because it is much nicer than calling them "ignorant morons" or "idiots". I worked for Pizza Hut for almost ten years, six of them as a store assistant manager. You cannot be lazy and work in that position. I would never have lasted that long in that position, had that accusation actually been true.
Now, I have nothing against Pizza Hut personally, but it was a placeholding job that kept the bills paid and protected my family with much-needed insurance. So, until I finished my schooling and went out into the workforce, I was stuck in a job that filled me with a lot of stress and pretty much ruined my days off.
One day, when I was going straight from a history class to work, I tossed my bookbag in the car trunk, along with my car keys, and shut the hatch.
I cannot describe the next ten to fifteen seconds. What I do know is that it involved a mixture of panic, anxiety, and fury. After all, my car doors were still locked, and my spare set was at my apartment with my wife (nearly a mile away).
Then my rational self took over. First, I put more coins in the parking meter. Ball State University's parking ticketers were a diligent lot (they still are, as of 2017), because, despite the university's claims that it was a non-profit institution, it actively searches for any way they can legally extract more money from their students, faculty, staff, and just about anyone who comes onto their property and surrounding areas. It's as if a swarm of mosquitos has found a nudist camp. That's how actively they go after others and their money.
That's another subject, however.
Next, I called the Pizza Hut store where I worked (during this time, Muncie, Indiana had five Pizza Huts to choose from) and reported that I was going to be late.
Then, seeing as there were no nearby shuttle buses, I walked towards my apartment. As I said before, I had nearly a mile of walking to undertake.
As I walked, I learned a truth that many people have already known. Walking clears your mind. Their is a reason that so many Old Testament prophets went on a journey with nothing more than the clothing on their backs. Walking leaves you alone with the Lord, and "baggage" only gets in the way.
By the time I got home, I was in a near-Zen state. I retrieved the spare set of keys and made it to a shuttle bus, then back to my car. I was in such a relaxed and calm state that I came up with that value on the spot.
I even tried my hand at translating it into ancient Greek, though I'm not too sure I did it right.
That value has helped me keep things in perspective quite a few times over the years.
After all, in ten years, locked keys in a car trunk is simply going to be a nothing event that happened some time back. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't even matter at all.
That value has recently been a real help in dealing with people who try to manipulate my emotions and feelings.
I've mentioned in a previous post that I don't listen to talk radio because of how they are able to manipulate one's feelings. They actively try to put stress into one's life for their own benefit.
That's why, on hearing about former Fox News Channel chairman Roger Ailes's recent death, all I can say is "Rest in peace," and that's it. Ailes, more than any one person recently, worked hard to terrify people about the Clintons, President and Michelle Obama, poor people, minorities, Democrats, immigrants, foreigners - any group of people who was - in his network's view - trying to destroy a conservative's way of life.
Based on the success of Fox News Channel and the election of Donald Trump into the presidency, he succeeded. And, as a result, a lot of people are scared, stressed out, and angry for no real legitimate reason whatsoever. Why would they do this to their viewers/listeners?
It's simple, actually. Fear sells. If you can be scared silly into believing that Barack Obama will order that your guns or wealth be confiscated, then you can be "convinced" into buying what their commercials are selling.
After all, the use of fear has driven up the sales of guns and weaponry to the private sector, not to mention the sales of hidden survival shelters (what used to be called "Fallout Shelters" or "Bomb Shelters". It also is used to push up the sales of survival foods and the investment in gold.
Not that I'm putting down investment firms, gun dealers, or those who supply the so-called "Survivalist" market. Not at all. After all, I invest money, I am pro-gun, and I find the survival market interesting to read about, but if you can be convinced that by eating a particular candy bar (or washing with a particular brand of soap), you'll be protected from the "looney lefties", then sales to panicked conservatives can, and almost certainly will, be increased.
Don't think that liberals are immune to this. Those who are in a panic over President Trump are just as likely to be manipulated as the conservatives are.
Most name brands have the desire to increase their sales no matter what! But, in doing so, they do not want to be labeled with anything that shuts out another market.
That is also another subject.
My point is that I have too much of my life to live to waste it hating (or fearing) people a particular news channel tells me to hate.
My life is too important to waste it blaming a class of people that others tell me I should blame for my problems. That's the kind of nonsense that Nazi Germany used to stir up hatred against the Jews, by the way.
I don't have the time to waste my life on fear. If you're willing to let a news channel use tools on you that the Third Reich used on its citizens, then I pity you.
I don't have the time to waste my life on unnecessary stress, nor do I have the time to let others introduce unnecessary stress on my life.
Now, what about a death in the family or news of a catastrophic illness? After all, such events can throw the most ordered life into a turmoil and cause a lot of emotional havoc.
This might sound facetious, but even those events are not worth massive stress.
I am being serious here. Stress and worry, while normal reactions, do not help the situation. We have little to no control over such things, so we should work on what we can control. That includes lifestyle changes that improves one's physical and mental health, plus praying for others as well as ourselves.
It may not seem like much, but it's such an important step.
After all, we shouldn't stress ourselves out, you know.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Value One: Nothing is worth massive stress. Nothing.
It's no secret within my family that I hated working at Pizza Hut. A few uninformed among them believe that it is because I'm supposedly lazy. I say "uninformed", because it is much nicer than calling them "ignorant morons" or "idiots". I worked for Pizza Hut for almost ten years, six of them as a store assistant manager. You cannot be lazy and work in that position. I would never have lasted that long in that position, had that accusation actually been true.
Now, I have nothing against Pizza Hut personally, but it was a placeholding job that kept the bills paid and protected my family with much-needed insurance. So, until I finished my schooling and went out into the workforce, I was stuck in a job that filled me with a lot of stress and pretty much ruined my days off.
One day, when I was going straight from a history class to work, I tossed my bookbag in the car trunk, along with my car keys, and shut the hatch.
I cannot describe the next ten to fifteen seconds. What I do know is that it involved a mixture of panic, anxiety, and fury. After all, my car doors were still locked, and my spare set was at my apartment with my wife (nearly a mile away).
Then my rational self took over. First, I put more coins in the parking meter. Ball State University's parking ticketers were a diligent lot (they still are, as of 2017), because, despite the university's claims that it was a non-profit institution, it actively searches for any way they can legally extract more money from their students, faculty, staff, and just about anyone who comes onto their property and surrounding areas. It's as if a swarm of mosquitos has found a nudist camp. That's how actively they go after others and their money.
That's another subject, however.
Next, I called the Pizza Hut store where I worked (during this time, Muncie, Indiana had five Pizza Huts to choose from) and reported that I was going to be late.
Then, seeing as there were no nearby shuttle buses, I walked towards my apartment. As I said before, I had nearly a mile of walking to undertake.
As I walked, I learned a truth that many people have already known. Walking clears your mind. Their is a reason that so many Old Testament prophets went on a journey with nothing more than the clothing on their backs. Walking leaves you alone with the Lord, and "baggage" only gets in the way.
By the time I got home, I was in a near-Zen state. I retrieved the spare set of keys and made it to a shuttle bus, then back to my car. I was in such a relaxed and calm state that I came up with that value on the spot.
I even tried my hand at translating it into ancient Greek, though I'm not too sure I did it right.
That value has helped me keep things in perspective quite a few times over the years.
After all, in ten years, locked keys in a car trunk is simply going to be a nothing event that happened some time back. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't even matter at all.
That value has recently been a real help in dealing with people who try to manipulate my emotions and feelings.
I've mentioned in a previous post that I don't listen to talk radio because of how they are able to manipulate one's feelings. They actively try to put stress into one's life for their own benefit.
That's why, on hearing about former Fox News Channel chairman Roger Ailes's recent death, all I can say is "Rest in peace," and that's it. Ailes, more than any one person recently, worked hard to terrify people about the Clintons, President and Michelle Obama, poor people, minorities, Democrats, immigrants, foreigners - any group of people who was - in his network's view - trying to destroy a conservative's way of life.
Based on the success of Fox News Channel and the election of Donald Trump into the presidency, he succeeded. And, as a result, a lot of people are scared, stressed out, and angry for no real legitimate reason whatsoever. Why would they do this to their viewers/listeners?
It's simple, actually. Fear sells. If you can be scared silly into believing that Barack Obama will order that your guns or wealth be confiscated, then you can be "convinced" into buying what their commercials are selling.
After all, the use of fear has driven up the sales of guns and weaponry to the private sector, not to mention the sales of hidden survival shelters (what used to be called "Fallout Shelters" or "Bomb Shelters". It also is used to push up the sales of survival foods and the investment in gold.
Not that I'm putting down investment firms, gun dealers, or those who supply the so-called "Survivalist" market. Not at all. After all, I invest money, I am pro-gun, and I find the survival market interesting to read about, but if you can be convinced that by eating a particular candy bar (or washing with a particular brand of soap), you'll be protected from the "looney lefties", then sales to panicked conservatives can, and almost certainly will, be increased.
Don't think that liberals are immune to this. Those who are in a panic over President Trump are just as likely to be manipulated as the conservatives are.
Most name brands have the desire to increase their sales no matter what! But, in doing so, they do not want to be labeled with anything that shuts out another market.
That is also another subject.
My point is that I have too much of my life to live to waste it hating (or fearing) people a particular news channel tells me to hate.
My life is too important to waste it blaming a class of people that others tell me I should blame for my problems. That's the kind of nonsense that Nazi Germany used to stir up hatred against the Jews, by the way.
I don't have the time to waste my life on fear. If you're willing to let a news channel use tools on you that the Third Reich used on its citizens, then I pity you.
I don't have the time to waste my life on unnecessary stress, nor do I have the time to let others introduce unnecessary stress on my life.
Now, what about a death in the family or news of a catastrophic illness? After all, such events can throw the most ordered life into a turmoil and cause a lot of emotional havoc.
This might sound facetious, but even those events are not worth massive stress.
I am being serious here. Stress and worry, while normal reactions, do not help the situation. We have little to no control over such things, so we should work on what we can control. That includes lifestyle changes that improves one's physical and mental health, plus praying for others as well as ourselves.
It may not seem like much, but it's such an important step.
After all, we shouldn't stress ourselves out, you know.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Revisiting the Subject of Hatred
"He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
"He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
"But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."
I John 2:9-11
And now, for another post on hatred. Why do I keep writing about hatred here? Well, it's because hatred is so prevalent in the world today, and what's even worse, so many people who call themselves "Christian" are bound in its grip.
What's even worse than that is the fact that there are pastors and church leaders are also bound in hatred's grip. When one thinks of the influence a pastor or church leader holds over the members of a church, that presents the potential of a terrifying nightmare.
Why the fear over hatred? What can it do? It demeans people, it defiles them, it dismisses them as if they have no importance whatsoever, it breaks their spirit, it hurts their lives, it destroys their potential.
It can murder their spirit, their testimony, and especially their potential as a child of Christ.
Hatred doesn't just do all of that stuff to the people you hate, I should point out. It does all of that to you, as well.
Think about this - think hard about this. The people you meet and come across in life have something to offer you, even if it's just a simple object lesson. You could very well be the person who makes - or breaks - their connection with Jesus Christ.
But if you only view the person as someone to use, or even hate them on sight, you're missing something very important.
That people could've been sent your way to be a blessing, or to be someone who leads you to a blessing. You could be throwing away so much when you dismiss someone out of hand - or simply and selfishly try to use them for your personal benefit.
What could you lose? The tangible rewards themselves are not only unknown, they are uncertain. They're also unimportant. You shouldn't be acting good for a reward.
There are plenty of intangible rewards out there, though, and these should be a decent motivation. Serenity, peace of mind, the warm feeling you get when you do something nice for someone are all examples of intangible rewards. The sense of order - no matter how slight - being restored is a very powerful reward you can reap.
I should point out that if you dismiss the intangible rewards of life as stupid and meaningless, and you call yourself a Christian, then there is a dark spot on you that needs to be resolved.
Life is not just about what you can get for yourself, you know.
If helping someone - or even being nice to a stranger - feels like an effort, a struggle, or even a waste of time, then there is a real and profound sadness to you. You need to pray for yourself, and also pray for the person you felt this way towards.
Think about this. How often do you prejudge someone based on what they look like? How often do you prejudge someone based on negative stories you've heard from other people?
Take ALL negative stories you hear about others with a grain of salt. While there are many negative stories that are actually (and painfully) true, some of the stories are little more than sad gossip. That's childish nonsense and here's something the Apostle Paul said about this:
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things."
I Corinthians 13:11 (KJV)
As Christians, we are commanded to love one another. We are not to judge, nor are we to dismiss and hate.
If every person who called himself - or herself - a Christian were to love unconditionally, then this world would be in a lot better shape than it currently is.
It doesn't hurt to mention that just because we are to love one another unconditionally doesn't mean that we are to be a doormat. I'm well aware that some people see Christians (or any non-believer) who seeks to do good as easy touches who exist to be used.
The old saying, "Once burned, twice shy" fits in here.
Pay attention not only to your motives for giving help, but also to the results of it. If a person you help shows no improvement, or continues to exhibit destructive behavior, then you are no longer a helper. You're an enabler.
Now, if the person you help demands more and more from you, while maintaining a self-centered and self-important attitude, then you are being used, plain and simple.
You still have to love these people, but eventually you have to stop being a doormat. When is that? Well, you have to determine that for yourself, but remember that some users, if they could, would toss your naked and dessicated body in the ditch if by so doing they would get everything you have.
Reduce your contact with such a person - you may even have to cut off all contact. Continue to pray for them, however, with an attitude of love.
I keep re-emphasizing love. I have to do that, trust me. It is so easy to get ticked off at people when they're being jerks. It takes a concerted and continued effort to avoid giving in to the temptation to dismiss them, to dislike them, to think negatively about them.
To hate them.
Now, I shouldn't have to mention that if a person you know votes for the "wrong" person in an election, they are not necessarily being a jerk. If you truly have an attitude of love within you, then you will easily realize this.
A political difference is not a reason to hate.
Nor is a racial or national difference.
It's sad that I have to write that - or even say it to people.
If someone tells you that Mexicans are rapists, and that Muslims are killers, then you need to pray for that person, because they may not even realize - or care - that they're in the grip of hatred.
Yes, we all should know who I just referred to here. Just because the hard right news and radio sites (not to mention the TV and radio shows) make those claims does not make it true.
Take care that you don't make generalizations like that. You might not intend anything bad to happen, but remember what the road to hell is paved with. By spreading a vicious rumor, generalization - a lie - you can cause someone else to stumble into hatred - or worse, a hateful action.
Let me give you an example. In 2016, North Carolina native Edgar M. Welch believed online claims that a Washington, D.C. pizzeria was a front for trafficking child sex slaves and that the sex ring was led by Hillary Clinton's campaign manager John Podesta.
He went into the restaurant and shot up the place in an attempt to free and protect the children.
The only problem with that is that those claims were lies. Welch found no children, and was pretty quickly arrested for his actions.
In March 2017, conservative radio host and Inforwars website operator Alex Jones apologized fro promoting that conspiracy. Jones even went so far to encourage others who were spreading the lies and rumors to stop and apologize.
That's all well and good, but Welch faces time in prison because he acted on lies told by other people. He should've investigated the lie before acting on it, that's for certain. The fact that his friends wouldn't join in on his quest should have given him pause. I'd say that he knows all of this quite well now, but henceforth, he'll be infamous because of his actions. That's what's sad.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
"He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
"But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."
I John 2:9-11
And now, for another post on hatred. Why do I keep writing about hatred here? Well, it's because hatred is so prevalent in the world today, and what's even worse, so many people who call themselves "Christian" are bound in its grip.
What's even worse than that is the fact that there are pastors and church leaders are also bound in hatred's grip. When one thinks of the influence a pastor or church leader holds over the members of a church, that presents the potential of a terrifying nightmare.
Why the fear over hatred? What can it do? It demeans people, it defiles them, it dismisses them as if they have no importance whatsoever, it breaks their spirit, it hurts their lives, it destroys their potential.
It can murder their spirit, their testimony, and especially their potential as a child of Christ.
Hatred doesn't just do all of that stuff to the people you hate, I should point out. It does all of that to you, as well.
Think about this - think hard about this. The people you meet and come across in life have something to offer you, even if it's just a simple object lesson. You could very well be the person who makes - or breaks - their connection with Jesus Christ.
But if you only view the person as someone to use, or even hate them on sight, you're missing something very important.
That people could've been sent your way to be a blessing, or to be someone who leads you to a blessing. You could be throwing away so much when you dismiss someone out of hand - or simply and selfishly try to use them for your personal benefit.
What could you lose? The tangible rewards themselves are not only unknown, they are uncertain. They're also unimportant. You shouldn't be acting good for a reward.
There are plenty of intangible rewards out there, though, and these should be a decent motivation. Serenity, peace of mind, the warm feeling you get when you do something nice for someone are all examples of intangible rewards. The sense of order - no matter how slight - being restored is a very powerful reward you can reap.
I should point out that if you dismiss the intangible rewards of life as stupid and meaningless, and you call yourself a Christian, then there is a dark spot on you that needs to be resolved.
Life is not just about what you can get for yourself, you know.
If helping someone - or even being nice to a stranger - feels like an effort, a struggle, or even a waste of time, then there is a real and profound sadness to you. You need to pray for yourself, and also pray for the person you felt this way towards.
Think about this. How often do you prejudge someone based on what they look like? How often do you prejudge someone based on negative stories you've heard from other people?
Take ALL negative stories you hear about others with a grain of salt. While there are many negative stories that are actually (and painfully) true, some of the stories are little more than sad gossip. That's childish nonsense and here's something the Apostle Paul said about this:
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things."
I Corinthians 13:11 (KJV)
As Christians, we are commanded to love one another. We are not to judge, nor are we to dismiss and hate.
If every person who called himself - or herself - a Christian were to love unconditionally, then this world would be in a lot better shape than it currently is.
It doesn't hurt to mention that just because we are to love one another unconditionally doesn't mean that we are to be a doormat. I'm well aware that some people see Christians (or any non-believer) who seeks to do good as easy touches who exist to be used.
The old saying, "Once burned, twice shy" fits in here.
Pay attention not only to your motives for giving help, but also to the results of it. If a person you help shows no improvement, or continues to exhibit destructive behavior, then you are no longer a helper. You're an enabler.
Now, if the person you help demands more and more from you, while maintaining a self-centered and self-important attitude, then you are being used, plain and simple.
You still have to love these people, but eventually you have to stop being a doormat. When is that? Well, you have to determine that for yourself, but remember that some users, if they could, would toss your naked and dessicated body in the ditch if by so doing they would get everything you have.
Reduce your contact with such a person - you may even have to cut off all contact. Continue to pray for them, however, with an attitude of love.
I keep re-emphasizing love. I have to do that, trust me. It is so easy to get ticked off at people when they're being jerks. It takes a concerted and continued effort to avoid giving in to the temptation to dismiss them, to dislike them, to think negatively about them.
To hate them.
Now, I shouldn't have to mention that if a person you know votes for the "wrong" person in an election, they are not necessarily being a jerk. If you truly have an attitude of love within you, then you will easily realize this.
A political difference is not a reason to hate.
Nor is a racial or national difference.
It's sad that I have to write that - or even say it to people.
If someone tells you that Mexicans are rapists, and that Muslims are killers, then you need to pray for that person, because they may not even realize - or care - that they're in the grip of hatred.
Yes, we all should know who I just referred to here. Just because the hard right news and radio sites (not to mention the TV and radio shows) make those claims does not make it true.
Take care that you don't make generalizations like that. You might not intend anything bad to happen, but remember what the road to hell is paved with. By spreading a vicious rumor, generalization - a lie - you can cause someone else to stumble into hatred - or worse, a hateful action.
Let me give you an example. In 2016, North Carolina native Edgar M. Welch believed online claims that a Washington, D.C. pizzeria was a front for trafficking child sex slaves and that the sex ring was led by Hillary Clinton's campaign manager John Podesta.
He went into the restaurant and shot up the place in an attempt to free and protect the children.
The only problem with that is that those claims were lies. Welch found no children, and was pretty quickly arrested for his actions.
In March 2017, conservative radio host and Inforwars website operator Alex Jones apologized fro promoting that conspiracy. Jones even went so far to encourage others who were spreading the lies and rumors to stop and apologize.
That's all well and good, but Welch faces time in prison because he acted on lies told by other people. He should've investigated the lie before acting on it, that's for certain. The fact that his friends wouldn't join in on his quest should have given him pause. I'd say that he knows all of this quite well now, but henceforth, he'll be infamous because of his actions. That's what's sad.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Friday, March 24, 2017
Another Bean Dish Question
Hey, all you Christians who voted for Donald Trump, I have a question for you.
How's that bean dish tasting right about now? Is it starting to get sour?
Never forget, you helped to do this to all of us. Those of you who voted for him are to blame for this silliness.
What silliness? How about the unfounded accusations against President Obama, which have not only been denied by the former president's administration, but also debunked by Congressional conservatives.
Where is President Trump getting this information from? We all know where it's from (coughwingnutsitescough), or maybe even Steve Bannon.
It doesn't even matter, because it's all totally stupid.
I have a feeling that by the time this is done, your bean dish will have the appeal of a large pile of cow manure.
Just saying.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
How's that bean dish tasting right about now? Is it starting to get sour?
Never forget, you helped to do this to all of us. Those of you who voted for him are to blame for this silliness.
What silliness? How about the unfounded accusations against President Obama, which have not only been denied by the former president's administration, but also debunked by Congressional conservatives.
Where is President Trump getting this information from? We all know where it's from (coughwingnutsitescough), or maybe even Steve Bannon.
It doesn't even matter, because it's all totally stupid.
I have a feeling that by the time this is done, your bean dish will have the appeal of a large pile of cow manure.
Just saying.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Friday, March 17, 2017
A Memory From My Youth
One of the highlights of my youth was watching cartoons on Channel 4, WTTV, then an independent television station operating out of Bloomington and Indianapolis. After all, the cartoon channels didn't exist yet, and were just a dream in few people's eyes.
Not only that, but what home video that did exist involved very expensive video recorders and hard to find video tapes - if you were fortunate enough to find them.
Usually, if you wanted to see non-educational cartoons, you had to wait until Saturday morning, from seven a.m. until noon. Channel 4 filled the void on the weekdays.
Three times a day, Channel 4 had programming just for kids. There was Janie Hodge, who hosted the morning show. In the afternoons, there were different hosts, but I do remember the woman named Peggy Nicholson.
The best of the shows, however, was Chuckwagon Theatre, which later became Cowboy Bob's Corral, which featured Robert Wesley Glaze as Cowboy Bob.
Glaze, who died in mid-September, always had nice things to say, which is something I really miss on both radio and television. Whenever I hear the hate spew, I switch stations and think back to Cowboy Bob.
His first dog was Tumbleweed. Cowboy Bob taught him to "Stop, Drop, and Roll" in the show's fire safety spots. Tumbleweed was also taught how to crawl beneath smoke to escape from a burning building. A lot of people from my generation got our initial fire safety training from his show. Some even used that training in real house fires.
Cowboy Bob also had words of wisdom for his viewers:
"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
"Keep smiling!"
"Don't forget to take your nap!"
We need more men like Cowboy Bob nowadays.
Rest in peace, Cowboy Bob.
Peace be unto you.
Not only that, but what home video that did exist involved very expensive video recorders and hard to find video tapes - if you were fortunate enough to find them.
Usually, if you wanted to see non-educational cartoons, you had to wait until Saturday morning, from seven a.m. until noon. Channel 4 filled the void on the weekdays.
Three times a day, Channel 4 had programming just for kids. There was Janie Hodge, who hosted the morning show. In the afternoons, there were different hosts, but I do remember the woman named Peggy Nicholson.
The best of the shows, however, was Chuckwagon Theatre, which later became Cowboy Bob's Corral, which featured Robert Wesley Glaze as Cowboy Bob.
Glaze, who died in mid-September, always had nice things to say, which is something I really miss on both radio and television. Whenever I hear the hate spew, I switch stations and think back to Cowboy Bob.
His first dog was Tumbleweed. Cowboy Bob taught him to "Stop, Drop, and Roll" in the show's fire safety spots. Tumbleweed was also taught how to crawl beneath smoke to escape from a burning building. A lot of people from my generation got our initial fire safety training from his show. Some even used that training in real house fires.
Cowboy Bob also had words of wisdom for his viewers:
"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
"Keep smiling!"
"Don't forget to take your nap!"
We need more men like Cowboy Bob nowadays.
Rest in peace, Cowboy Bob.
Peace be unto you.
Monday, March 6, 2017
I Never Thought I'd Have To Say This
Today, the news is full of President Donald Trump's accusations against former President Barack Obama, concerning alleged illegal wiretaps on Trump's phones.
Sigh.
Give me a break, Mr. President.
Given the legal hurdles the government has to go through to do such a thing, Barack Obama had - and has - the foresight to know that such an action would never remain a secret for long. He wouldn't consider anything gained from a wiretap to be worth the time or the trouble.
You, however, would jump at the chance to do just that. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't already wiretapping someone, legalities be damned.
Now, there is a slight possibility that your phones were wiretapped. Have you considered that it could be either some journalist - or a foreign power, such as China or... Russia?
Just saying.
Now, this is important. You won the presidency. You are it - the man of the hour. And what are you doing with your shot at the helm? You're sending childish tweets out at all hours of the day, making stupid click-bait worthy comments, as if you were an Internet troll.
While you're doing this, who's running the country? I've heard talk that Vice-President Mike Pence is actually at the helm, but considering how badly he ran Indiana, things would actually be worse if he was in charge.
It's also possible that you're doing the tweets as a means of distracting the public while doing something else you want hidden. That would involve discretion and forethought.
I think you're incapable of either one.
I know that some conservative pundits are screaming about the alleged wiretaps, so it could simply be that you're giving them material so that they don't have to make up their own lies. After all, they're nothing without the specter of those "looney lefties."
That's more pathetic than those people who consistently scream "not my president!" be it about you, Mr. President, or about former President Obama.
To those who voted for you in order to end legalized abortions, I blame this crap on them. In case they didn't know it, the ends do not justify the means. They obviously have no idea or clue as to what stewardship means.
I'm already at the conclusion that you don't know what it is.
It's time for you to grow up and be our president.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Sigh.
Give me a break, Mr. President.
Given the legal hurdles the government has to go through to do such a thing, Barack Obama had - and has - the foresight to know that such an action would never remain a secret for long. He wouldn't consider anything gained from a wiretap to be worth the time or the trouble.
You, however, would jump at the chance to do just that. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't already wiretapping someone, legalities be damned.
Now, there is a slight possibility that your phones were wiretapped. Have you considered that it could be either some journalist - or a foreign power, such as China or... Russia?
Just saying.
Now, this is important. You won the presidency. You are it - the man of the hour. And what are you doing with your shot at the helm? You're sending childish tweets out at all hours of the day, making stupid click-bait worthy comments, as if you were an Internet troll.
While you're doing this, who's running the country? I've heard talk that Vice-President Mike Pence is actually at the helm, but considering how badly he ran Indiana, things would actually be worse if he was in charge.
It's also possible that you're doing the tweets as a means of distracting the public while doing something else you want hidden. That would involve discretion and forethought.
I think you're incapable of either one.
I know that some conservative pundits are screaming about the alleged wiretaps, so it could simply be that you're giving them material so that they don't have to make up their own lies. After all, they're nothing without the specter of those "looney lefties."
That's more pathetic than those people who consistently scream "not my president!" be it about you, Mr. President, or about former President Obama.
To those who voted for you in order to end legalized abortions, I blame this crap on them. In case they didn't know it, the ends do not justify the means. They obviously have no idea or clue as to what stewardship means.
I'm already at the conclusion that you don't know what it is.
It's time for you to grow up and be our president.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Think About The Consequences
Once again, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of people really don't think through what they say and do. They're careless about what comes out of their mouths.
In the book of James, it is written that a person who can control his (or her) tongue is a perfect person, and is able to control both body and soul, but at least make the attempt.
President Trump spoke on Tuesday night, about such things as health care, immigration, terrorism, and increasing our military.
When compared to his insanely childish tweets, his speech came across as mature, somewhat nuanced, and more intelligent.
Notice that I did not say that his remarks were totally correct, however. For instance, the president blamed his predecessor, President Barack Obama, for the faults and failures of the Affordable Care Act.
Blame for that situation actually centers on Congress, especially congressional Republicans, and in particular Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. The Republicans did everything in their power to obstruct President Obama at every turn, so the shortcomings of the ACA are no surprise to anyone who paid attention.
As is usual, there is no plan from Republicans on replacing what is commonly called "Obamacare". I believe that if Ryan had his way, he'd eliminate the ACA (as well as Medicare and Social Security) and tell the country to shut up about it.
I don't know if political reality occurs to Ryan (I'm certain that McConnell gets it), but from the looks of it, Tea Partiers (I lump Ryan in with this group) have a "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" attitude. In other words, they want to stop programs they don't like to save tax dollars, no matter what the consequences are.
Unfortunately, a lot of what the world is going through right now is pretty much due to consequences, and so many people refuse to learn from history.
The embrace of slavery and its institutionalized racism has had long-standing consequences in this country, and continue to do so. Just look at the apparent stalking and shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida, by self-appointed vigilante George Zimmerman for a still recent example.
I actually call what happened to Mr. Martin a pre-meditated murder, but it seems that the laws in the state of Florida don't agree with me.
However, the worst case scenario involving consequences concerned the Volstead Act, also known as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Prohibition. The grand experiment in legislating morality, had nothing but good intentions behind it.
We all know what the road to hell is paved with, don't we?
Instead of making everyone sober teetotallers, it made criminals out of people it shouldn't have, created laws that couldn't (and in many cases, wouldn't) be enforced, and it gave unbelievable power to organized crime - power that has only gotten worse over the decades.
There is a reason that I say that the Volstead Act is the worst legislative mistake of the 20th Century.
I can only hope that our current president shows a lot of maturity and forethought. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I shudder to think of the potential consequences if he doesn't.
He needs our prayers. Seriously.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
In the book of James, it is written that a person who can control his (or her) tongue is a perfect person, and is able to control both body and soul, but at least make the attempt.
President Trump spoke on Tuesday night, about such things as health care, immigration, terrorism, and increasing our military.
When compared to his insanely childish tweets, his speech came across as mature, somewhat nuanced, and more intelligent.
Notice that I did not say that his remarks were totally correct, however. For instance, the president blamed his predecessor, President Barack Obama, for the faults and failures of the Affordable Care Act.
Blame for that situation actually centers on Congress, especially congressional Republicans, and in particular Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. The Republicans did everything in their power to obstruct President Obama at every turn, so the shortcomings of the ACA are no surprise to anyone who paid attention.
As is usual, there is no plan from Republicans on replacing what is commonly called "Obamacare". I believe that if Ryan had his way, he'd eliminate the ACA (as well as Medicare and Social Security) and tell the country to shut up about it.
I don't know if political reality occurs to Ryan (I'm certain that McConnell gets it), but from the looks of it, Tea Partiers (I lump Ryan in with this group) have a "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" attitude. In other words, they want to stop programs they don't like to save tax dollars, no matter what the consequences are.
Unfortunately, a lot of what the world is going through right now is pretty much due to consequences, and so many people refuse to learn from history.
The embrace of slavery and its institutionalized racism has had long-standing consequences in this country, and continue to do so. Just look at the apparent stalking and shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida, by self-appointed vigilante George Zimmerman for a still recent example.
I actually call what happened to Mr. Martin a pre-meditated murder, but it seems that the laws in the state of Florida don't agree with me.
However, the worst case scenario involving consequences concerned the Volstead Act, also known as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Prohibition. The grand experiment in legislating morality, had nothing but good intentions behind it.
We all know what the road to hell is paved with, don't we?
Instead of making everyone sober teetotallers, it made criminals out of people it shouldn't have, created laws that couldn't (and in many cases, wouldn't) be enforced, and it gave unbelievable power to organized crime - power that has only gotten worse over the decades.
There is a reason that I say that the Volstead Act is the worst legislative mistake of the 20th Century.
I can only hope that our current president shows a lot of maturity and forethought. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I shudder to think of the potential consequences if he doesn't.
He needs our prayers. Seriously.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Fake News Out Of Randolph County
Well, it was only a matter of time before it happened. Apparently, hackers managed to take control of Winchester's radio station, WZZY. Then the hackers broadcast alerts of a zombie attack in Randolph County.
To someone like me, who watches zombie movies on occasion, my only regret is that I missed the alerts. I wonder if anyone there panicked over the news. After all, you tend to take alerts from official radio and television stations seriously when they issue them.
While I doubt that it was on the level of Orson Welles and his dramatization of The War Of The Worlds (this is Randolph County, Indiana, after all), this does rank up there with traffic alert signs that have been hacked to warn drivers that zombies were ahead.
According to CBS4 out of Indianapolis, the Randolph County Sheriff's Department has notified the Indiana Department Of Homeland Security and an investigation is underway.
More information as I get it.
Peace be unto you.
To someone like me, who watches zombie movies on occasion, my only regret is that I missed the alerts. I wonder if anyone there panicked over the news. After all, you tend to take alerts from official radio and television stations seriously when they issue them.
While I doubt that it was on the level of Orson Welles and his dramatization of The War Of The Worlds (this is Randolph County, Indiana, after all), this does rank up there with traffic alert signs that have been hacked to warn drivers that zombies were ahead.
According to CBS4 out of Indianapolis, the Randolph County Sheriff's Department has notified the Indiana Department Of Homeland Security and an investigation is underway.
More information as I get it.
Peace be unto you.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Second Bean Dish Question
Ahem. All you Christians who voted for Donald Trump, I'm back with another question.
How's that lentil dish tasting?
It still isn't worth the loss of your birthright, you know.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Happiness Is A Choice, You Know
"Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be."
--Abraham Lincoln
There is an acronym that is common with the use of computers. It is called "GIGO" and it means "garbage in, garbage out". The implication is that if you program nonsense figures - garbage - into a computer, that's all you're going to get out of it.
It also applies to life in general. If you go about the day expecting bad things to happen, they generally will. You've allowed the garbage of negative feelings to turn your day into garbage.
In this day, when it seems like there's bad news everywhere, what we put into ourselves emotionally can have either profound - or tragic - effects. Those of us who have the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior already have the greatest gift ever. But you have control over how your journey goes and what you take in - and focus on - can affect you, for better or worse.
To give you an example, let's use President Donald Trump. As you might already know, he wasn't my choice in the general election last fall, and I don't think that he's suitable to be president.
However, he is our president, and I have absolutely no control over that.
What I do have control over, though, is how happy I am. My happiness isn't dependent on who's president, or whether some sports team I like is winning. I've already got the greatest gift in the world from the Lord. I'm also married to a loving, wonderful wife, and we have two loving children.
There is so much blessing in my life, how can I let something I have no control over dictate to me how happy I can be? That's crazy talk.
You control how happy you are, and how you express yourself plays a big part in it.
Joel Osteen, senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, wrote in The Power Of I Am that our own words can have an effect on us and our lives. You can say "I am blessed and I am beautiful" or you can say, "I am cursed and I am ugly." Thus, you should choose your words and thoughts carefully.
When I go to work, my mindset and beliefs lead me to expect a good day. Admittedly, not every day is a good one. But my thoughts and expectations make the difference between looking forward to the workday and dreading the next bad thing that's going to happen.
The late Colonel William "Bull" Simons, when faced with a flight in very heavy turbulence, took a nap. He explained to one of the men flying with him that since there was nothing he could do about it, he might as well sleep.
That's the way to face difficulty. After all, there's a saying common to some Christians that goes like this: "Let go, and let God." In other words, let God handle the stuff that is beyond us.
A caution to those who believe that they need more money to be happy. If you're not happy before you get money, you probably won't be after you get more.
Money does not make a person happy, not matter what the wealth seekers claim. If I get wealthy, great. If I don't, then I'll still be happy.
Besides, loving money is dangerous. Remember that the Apostle Paul wrote that the love of money is the root of all evil.
Wealth is a lot more than just money, anyway. Many of us here in the United States are so blessed, especially when compared to people in the developing nations of the world.
What is really sad to me is seeing Christians who constantly talk negatively or are constantly unhappy. Happiness is a choice, and they choose to be unhappy - even with the knowledge of their salvation.
I'm never entirely certain why people choose to be unhappy. Do they feel let down by life, or left behind by others and their successes? Or is it a shielding mechanism designed to keep people away from them? I never really know, though I'm inclined to think that they don't know any other way to act.
Dealing with hateful Christians is bad enough, and I've written about them before, but constantly unhappy Christians are just plain sad.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
--Abraham Lincoln
There is an acronym that is common with the use of computers. It is called "GIGO" and it means "garbage in, garbage out". The implication is that if you program nonsense figures - garbage - into a computer, that's all you're going to get out of it.
It also applies to life in general. If you go about the day expecting bad things to happen, they generally will. You've allowed the garbage of negative feelings to turn your day into garbage.
In this day, when it seems like there's bad news everywhere, what we put into ourselves emotionally can have either profound - or tragic - effects. Those of us who have the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior already have the greatest gift ever. But you have control over how your journey goes and what you take in - and focus on - can affect you, for better or worse.
To give you an example, let's use President Donald Trump. As you might already know, he wasn't my choice in the general election last fall, and I don't think that he's suitable to be president.
However, he is our president, and I have absolutely no control over that.
What I do have control over, though, is how happy I am. My happiness isn't dependent on who's president, or whether some sports team I like is winning. I've already got the greatest gift in the world from the Lord. I'm also married to a loving, wonderful wife, and we have two loving children.
There is so much blessing in my life, how can I let something I have no control over dictate to me how happy I can be? That's crazy talk.
You control how happy you are, and how you express yourself plays a big part in it.
Joel Osteen, senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, wrote in The Power Of I Am that our own words can have an effect on us and our lives. You can say "I am blessed and I am beautiful" or you can say, "I am cursed and I am ugly." Thus, you should choose your words and thoughts carefully.
When I go to work, my mindset and beliefs lead me to expect a good day. Admittedly, not every day is a good one. But my thoughts and expectations make the difference between looking forward to the workday and dreading the next bad thing that's going to happen.
The late Colonel William "Bull" Simons, when faced with a flight in very heavy turbulence, took a nap. He explained to one of the men flying with him that since there was nothing he could do about it, he might as well sleep.
That's the way to face difficulty. After all, there's a saying common to some Christians that goes like this: "Let go, and let God." In other words, let God handle the stuff that is beyond us.
A caution to those who believe that they need more money to be happy. If you're not happy before you get money, you probably won't be after you get more.
Money does not make a person happy, not matter what the wealth seekers claim. If I get wealthy, great. If I don't, then I'll still be happy.
Besides, loving money is dangerous. Remember that the Apostle Paul wrote that the love of money is the root of all evil.
Wealth is a lot more than just money, anyway. Many of us here in the United States are so blessed, especially when compared to people in the developing nations of the world.
What is really sad to me is seeing Christians who constantly talk negatively or are constantly unhappy. Happiness is a choice, and they choose to be unhappy - even with the knowledge of their salvation.
I'm never entirely certain why people choose to be unhappy. Do they feel let down by life, or left behind by others and their successes? Or is it a shielding mechanism designed to keep people away from them? I never really know, though I'm inclined to think that they don't know any other way to act.
Dealing with hateful Christians is bad enough, and I've written about them before, but constantly unhappy Christians are just plain sad.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
No Hatred For Me, Please
"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins."
Proverbs 10:12 (KJV)
If there's one thing I desire more and more lately, it's for all the hating to just stop. It seems like that there's hatred all over the place.
Hatred has many facets, and here are just a few:
--Racial hatred
--Regional hatred
--National hatred
--Religious hatred
--Gender hatred
--Political hatred
--Class hatred
--Sexual Orientation hatred
Allow me to repeat one of my mantras here: Hatred is a luxury you cannot afford. Not only do you murder another person's spirit, you can murder your own spirit. If you are a believer in Christ, hatred itself is enough to separate you from God.
It's just not worth it.
A lot of people are drawn into hatred by other people through unbelievably simple means. All the "hate leaders" (my words) have to know are your problems and difficulties. They then point at a target group and blame "them". Nazi Germany used the technique as a part of their their persecution of the Jews. As history shows, it was extremely effective.
The technique is still used to this day. Witness the recent attacks on Muslim immigrants, painting them all with the terrorist paintbrush, or the attacks on Mexicans coming to the United States, labeling them as drug dealers and rapists.
A "hate leader", by himself or herself, is not enough to start a hate build-up. You have to have people willing to submit to the hatred.
It's rather easy, it's sad to say. All you have to do is hate like the "hate leader" hates.
At one time, I listened to talk radio, though I didn't agree with a lot of what the hosts said. It was interesting to hear their points of view to find not only points of commonality, but also points of difference.
I had to stop listening, however. I not only found that I was being lied to, more often than not, but one host in particular spouted off so much hatred that it was starting to contaminate me.
I will not name that particular host, but I'm not surprised that Great Britain banned him from entering their country. The power of his hatred was apparent to others besides me, it seems.
There are few powerful tools that can help you better than research. Take whatever you are told by a speaker or a TV/radio host with a grain of salt. Critical examination of unquestioned beliefs, arguments, or philosophies is also vital.
That includes preachers, by the way.
Before you accuse me of liberal claptrap, allow me me to tell you something from my youth. As I have mentioned before, I grew up in a Fundamentalist Christian church. On occasion, our pastor would start his sermon by asking how many of us had brought our Bibles to church with us.
When too of us few did so, he would go into a rant on why we needed to have our Bibles with us, and why we needed to follow along as he preached and read from the Bible.
You see, the Jonestown massacre in Guyana had happened not too long before, and our pastor recognized the power and potential danger a charismatic preacher held.
In 1978, more than 900 people, most of them U.S. citizens, were killed in a mass murder/suicide at Jonestown. The leader, Jim Jones, preached a combination of Christianity and Marxism, along with a hefty dose of anti-U.S. Government paranoia.
Our pastor believed that if a charismatic preacher such as Jones could lead almost a thousand people (a third of them children) to their deaths, then so could others. He stated that it was the responsibility of church members/believers to make certain that the pastor preached from the word of God - no matter what church we were in.
Given the events of recent years, I've come to realize that my pastor's fears were well-founded.
Don't give in to hatred. Once you hit that particular pothole, it's so easy for you and your witness to fall apart. Hatred not only separates you from other people, it separates you from God.
"...and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Romans 13:9 (last part) and 10
That's it for now.
Peace be unto you.
Proverbs 10:12 (KJV)
If there's one thing I desire more and more lately, it's for all the hating to just stop. It seems like that there's hatred all over the place.
Hatred has many facets, and here are just a few:
--Racial hatred
--Regional hatred
--National hatred
--Religious hatred
--Gender hatred
--Political hatred
--Class hatred
--Sexual Orientation hatred
Allow me to repeat one of my mantras here: Hatred is a luxury you cannot afford. Not only do you murder another person's spirit, you can murder your own spirit. If you are a believer in Christ, hatred itself is enough to separate you from God.
It's just not worth it.
A lot of people are drawn into hatred by other people through unbelievably simple means. All the "hate leaders" (my words) have to know are your problems and difficulties. They then point at a target group and blame "them". Nazi Germany used the technique as a part of their their persecution of the Jews. As history shows, it was extremely effective.
The technique is still used to this day. Witness the recent attacks on Muslim immigrants, painting them all with the terrorist paintbrush, or the attacks on Mexicans coming to the United States, labeling them as drug dealers and rapists.
A "hate leader", by himself or herself, is not enough to start a hate build-up. You have to have people willing to submit to the hatred.
It's rather easy, it's sad to say. All you have to do is hate like the "hate leader" hates.
At one time, I listened to talk radio, though I didn't agree with a lot of what the hosts said. It was interesting to hear their points of view to find not only points of commonality, but also points of difference.
I had to stop listening, however. I not only found that I was being lied to, more often than not, but one host in particular spouted off so much hatred that it was starting to contaminate me.
I will not name that particular host, but I'm not surprised that Great Britain banned him from entering their country. The power of his hatred was apparent to others besides me, it seems.
There are few powerful tools that can help you better than research. Take whatever you are told by a speaker or a TV/radio host with a grain of salt. Critical examination of unquestioned beliefs, arguments, or philosophies is also vital.
That includes preachers, by the way.
Before you accuse me of liberal claptrap, allow me me to tell you something from my youth. As I have mentioned before, I grew up in a Fundamentalist Christian church. On occasion, our pastor would start his sermon by asking how many of us had brought our Bibles to church with us.
When too of us few did so, he would go into a rant on why we needed to have our Bibles with us, and why we needed to follow along as he preached and read from the Bible.
You see, the Jonestown massacre in Guyana had happened not too long before, and our pastor recognized the power and potential danger a charismatic preacher held.
In 1978, more than 900 people, most of them U.S. citizens, were killed in a mass murder/suicide at Jonestown. The leader, Jim Jones, preached a combination of Christianity and Marxism, along with a hefty dose of anti-U.S. Government paranoia.
Our pastor believed that if a charismatic preacher such as Jones could lead almost a thousand people (a third of them children) to their deaths, then so could others. He stated that it was the responsibility of church members/believers to make certain that the pastor preached from the word of God - no matter what church we were in.
Given the events of recent years, I've come to realize that my pastor's fears were well-founded.
Don't give in to hatred. Once you hit that particular pothole, it's so easy for you and your witness to fall apart. Hatred not only separates you from other people, it separates you from God.
"...and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Romans 13:9 (last part) and 10
That's it for now.
Peace be unto you.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Response To A Question From A Friend
In my previous post, I wrote about Nazi Reichmarshal Herman Goering and his quote about how easy it was to get the populace behind a war. A friend asked me if I admired Goering since it was a somewhat extensive quote.
No.
Herman Goering was a sad excuse for a human being. He helped the Nazis rise to power, helped to rob and persecute the Jews of Europe, enriched himself at the expense of many people - Jewish or not - and used his Luftwaffe to bomb his neighboring countries.
He used his power to destroy political opponents and to frame generals who challenged his power. He lived like a king while the German people suffered the deprivations of wartime shortages.
His quote, however, was rather chilling, in just how accurate it really is. After learning the power of advertisers and how governments use their secrets to influence people, it's even more chilling.
Some of the quotes I'll write about are from people I admire. Some, however, I don't admire. That doesn't mean that what they said isn't important.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
No.
Herman Goering was a sad excuse for a human being. He helped the Nazis rise to power, helped to rob and persecute the Jews of Europe, enriched himself at the expense of many people - Jewish or not - and used his Luftwaffe to bomb his neighboring countries.
He used his power to destroy political opponents and to frame generals who challenged his power. He lived like a king while the German people suffered the deprivations of wartime shortages.
His quote, however, was rather chilling, in just how accurate it really is. After learning the power of advertisers and how governments use their secrets to influence people, it's even more chilling.
Some of the quotes I'll write about are from people I admire. Some, however, I don't admire. That doesn't mean that what they said isn't important.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
The Quotes, Part One
I happen to be a big fan of quotes, because a good quote can perfectly express a belief, or an ideal that appeals to you. Sometimes, a quote can reveal very telling details about a person's motives or views.
Sometimes, the quote can reveal more than the person would want revealed.
Let me give you an example. In 1946, during the Nuremberg War Crimes trials, Nazi Germany's Reichmarshal Herman Goering had this to say:
"Why, of course the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."
Gustave Gilbert, German-speaking intelligence officer interviewing Goering: "There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."
Goering: "Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
I thought about Goering's quote a lot during President George W. Bush's foray into destroying and punishing Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein. Rather apt, when you consider all those wasted lives - mostly Iraqi and U.S. lives. President Bush's motives - bringing democracy to Iraq - was noble, but flawed.
I'm not just picking on Republican presidents here. After all, the Vietnam War, with its 58,000 U.S. dead, really ramped up under Democratic President Lyndon Johnson. Both Johnson and President Richard Nixon ended up in the unenviable position of wanting to end the war, but unwilling to appear the loser.
But lose it we did, because we failed to realize that while North Vietnam was Communist, their nationalism was even stronger. Any country who invades and occupies Vietnam is in for a nasty lesson, as history has shown over the centuries.
Another lesson it provided was that a lot of conservative commentators really do not understand most Communist countries, nor do they understand the actual strength of nationalism.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Sometimes, the quote can reveal more than the person would want revealed.
Let me give you an example. In 1946, during the Nuremberg War Crimes trials, Nazi Germany's Reichmarshal Herman Goering had this to say:
"Why, of course the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."
Gustave Gilbert, German-speaking intelligence officer interviewing Goering: "There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."
Goering: "Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
I thought about Goering's quote a lot during President George W. Bush's foray into destroying and punishing Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein. Rather apt, when you consider all those wasted lives - mostly Iraqi and U.S. lives. President Bush's motives - bringing democracy to Iraq - was noble, but flawed.
I'm not just picking on Republican presidents here. After all, the Vietnam War, with its 58,000 U.S. dead, really ramped up under Democratic President Lyndon Johnson. Both Johnson and President Richard Nixon ended up in the unenviable position of wanting to end the war, but unwilling to appear the loser.
But lose it we did, because we failed to realize that while North Vietnam was Communist, their nationalism was even stronger. Any country who invades and occupies Vietnam is in for a nasty lesson, as history has shown over the centuries.
Another lesson it provided was that a lot of conservative commentators really do not understand most Communist countries, nor do they understand the actual strength of nationalism.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Christians and Donald Trump
"As a Christian, how could you NOT vote for Donald Trump?"
That question was asked by a Christian friend to another friend, who is also a Christian.
That is a fascinating question, one that has replayed itself in my mind over the last few months.
It is also the wrong question.
The more accurate question is:
"As a Christian, how COULD you vote for Donald Trump?"
This question, I should point out, has really haunted me ever since the general elections in November. How could Bible-believing Christians vote for a man such as Donald Trump? When did narcissism, crude descriptions of consequence-free sexual assault, and rampant abuse and destruction of small businesses become the Christian ideal?
When a man's response to losing a verbal conflict with a woman is to make childish menstruation insults, why did a lot of Christians say, "OOOO, I've got to get me some of that!"
I can name a lot of faults here - and believe me, I will, either in this post, or others. After all, encouraging apparent criminal activity and apparently committing treason in the same action is either a sign of creative thinking or simply run the mill sociopathic behavior.
He made fun of a handicapped person, which gives the people of our country - especially our children - a lousy example to follow. Remember, the Bible tells us that we are a spectacle to the world - and the President of the United States is even more of a spectacle.
Then there's his congenital lying. This alone should actually be a deal-breaker for Christians, but I have learned, to my dismay, that a lot of Christians could accurately be called LILACS. Why? Because they lie like anything. Not only that, but IOIYAR is a functioning fact of life nowadays.
What is IOIYAR? Literally, it means "It's O.K.if you're a Republican." That belief came into hard play during President Bill Clinton's infidelity issues (and were they ever prominent.) The general Republican reaction was disgust, moral reprehension and a desire to throw him under the earth.
You could've heard crickets chirp when a bunch of Republican congress-critter philanderers were outed all of a sudden. The reactions of Republican supporters (and Christian supporters, too) ranged from continued moral indignation at President Clinton to anger at how the Republican philanderers had their privacy invaded. After all, that was their business, not ours.
Now, there are a lot of Christian leaders who strongly recommended Donald Trump to be our president despite his strongly un-Christian actions and behavior. After all, Dr. Jim Garlow said that Mr. Trump was surrounded by Christians and that Hillary Rodham Clinton had some sort of leftist socialist platform. So obviously, Trump was the choice that Christians should and must vote into office.
For now, I will ignore Mr. Garlow's political ignorance and his willingness to be a false witness against Mrs. Clinton. I say "mister" instead of doctor because thanks to his actions during the campaign, he is guilty of conduct unbecoming of a doctor of divinity.
There are two arguments against Garlow's reasons: One Christian reason and one historical reason.
The implication that being surrounded by Christians and Christian advisors and leaders in effect makes you a Christian leader is not only weird, but unbiblical as well. I grew up in a Fundamentalist Christian church and our pastor mentioned many times that you cannot get other people into Heaven, nor can other people get you into Heaven.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
John 14:6 (KJV)
I would love to see Donald Trump come to Christ, but his actions and narcissism make that a difficult hope.
Another implication from Garlow's comment is that by being surrounded by Christians means that Donald Trump can somehow be controlled. Donald Trump is comparable to a force of nature, and not controlled by others.
I am hoping and praying that this is the ONLY comparison that can be made with Adolf Hitler, but the Nazi leader was also like a force of nature, and totally uncontrollable. In 1933, Franz von Papen helped engineer Hitler's appointment to Chancellor of Germany on the belief that he could be controlled.
Von Papen was wrong, of course, as history shows. Hitler used von Papen as if he were a tissue and quickly shunted him aside.
Other examples of this exist throughout history, but Hitler's is the most prominent and had the most effects on the rest of the world.
To be honest, the belief that "we can control him" is almost always a conceit and a bit of hubris on the part of the followers. Besides, Donald Trump has more than enough hubris for everyone.
Also, the belief that he can be controlled is a trope commonly used in movies. Are the Christians who voted for him (including Garlow) really that genre dumb? This train wreck was in the making and it was so obvious to anyone who paid the slightest bit of attention.
Being a Christian doesn't mean that you don't have to make a decision, and it doesn't mean that you don't have to actually research and learn on your own.
It doesn't mean you have to be willingly dumb.
Letting someone else make your decision for you doesn't mean that you are a faithful Christian. It makes you a tool, and a pretty useless one at that. It also makes you a useless Christian as well.
Don't be a "sheeple". After all, you have to answer for what you do. Jim Garlow isn't going to answer for you, even if he led you to that decision. He will answer for himself.
Being a sheeple makes you little more than a slave, and about as useless.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
That question was asked by a Christian friend to another friend, who is also a Christian.
That is a fascinating question, one that has replayed itself in my mind over the last few months.
It is also the wrong question.
The more accurate question is:
"As a Christian, how COULD you vote for Donald Trump?"
This question, I should point out, has really haunted me ever since the general elections in November. How could Bible-believing Christians vote for a man such as Donald Trump? When did narcissism, crude descriptions of consequence-free sexual assault, and rampant abuse and destruction of small businesses become the Christian ideal?
When a man's response to losing a verbal conflict with a woman is to make childish menstruation insults, why did a lot of Christians say, "OOOO, I've got to get me some of that!"
I can name a lot of faults here - and believe me, I will, either in this post, or others. After all, encouraging apparent criminal activity and apparently committing treason in the same action is either a sign of creative thinking or simply run the mill sociopathic behavior.
He made fun of a handicapped person, which gives the people of our country - especially our children - a lousy example to follow. Remember, the Bible tells us that we are a spectacle to the world - and the President of the United States is even more of a spectacle.
Then there's his congenital lying. This alone should actually be a deal-breaker for Christians, but I have learned, to my dismay, that a lot of Christians could accurately be called LILACS. Why? Because they lie like anything. Not only that, but IOIYAR is a functioning fact of life nowadays.
What is IOIYAR? Literally, it means "It's O.K.if you're a Republican." That belief came into hard play during President Bill Clinton's infidelity issues (and were they ever prominent.) The general Republican reaction was disgust, moral reprehension and a desire to throw him under the earth.
You could've heard crickets chirp when a bunch of Republican congress-critter philanderers were outed all of a sudden. The reactions of Republican supporters (and Christian supporters, too) ranged from continued moral indignation at President Clinton to anger at how the Republican philanderers had their privacy invaded. After all, that was their business, not ours.
Now, there are a lot of Christian leaders who strongly recommended Donald Trump to be our president despite his strongly un-Christian actions and behavior. After all, Dr. Jim Garlow said that Mr. Trump was surrounded by Christians and that Hillary Rodham Clinton had some sort of leftist socialist platform. So obviously, Trump was the choice that Christians should and must vote into office.
For now, I will ignore Mr. Garlow's political ignorance and his willingness to be a false witness against Mrs. Clinton. I say "mister" instead of doctor because thanks to his actions during the campaign, he is guilty of conduct unbecoming of a doctor of divinity.
There are two arguments against Garlow's reasons: One Christian reason and one historical reason.
The implication that being surrounded by Christians and Christian advisors and leaders in effect makes you a Christian leader is not only weird, but unbiblical as well. I grew up in a Fundamentalist Christian church and our pastor mentioned many times that you cannot get other people into Heaven, nor can other people get you into Heaven.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
John 14:6 (KJV)
I would love to see Donald Trump come to Christ, but his actions and narcissism make that a difficult hope.
Another implication from Garlow's comment is that by being surrounded by Christians means that Donald Trump can somehow be controlled. Donald Trump is comparable to a force of nature, and not controlled by others.
I am hoping and praying that this is the ONLY comparison that can be made with Adolf Hitler, but the Nazi leader was also like a force of nature, and totally uncontrollable. In 1933, Franz von Papen helped engineer Hitler's appointment to Chancellor of Germany on the belief that he could be controlled.
Von Papen was wrong, of course, as history shows. Hitler used von Papen as if he were a tissue and quickly shunted him aside.
Other examples of this exist throughout history, but Hitler's is the most prominent and had the most effects on the rest of the world.
To be honest, the belief that "we can control him" is almost always a conceit and a bit of hubris on the part of the followers. Besides, Donald Trump has more than enough hubris for everyone.
Also, the belief that he can be controlled is a trope commonly used in movies. Are the Christians who voted for him (including Garlow) really that genre dumb? This train wreck was in the making and it was so obvious to anyone who paid the slightest bit of attention.
Being a Christian doesn't mean that you don't have to make a decision, and it doesn't mean that you don't have to actually research and learn on your own.
It doesn't mean you have to be willingly dumb.
Letting someone else make your decision for you doesn't mean that you are a faithful Christian. It makes you a tool, and a pretty useless one at that. It also makes you a useless Christian as well.
Don't be a "sheeple". After all, you have to answer for what you do. Jim Garlow isn't going to answer for you, even if he led you to that decision. He will answer for himself.
Being a sheeple makes you little more than a slave, and about as useless.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Monday, January 23, 2017
First Bean Dish Question
All you Right-Wing Conservative Christians who voted for Donald Trump, I have a question for you.
How does your lentil stew taste? Still taste good?
Just asking.
I'll check back later.
Peace be unto you.
How does your lentil stew taste? Still taste good?
Just asking.
I'll check back later.
Peace be unto you.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Third Fiction Post
This is something that came to my mind after reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I think that her book, along with Stephen King's The Stand, ignored something oddly important...
The submarine sailed under the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge as it approached the Hudson River. Neither of the two officers, nor the enlisted man with headphones on his head said anything as the ship sailed closer to Manhattan Island.
"It's so quiet," one of the officers, a woman, said as she looked up at the bridge's underside. "It's like everyone's...gone."
"They are," the other officer, a man, said, and looked through his binoculars. "At least, most of them are."
The woman swallowed and and shook her head. "I expected it to be like Norfolk - a lot of derelicts floating around."
"I know," the male officer said and sighed. "So did I."
Just then, the enlisted man asked, "Captain? Should we tell the Palermo to join us? Her CO is anxious for his ship to be with ours."
The male officer frowned, but nodded. "Tell him to bring his ship in, but to maintain our speed and stay aft of us. I'll give him further orders as I need to."
"Aye, sir," the enlisted man said, and spoke into his mouthpiece.
The female officer cringed as a breeze blew over them from Manhattan itself. She shuddered from the smell of the rotting dead and asked, "Should we even try to salvage anything from the city, sir?"
The captain sighed again and said, "I don't know. I don't think so, myself. Even at a ninety-nine percent mortality rate that CNN said the flu had, New York City would still have nearly eighty-five thousand people roaming around in it - in a state of total anarchy." He looked at the enlisted man. "Tell the Palermo to keep their crew inside, and away from the portholes. Also, tell their bridge crew to remain inside the bridge. Then, let's get down below ourselves. The last thing we need is anyone being injured - or killed - by someone taking potshots at us."
The submarine moved into position to pass Liberty and Ellis isands on their port side, and Governors Island on their starboard side...
I need a break from politics right now, though I have a feeling that it won't be a long one.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
The submarine sailed under the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge as it approached the Hudson River. Neither of the two officers, nor the enlisted man with headphones on his head said anything as the ship sailed closer to Manhattan Island.
"It's so quiet," one of the officers, a woman, said as she looked up at the bridge's underside. "It's like everyone's...gone."
"They are," the other officer, a man, said, and looked through his binoculars. "At least, most of them are."
The woman swallowed and and shook her head. "I expected it to be like Norfolk - a lot of derelicts floating around."
"I know," the male officer said and sighed. "So did I."
Just then, the enlisted man asked, "Captain? Should we tell the Palermo to join us? Her CO is anxious for his ship to be with ours."
The male officer frowned, but nodded. "Tell him to bring his ship in, but to maintain our speed and stay aft of us. I'll give him further orders as I need to."
"Aye, sir," the enlisted man said, and spoke into his mouthpiece.
The female officer cringed as a breeze blew over them from Manhattan itself. She shuddered from the smell of the rotting dead and asked, "Should we even try to salvage anything from the city, sir?"
The captain sighed again and said, "I don't know. I don't think so, myself. Even at a ninety-nine percent mortality rate that CNN said the flu had, New York City would still have nearly eighty-five thousand people roaming around in it - in a state of total anarchy." He looked at the enlisted man. "Tell the Palermo to keep their crew inside, and away from the portholes. Also, tell their bridge crew to remain inside the bridge. Then, let's get down below ourselves. The last thing we need is anyone being injured - or killed - by someone taking potshots at us."
The submarine moved into position to pass Liberty and Ellis isands on their port side, and Governors Island on their starboard side...
I need a break from politics right now, though I have a feeling that it won't be a long one.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Hatred Is Not An Option
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
I John 4:8 (NIV)
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.
"Anyone who loves their brother or sister is in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
"But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them."
I John 2:9-11 (NIV)
Anymore, lately, it seems to be open season for hatred, and open season on those you hate. I think that there's a couple of things that need to be said first and foremost.
One, hatred is a luxury you cannot afford.
Two, hatred is not a family value.
Hatred is very much an expensive luxury. Since God is love, it separates you from God, and why any believer would want to be separated from God is beyond me.
What should you do when you have to deal with someone who makes your blood boil? Or, what if you don't deal with them personally, but you still become infuriated just thinking of them?
Pray for them. And by that, I don't mean that you should pray for their suffering and death. I mean that you should pray for their profit, blessing and good health.
I'm serious.
On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a guide on what we should do.
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, AND HATE THINE ENEMY.
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
Matthew 5:43-44 (KJV)
Much like the Ten Commandments, this is NOT a suggestion, and it is not easy. But, as the Lord pointed out later in the chapter, what profit is it if you love and pray for someone who already loves you? While seeking a profit should never be your motivation, we do indeed profit from loving and praying for our enemies.
It is so easy to hate one's enemies, and when you succumb to the hatred, you do no good for them, nor do you even pray for them. You do no good for yourself, either. When you're in the public eye and you refuse to pray for your enemies, that can have nasty implications. It can "legitimize" hatred, and it can cause other people to stumble.
Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus mentioned that committing adultery in your mind is the same thing as actually doing the deed itself. It applies to hatred itself, as well. One wish of people who hates an enemy (or enemies) is that they die. In my opinion, when you hate someone and wish them dead in your mind, you have murdered them in your mind.
That casts the "Pray for Obama/Psalm 109:8" bumper stickers and T-shirts in a totally negative light, doesn't it? FYI, those bumper stickers and T-shirts are evil. You should think about the message you promote even unconsciously. Even if you don't mean to, when you're a believer and you promote a message that requests that God judges and kills President Obama, you are playing with a very dangerous fire.
For the record, President Obama, his wife Michelle, and Hillary Clinton are Christians. When you pray for the president's divine judgment/death, not only are you coasting a violation of U.S. federal law, you are begging God to strike down a brother in Christ.
Why, in God's name, would you do that? Why are you not convicted? Why would you risk having God give it back to you? After all, a curse can and will backfire. Why even take that risk?
Do not waste your time - or mine - telling me that people who vote for Democratic Party candidates, or are members of the party itself are not Christians. You do not get to make that decision.
Can you show me where in the Bible it says that Democrats are not Christians?
I won't hold my breath.
Now, you probably know that I did not vote for Donald Trump in the November general elections. I am not happy about his victory over Hillary Clinton.
But I do NOT hate him. I cannot hate him. I cannot afford to hate him. I like to think of it the way John Wayne did concerning John F. Kennedy's election to the presidency in 1960.
"I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job."
Donald Trump is my president, and I want him to do a good job, and I will pray for him.
Note this, however. I resolve to never wear a "Pray for Trump/Psalm 109:8" T-shirt, nor will I have a bumper sticker declaring the same.
An interesting question to close the post with, however. If Hillary Clinton had won the presidency in November, how long would it take for a Psalm 109:8 T-shirt or bumper stickers focused on her to come out?
How many so-called Bible-believing Christians would be sporting such a slogan on their chests and vehicles?
If you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ and sport such a T-shirt or bumper sticker, your witness says more about you than you should be comfortable with.
Peace be unto you.
I John 4:8 (NIV)
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.
"Anyone who loves their brother or sister is in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
"But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them."
I John 2:9-11 (NIV)
Anymore, lately, it seems to be open season for hatred, and open season on those you hate. I think that there's a couple of things that need to be said first and foremost.
One, hatred is a luxury you cannot afford.
Two, hatred is not a family value.
Hatred is very much an expensive luxury. Since God is love, it separates you from God, and why any believer would want to be separated from God is beyond me.
What should you do when you have to deal with someone who makes your blood boil? Or, what if you don't deal with them personally, but you still become infuriated just thinking of them?
Pray for them. And by that, I don't mean that you should pray for their suffering and death. I mean that you should pray for their profit, blessing and good health.
I'm serious.
On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a guide on what we should do.
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, AND HATE THINE ENEMY.
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
Matthew 5:43-44 (KJV)
Much like the Ten Commandments, this is NOT a suggestion, and it is not easy. But, as the Lord pointed out later in the chapter, what profit is it if you love and pray for someone who already loves you? While seeking a profit should never be your motivation, we do indeed profit from loving and praying for our enemies.
It is so easy to hate one's enemies, and when you succumb to the hatred, you do no good for them, nor do you even pray for them. You do no good for yourself, either. When you're in the public eye and you refuse to pray for your enemies, that can have nasty implications. It can "legitimize" hatred, and it can cause other people to stumble.
Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus mentioned that committing adultery in your mind is the same thing as actually doing the deed itself. It applies to hatred itself, as well. One wish of people who hates an enemy (or enemies) is that they die. In my opinion, when you hate someone and wish them dead in your mind, you have murdered them in your mind.
That casts the "Pray for Obama/Psalm 109:8" bumper stickers and T-shirts in a totally negative light, doesn't it? FYI, those bumper stickers and T-shirts are evil. You should think about the message you promote even unconsciously. Even if you don't mean to, when you're a believer and you promote a message that requests that God judges and kills President Obama, you are playing with a very dangerous fire.
For the record, President Obama, his wife Michelle, and Hillary Clinton are Christians. When you pray for the president's divine judgment/death, not only are you coasting a violation of U.S. federal law, you are begging God to strike down a brother in Christ.
Why, in God's name, would you do that? Why are you not convicted? Why would you risk having God give it back to you? After all, a curse can and will backfire. Why even take that risk?
Do not waste your time - or mine - telling me that people who vote for Democratic Party candidates, or are members of the party itself are not Christians. You do not get to make that decision.
Can you show me where in the Bible it says that Democrats are not Christians?
I won't hold my breath.
Now, you probably know that I did not vote for Donald Trump in the November general elections. I am not happy about his victory over Hillary Clinton.
But I do NOT hate him. I cannot hate him. I cannot afford to hate him. I like to think of it the way John Wayne did concerning John F. Kennedy's election to the presidency in 1960.
"I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job."
Donald Trump is my president, and I want him to do a good job, and I will pray for him.
Note this, however. I resolve to never wear a "Pray for Trump/Psalm 109:8" T-shirt, nor will I have a bumper sticker declaring the same.
An interesting question to close the post with, however. If Hillary Clinton had won the presidency in November, how long would it take for a Psalm 109:8 T-shirt or bumper stickers focused on her to come out?
How many so-called Bible-believing Christians would be sporting such a slogan on their chests and vehicles?
If you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ and sport such a T-shirt or bumper sticker, your witness says more about you than you should be comfortable with.
Peace be unto you.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
A New Year Begins
2016 is over and, as usual, I ask myself where did it go?
As I get older, I ask myself that question more and more.
For many years, I neglected to make any resolutions, excepting the resolution to make no resolutions. But I think I'll be different this year.
I resolve to read the Bible every day, even it's only a devotional reading.
I resolve to pray every day, and try for several times a day. After all, I don't live my life through my strength, but through the Lord's strength. My strength, my wisdom, my will, is as nothing without the Lord Jesus Christ. May I always remember that.
I resolve to help others when I can, and to avoid judging anyone. By judging someone, I can justify - in my mind, that is - that I can look down on them. No more of that evil.
I resolve to remember that when I meet someone who annoys or angers me that I don't know what their life or situation is like. Pray for anyone. Pray for everyone.
I resolve to write - daily - even if it's just a paragraph or two. After all, the late Franz Kafka once said that a writer who doesn't write is someone who courts insanity.
I resolve to think once - twice - thrice - about a purchase before I actually buy something. A lot of what people buy really isn't necessary - or good - to buy.
I resolve to do better on my slow eating experiment. I want to see success from this and enjoy the side benefits of it, as well.
I resolve to clean up my clutter this year. When you are overwhelmed with stuff, it's difficult to enjoy what you have.
More resolutions as I think of them.
Peace be unto you.
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