Something we all need to learn:
The Holy Spirit of God never, ever leads us to do that which adversely affects the integrity, credibility or continuity of His work; that of pointing people toward Jesus.
If you or I, whether as a pastor, staff member, lay leader or lay person, do anything that calls into question any of these attributes, you can be certain that we are not following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, but of the adversary.
If what we do causes confusion, in our personal lives, or in the church, we are not following God's will.
I Cor 14:33 "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."
I Cor 14:40 "Let all things be done decently and in order."
To be sure, the Holy Spirit may lead us to change course, as in altering our order of worship, or adjusting our thinking, but when He does, it will always bring stability to the situation and draw us closer to God. It will never unnecessarily hurt people or bring disdain on His church.
When what we do is for the satisfaction of some personal or "political" gain, it is not the leadership of the Holy Spirit, rather it is the yielding to whim.
Father, help each of us determine that we will always seek to do that which stabilizes Your church, grows people in You and point others to the Lord, Jesus, Christ. In His Holy and precious name we pray.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
A CHOICE TO MAKE
WARNING: THIS POST COULD BE CONSIDERED INFLAMATORY IN NATURE. PROCEDE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
According to the Department of Homeland Security, there are an estimated thirteen (13) Hezbollah cells in the United States (surprised?)
There are also a dozen al-Qaeda cells (still surprised?)
It gets better.
There are assorted groups of Hamas and other groups associated with various levels of terrorism in the world.
"How can this be?" you ask.
The answer is complicated, but in short, as long as any specific individual cell/group has not specifically been found to have plotted and/or carried out terrorist activity, they are watched, but basically left alone.
In many Arab states, and other countries where Islamics rule, clandestine Christian groups are arrested, deported, shot or beheaded.
Now I am going to delve into a bit of unofficial prophecy.
If we elect left-leaning politicians to office this go around, we will prematurely withdraw our troops from Iraq.
Within three years (maybe not that long), the afore mentioned cells/groups will become active and will be joined by those imported from their home bases abroad.
They will then begin a campaign to eradicate "Christian" Americans ON OUR OWN SOIL!
There are many, many citizens of this country who are devout, practicing Muslims.
A question that haunts me is: When the fighting breaks out here in the United States of America, on which side will they fight?
Does the prospect not present you with a serious dilemma?
How do you resolve it in your own mind?
Once again: When radical Islam brings the fight to American soil, on which side will those of you who belong to "the religion of peace," be?
I do not pretend to know the answer to that question, but I would like to hear from any of those who practice Islam (or those of you who know someone who does with whom you have spoken).
I am not really interested in opinions about what you believe will happen, I want to hear first-hand or anecdotally what you know you (or someone with whom you have spoken) would do.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, there are an estimated thirteen (13) Hezbollah cells in the United States (surprised?)
There are also a dozen al-Qaeda cells (still surprised?)
It gets better.
There are assorted groups of Hamas and other groups associated with various levels of terrorism in the world.
"How can this be?" you ask.
The answer is complicated, but in short, as long as any specific individual cell/group has not specifically been found to have plotted and/or carried out terrorist activity, they are watched, but basically left alone.
In many Arab states, and other countries where Islamics rule, clandestine Christian groups are arrested, deported, shot or beheaded.
Now I am going to delve into a bit of unofficial prophecy.
If we elect left-leaning politicians to office this go around, we will prematurely withdraw our troops from Iraq.
Within three years (maybe not that long), the afore mentioned cells/groups will become active and will be joined by those imported from their home bases abroad.
They will then begin a campaign to eradicate "Christian" Americans ON OUR OWN SOIL!
There are many, many citizens of this country who are devout, practicing Muslims.
A question that haunts me is: When the fighting breaks out here in the United States of America, on which side will they fight?
Does the prospect not present you with a serious dilemma?
How do you resolve it in your own mind?
Once again: When radical Islam brings the fight to American soil, on which side will those of you who belong to "the religion of peace," be?
I do not pretend to know the answer to that question, but I would like to hear from any of those who practice Islam (or those of you who know someone who does with whom you have spoken).
I am not really interested in opinions about what you believe will happen, I want to hear first-hand or anecdotally what you know you (or someone with whom you have spoken) would do.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
OK...I'M ANGRY NOW!
I am angry at Republicans!
I am so angry that they have not done what I want them to, when I want them to, how I want them to, and where I want them to on at least two or three issues, that I am seeing red.
Republicans have not yet closed the borders.
Republicans have not yet become perfect.
Republicans have not yet...well, I can't think of what else they haven't done, but I know they haven't done it, because TV newscasters on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and even some on FOX have told me so.
Because Rebuplicans have not done all the things I have wanted them to do, I am not going to vote at all!
Now I know what you are thinking:
Joe, you must not realize that by not voting, Democrats will win and you are hurting yourself.
Joe, you must not realize that by not voting, Democrats will win and you are hurting ME.
Joe, you must not realize that by not voting, Democrats will win and you are hurting Republicans.
Joe, you must not realize that by not voting, Democrats will win and you are hurting your country.
You must think I am dumber than dumb.
OF COURSE I KNOW ALL OF THAT.
BUT I DON'T CARE!!
I am mad, and that's all that counts.
See? It's all about ME.
It's not about America. It's not about unity. It's not about doing what's right. It's not about being a good citizen.
IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!!
(Editor's note: If you are a Republican or a staunch conservative, and you do not plan to vote, and/or vote for what's right as opposed to what makes you mad, you are lower than the lowest liberal. You are a fobbing , elf-skinned, flap-dragon. You are a gorbellied, folly-fallen, giglet.*
SOOO......
GET OVER IT!
GET READY!
GET OUT THERE AND VOTE! [When the time comes]
End of Editor's note)
*Don't get excited...these are all perfectly good Shakespearian terms. Read him...you might like him.
I am so angry that they have not done what I want them to, when I want them to, how I want them to, and where I want them to on at least two or three issues, that I am seeing red.
Republicans have not yet closed the borders.
Republicans have not yet become perfect.
Republicans have not yet...well, I can't think of what else they haven't done, but I know they haven't done it, because TV newscasters on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and even some on FOX have told me so.
Because Rebuplicans have not done all the things I have wanted them to do, I am not going to vote at all!
Now I know what you are thinking:
Joe, you must not realize that by not voting, Democrats will win and you are hurting yourself.
Joe, you must not realize that by not voting, Democrats will win and you are hurting ME.
Joe, you must not realize that by not voting, Democrats will win and you are hurting Republicans.
Joe, you must not realize that by not voting, Democrats will win and you are hurting your country.
You must think I am dumber than dumb.
OF COURSE I KNOW ALL OF THAT.
BUT I DON'T CARE!!
I am mad, and that's all that counts.
See? It's all about ME.
It's not about America. It's not about unity. It's not about doing what's right. It's not about being a good citizen.
IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!!
(Editor's note: If you are a Republican or a staunch conservative, and you do not plan to vote, and/or vote for what's right as opposed to what makes you mad, you are lower than the lowest liberal. You are a fobbing , elf-skinned, flap-dragon. You are a gorbellied, folly-fallen, giglet.*
SOOO......
GET OVER IT!
GET READY!
GET OUT THERE AND VOTE! [When the time comes]
End of Editor's note)
*Don't get excited...these are all perfectly good Shakespearian terms. Read him...you might like him.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
TIME FOR CHANGE?
I have some gripes and I am now going to express them.
1. My taxes are much too low.
I have a need to pay more to my loving government.
2. Our country's deficit has been dropping much too fast...way ahead of schedule.
I think we need to take steps to get it back up again.
3. Gas prices have come down too much.
If the Europeans can pay $5.00 per gallon, I should get to, too.
4. We have had too few terrorist attacks in the last four years.
We are entitled to at least one per year so we can lose a few thousand innocent civilians.
5. The stock market has been doing far too well.
People who invest their money in the stock market (of whom I am not one), have a right to lose more of their hard earned money and do not deserve to have money set aside for retirement.
6. Medical care is much too immediate.
I should be able to wait at least six months for some of the heart treatments I need periodically. Why, the way it is now, I actually get to see the doctor the very day I go to his office. I should only be able to make an appointment to see the receptionist three weeks from now so that I can actually see the doctor in about six weeks.
7. Wal-mart has a lot of nerve, providing my generic drugs for only $4.00 for a month's supply.
Why I've been complaining about the high cost of medicine for so long, I won't know how to behave if my prescriptions are actually reasonably priced.
Last week I got a three months supply for only $12.00. I used to get to pay $36.00 for the same period of time.
What to do?
8. We are having far to much success in Iraq and Afganistan.
(What? No one told you? The infrastructure is in better shape than it has been in ten years, the government is making strides daily toward being able to take over their own country and the civil war that was supposed to be happening has just failed to take hold...disgraceful!)
Since within three years of an early pull-out from Iraq we will be fighting terrorists on our own soil in our own country, instead of having to go overseas to do it, a pre-mature withdrawal of troops is essential.
9. I am absolutely furious that my home's value, which was supposed to go down because of the bursting of the housing bubble, actually has gone up in the last three months.
Just for that, I am keeping my house and absolutely refuse to even put it on the market.
10. President Bush has refused to be wishy-washy on almost any issue at all.
I think we need a man who can test the wind daily to see where he stands on an issue.
Maybe a good mugwump would fill the bill.
(A mugwump is a polititian who sits on the fence with his mug on one side and his wump on the other. He flies backward, because he doesn't care where he's going, only want to see where he's been.)
11. The general economy is too robust.
We deserve to be able to slow it down.
12. Unemployment is just too low.
Why, I can remember the Jimmy Carter days when unemployment was double digit.
13. The same goes for inflation!
Why can't we return to the days of 12% or maybe even 18% inflation?
14. And speaking of polititians, we need to get rid of these polititians who, when they discover a felon in their own ranks, force them to resign.
What we really need is for party leaders to endorse having members of Congress have actual sex with pages (instead of just writing to them) and then give them standing ovations.
We need strong men serving in Congress who don't mind leaving a woman in a car to drown.
We need more members of Congress who can't remember the story they told last time about their war escapades and so change the story every time they tell it.
For all of the reasons listed above, and for many I am just too depressed to mention here, I intend to vote DEMOCRATIC in the up-coming mid-term elections.
N O T !
1. My taxes are much too low.
I have a need to pay more to my loving government.
2. Our country's deficit has been dropping much too fast...way ahead of schedule.
I think we need to take steps to get it back up again.
3. Gas prices have come down too much.
If the Europeans can pay $5.00 per gallon, I should get to, too.
4. We have had too few terrorist attacks in the last four years.
We are entitled to at least one per year so we can lose a few thousand innocent civilians.
5. The stock market has been doing far too well.
People who invest their money in the stock market (of whom I am not one), have a right to lose more of their hard earned money and do not deserve to have money set aside for retirement.
6. Medical care is much too immediate.
I should be able to wait at least six months for some of the heart treatments I need periodically. Why, the way it is now, I actually get to see the doctor the very day I go to his office. I should only be able to make an appointment to see the receptionist three weeks from now so that I can actually see the doctor in about six weeks.
7. Wal-mart has a lot of nerve, providing my generic drugs for only $4.00 for a month's supply.
Why I've been complaining about the high cost of medicine for so long, I won't know how to behave if my prescriptions are actually reasonably priced.
Last week I got a three months supply for only $12.00. I used to get to pay $36.00 for the same period of time.
What to do?
8. We are having far to much success in Iraq and Afganistan.
(What? No one told you? The infrastructure is in better shape than it has been in ten years, the government is making strides daily toward being able to take over their own country and the civil war that was supposed to be happening has just failed to take hold...disgraceful!)
Since within three years of an early pull-out from Iraq we will be fighting terrorists on our own soil in our own country, instead of having to go overseas to do it, a pre-mature withdrawal of troops is essential.
9. I am absolutely furious that my home's value, which was supposed to go down because of the bursting of the housing bubble, actually has gone up in the last three months.
Just for that, I am keeping my house and absolutely refuse to even put it on the market.
10. President Bush has refused to be wishy-washy on almost any issue at all.
I think we need a man who can test the wind daily to see where he stands on an issue.
Maybe a good mugwump would fill the bill.
(A mugwump is a polititian who sits on the fence with his mug on one side and his wump on the other. He flies backward, because he doesn't care where he's going, only want to see where he's been.)
11. The general economy is too robust.
We deserve to be able to slow it down.
12. Unemployment is just too low.
Why, I can remember the Jimmy Carter days when unemployment was double digit.
13. The same goes for inflation!
Why can't we return to the days of 12% or maybe even 18% inflation?
14. And speaking of polititians, we need to get rid of these polititians who, when they discover a felon in their own ranks, force them to resign.
What we really need is for party leaders to endorse having members of Congress have actual sex with pages (instead of just writing to them) and then give them standing ovations.
We need strong men serving in Congress who don't mind leaving a woman in a car to drown.
We need more members of Congress who can't remember the story they told last time about their war escapades and so change the story every time they tell it.
For all of the reasons listed above, and for many I am just too depressed to mention here, I intend to vote DEMOCRATIC in the up-coming mid-term elections.
N O T !
Monday, October 09, 2006
REVELATION
One of my favorite sayings is: Everything you need to know about God is found in the Word of God; nothing you need to know about God is NOT found in the Word of God and anything you THINK you know about God that is not in the Word of God, you just made up.
What does this mean?
What it means is that the Word of God; i.e.: The Bible; is the entire revelation of God’s character, His love for his creation and His plan for its redemption.
He left nothing about Himself out.
There is no further revelation about Him needed.
In the Bible we find every iota of information about God that we need to discover who He is and what He is about.
We also discover why He created mankind, how mankind has historically responded to Him and what happened to disrupt what was to have been a fellowship of love between Him and His highest creation: human beings.
The Bible reveals the price of mankind’s disobedience to God and tells us that there is a high price to be paid for that disobedience, a price so high that no man could pay it.
Scripture shows us God’s plan to pay the price Himself, on mankind’s behalf so that humans could once again enjoy fellowship with Him.
Throughout history there have been people who have had "experiences" that they claimed brought them some "new" revelation from God.
For instance, after a fall on the ice, Mary Baker Eddy had a vision from God that healed her and brought her revelation about the nature of existence; that pain and sickness are illusions; Jesus was the offspring of Mary’s self-conscious communion with God and was conceived when Mary "Perceived" the "spiritual idea" of Christ.
Joseph Smith had "visions" during his youth that "revealed" to him that all Christian churches, denominations, and sects were wrong and that he should set them straight, and that a "messenger" named Moroni pointed him toward some burried gold plates containing many "new" revelations about God (written, by the way, in a convoluted form of "King James" English - presumabley because God could not speak 19th century English), etc.
After being attacked by ruffians and struck in the face with a large stone, which left her disfigured and traumatized, Ellen Harmonn (later to become Ellen White) began having visions from God in which she was levitated high above the earth and "revealed" that the door of salvation had been closed to sinner on October 22 1843. She is credited with solidifying the scattered Millerites and Adventists into one denomination know as Seventh-Day Adventists.
Sun Myung Moon had a "vision" in which Jesus told him that He (Jesus) had not fulfilled His mission on earth and that Moon was the only one alive who could accomplish the mission.
I could go on, but what I want you to see is that each of these had totally different "visions" from God, each of which named them as his "chosen" one to share new "revelations" with the world.
Can they all be right?
Can one be right?
Which one?
Who gets to choose?
You?
Me?
No.
If we want the total revelation of God, we need only to turn to the collection of 66 writings by 40 authors, written over centuries, which harmonize with each other, are ALL about the same person, and that leaves absolutely nothing about God unsaid.
We call it The Bible.
Its Old Testament is all about God’s nature and the coming Savior.
Its New Testament is all about God’s acting out His plan for redemption in Christ, its accomplishment and Christ’s soon return.
You should read it…it’s great!
No further revelation needed.
Period.
What does this mean?
What it means is that the Word of God; i.e.: The Bible; is the entire revelation of God’s character, His love for his creation and His plan for its redemption.
He left nothing about Himself out.
There is no further revelation about Him needed.
In the Bible we find every iota of information about God that we need to discover who He is and what He is about.
We also discover why He created mankind, how mankind has historically responded to Him and what happened to disrupt what was to have been a fellowship of love between Him and His highest creation: human beings.
The Bible reveals the price of mankind’s disobedience to God and tells us that there is a high price to be paid for that disobedience, a price so high that no man could pay it.
Scripture shows us God’s plan to pay the price Himself, on mankind’s behalf so that humans could once again enjoy fellowship with Him.
Throughout history there have been people who have had "experiences" that they claimed brought them some "new" revelation from God.
For instance, after a fall on the ice, Mary Baker Eddy had a vision from God that healed her and brought her revelation about the nature of existence; that pain and sickness are illusions; Jesus was the offspring of Mary’s self-conscious communion with God and was conceived when Mary "Perceived" the "spiritual idea" of Christ.
Joseph Smith had "visions" during his youth that "revealed" to him that all Christian churches, denominations, and sects were wrong and that he should set them straight, and that a "messenger" named Moroni pointed him toward some burried gold plates containing many "new" revelations about God (written, by the way, in a convoluted form of "King James" English - presumabley because God could not speak 19th century English), etc.
After being attacked by ruffians and struck in the face with a large stone, which left her disfigured and traumatized, Ellen Harmonn (later to become Ellen White) began having visions from God in which she was levitated high above the earth and "revealed" that the door of salvation had been closed to sinner on October 22 1843. She is credited with solidifying the scattered Millerites and Adventists into one denomination know as Seventh-Day Adventists.
Sun Myung Moon had a "vision" in which Jesus told him that He (Jesus) had not fulfilled His mission on earth and that Moon was the only one alive who could accomplish the mission.
I could go on, but what I want you to see is that each of these had totally different "visions" from God, each of which named them as his "chosen" one to share new "revelations" with the world.
Can they all be right?
Can one be right?
Which one?
Who gets to choose?
You?
Me?
No.
If we want the total revelation of God, we need only to turn to the collection of 66 writings by 40 authors, written over centuries, which harmonize with each other, are ALL about the same person, and that leaves absolutely nothing about God unsaid.
We call it The Bible.
Its Old Testament is all about God’s nature and the coming Savior.
Its New Testament is all about God’s acting out His plan for redemption in Christ, its accomplishment and Christ’s soon return.
You should read it…it’s great!
No further revelation needed.
Period.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
SUNDAY PRAISE
Lord I Lift Your Name On High
by Rick Founds
http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis/songbook/lordlift.html
Lord, I lift Your name on high.
Lord, I love to sing Your praises.
I'm so glad You're in my life.
I'm so glad You came to save us.
You came from Heaven to earth to show the way,
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay;
From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;
Lord, I lift Your name on high.
by Rick Founds
http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis/songbook/lordlift.html
Lord, I lift Your name on high.
Lord, I love to sing Your praises.
I'm so glad You're in my life.
I'm so glad You came to save us.
You came from Heaven to earth to show the way,
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay;
From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;
Lord, I lift Your name on high.
Friday, October 06, 2006
A Normal Quiz
Do you know what that graph represents?
As a Psychology/Sociology major in college, I had to deal with this type of graph extensively.
The "standard normal distribution" is the normal distribution with a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one (the green curves in the plots to the right). It is often called the bell curve because the graph of its probability resembles a bell.
See those little numbers along the bottom? There is a zero in the middle. That represents the point on the graph that is where the most of whatever you are measuring (people, ideas, IQs, pros, cons, etc.) falls.
Let's say you are measuring human characteristics. The further you go to the right or left, the fewer people demonstrate that characteristic.
It is important to realize that the curve measures quantitative results, not qualitative.
In our country, the majority of people work for somebody else.
On the graph, they would be plotted between the -1 and the +1, on the green line, or some such position.
The fortune 500 CEOs would fall close to the +3 mark and the homeless would fall close to the -3 mark...approximately.
Remember, "normal" is a quantitative term...it's about numbers compraed to the "norm."
Homosexuality is not normal behavior.
Homosexuals would fall in either the +2 or -2 section of the graph, depending on how one arranged the numbers.
Murder is not normal behavior.
Murderers would fall close to the +3 or -3 section of the graph.
Pollsters use these types of graphs to determine where the issue they'r polling fall in relation the the "norm."
There are many other uses for this type of graph, but for the purposes of this post, that is enough to know.
Would you consider a member of NAMBLA to be a "normal" person?
They would have you believe they are.
But they would fall in the +4 or -4 section of the graph. Definately NOT normal.
By the way, NAMBLA stands for: North American Man/Boy Love Association.
Keeping all of that in mind, here is a quiz for you (each question is multiple choice and has two answers):
1. What Congress person wants to be Speaker of the House and gladly associates with and actively supports NAMBLA?
a. Nancy Pelosi
b. Mark Foley
c. Democrat
d. Republican
2. What member of Congress drove a car into a body of water, escaped, and left the other occupant in the car to die, did not report the incident until the next day and escaped all responsibility for the act?
a. Ted Kennedy
b. Mark Foley
c. Democrat
d. Republican
3. What Lawmaker had actual sexual relations with a young male page, was censured by his comrades, allowed to continue "serving" and held an important chairmanship in his party?
a. Gerry Studds
b. Mark Foley
c. Democrat
d. Republican
4. What leader engaged in actual sexual abborant behavior with an intern, had several extra-marital affairs, was accused of rape by at least two women, was implicated in the deaths of several people who had opposed him and is now seen by his party as "one of our best ever...?"
a. William Jefferson Clinton
b. Mark Foley
c. Democrat
d. Republican
That's probably enough.
Answer in the comments section, if you like.
Here's the thing.
Mark Foley is a sleezeball...a beslubbering, clay-brained, clotpole who should not be in office. Guess what...he isn't!
He is NOT a "normal" Republican.
He would fall in the -4 or + 4 part of the graph, if we were measuring conservatives.
The correct answers to the above quiz, if graphed, would fall very near the "0" on the bell curve if we were measuring liberals.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Ignorance vs Stupidity
I'm ignorant.
I know nothing about nuclear fusion.
I am absolutely unknowledgeable about the grocery business.
I am ignorant.
Ignorance is not a bad thing.
We are all ignorant about something or somethings.
I don't mind being ignorant, since nobody knows all there is to know about everything ('though some would lead you to believe that they do).
What I hate is STUPIDITY.
STUPIDITY is constantly ignoring the facts, acting like the facts have no significance or being unable to draw a correct conclusion from a given set of facts.
Let's say we have 30 students in a second grade class.
In the class there are 3 black students, 2 oriental students and 3 Hispanic students. The rest are White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant or Catholics (OK, maybe a couple are atheistic...but those could be black, oriental, Hispanic or white).
Anyway...the teacher decides it is time for the class to learn to add.
She (or he) stands at the board and writes "2 + 2 = 4"
She then goes around the room and asks each student, "How much is two-plus-two?"
Each student answers, after which she then has the whole class repeat the equation several times as a group.
Question: Which of the children in the class did NOT have the opportunity to learn how much two-plus-two equals?
If you are a member of some groups, you would say that children of certain race or ethnicity did not have the same opportunity to learn as some of the others in the class.
STUPID!
(For those of you who studied new math in a public school, that means they all had exactly the same opportunity to learn the equation.)
Headline in yesterday's local fish wrapper: FOLEY ADMITS HE IS GAY!
STUPID!
Now I believe gayness to be neither hereditary nor a "choice." I believe it is a learned behavior pattern resulting from a variety of influences. And, like some other learned behaviors, I consider it to be sin.
Nevertheless, the headline is STUPID, because it is not related to the issue of writing emails and instant messages to pages (except in the most obtuse sense of the word "related.")
Several "talking heads" on TV have somehow connected the obnoxious behavior of one man to the political group of which he is (or was) a part.
Using that logic, since Ted Kennedy committed involuntary manslaughter, all members of his political party are likewise guilty of manslaughter (or at the very least covering up his).
STUPID!
I can't help but wonder how Barney Frank feels about Foley being gay. Does he consider that a plus for Foley or a minus?
What about a member of a certain political party who was caught having sex with pages? Shouldn't he have been treated with even MORE contempt than Foley, since he ACTED on his yearnings instead of just writing them?
How about a certain President who enjoyed having a certain intern kneel beneath his desk and engage in behavior that would have at least embarrassed most normal people and would have enraged others?
Did the fact that she was consenting diminish the significance of the event?
Was that a less immoral act than writing evi thoughts to a page?
STUPID!
My frustration is that there are certain people who, by virtue of their pre-dispositions and biases, will not be able to see the hypocrasy in this.
STUPID!
I guess some people just don't mind being STUPID.
I know nothing about nuclear fusion.
I am absolutely unknowledgeable about the grocery business.
I am ignorant.
Ignorance is not a bad thing.
We are all ignorant about something or somethings.
I don't mind being ignorant, since nobody knows all there is to know about everything ('though some would lead you to believe that they do).
What I hate is STUPIDITY.
STUPIDITY is constantly ignoring the facts, acting like the facts have no significance or being unable to draw a correct conclusion from a given set of facts.
Let's say we have 30 students in a second grade class.
In the class there are 3 black students, 2 oriental students and 3 Hispanic students. The rest are White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant or Catholics (OK, maybe a couple are atheistic...but those could be black, oriental, Hispanic or white).
Anyway...the teacher decides it is time for the class to learn to add.
She (or he) stands at the board and writes "2 + 2 = 4"
She then goes around the room and asks each student, "How much is two-plus-two?"
Each student answers, after which she then has the whole class repeat the equation several times as a group.
Question: Which of the children in the class did NOT have the opportunity to learn how much two-plus-two equals?
If you are a member of some groups, you would say that children of certain race or ethnicity did not have the same opportunity to learn as some of the others in the class.
STUPID!
(For those of you who studied new math in a public school, that means they all had exactly the same opportunity to learn the equation.)
Headline in yesterday's local fish wrapper: FOLEY ADMITS HE IS GAY!
STUPID!
Now I believe gayness to be neither hereditary nor a "choice." I believe it is a learned behavior pattern resulting from a variety of influences. And, like some other learned behaviors, I consider it to be sin.
Nevertheless, the headline is STUPID, because it is not related to the issue of writing emails and instant messages to pages (except in the most obtuse sense of the word "related.")
Several "talking heads" on TV have somehow connected the obnoxious behavior of one man to the political group of which he is (or was) a part.
Using that logic, since Ted Kennedy committed involuntary manslaughter, all members of his political party are likewise guilty of manslaughter (or at the very least covering up his).
STUPID!
I can't help but wonder how Barney Frank feels about Foley being gay. Does he consider that a plus for Foley or a minus?
What about a member of a certain political party who was caught having sex with pages? Shouldn't he have been treated with even MORE contempt than Foley, since he ACTED on his yearnings instead of just writing them?
How about a certain President who enjoyed having a certain intern kneel beneath his desk and engage in behavior that would have at least embarrassed most normal people and would have enraged others?
Did the fact that she was consenting diminish the significance of the event?
Was that a less immoral act than writing evi thoughts to a page?
STUPID!
My frustration is that there are certain people who, by virtue of their pre-dispositions and biases, will not be able to see the hypocrasy in this.
STUPID!
I guess some people just don't mind being STUPID.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
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