Fire Insurance???

Here is an extended quote from the second chapter of James for our discussion today: You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made … Continue reading Fire Insurance???

Will bank branches wither away?

via Will bank branches wither away? – USATODAY.com. In the past year, the number of bank customers who prefer to bank online has jumped sharply, according to a survey conducted in August by the American Bankers Association. Sixty-two percent of bank customers said they prefer banking online to all other methods, up from 36% in 2010. Only 20% of customers said they preferred using a … Continue reading Will bank branches wither away?

Just Because You Write a Book…

Source: Ford’s Theatre, citing errors, refuses to carry Bill O’Reilly’s ‘Killing Lincoln’ – CSMonitor.com. Just because you write a book doesn’t mean you are an expert in something. Fox New’s Bill O’Reilly I’m sure has a large following on his news show. I know he rants and raves just like most do on that network. He often mentions that he is a self-proclaimed expert on Lincoln … Continue reading Just Because You Write a Book…

Say It Isn't So….

Source: Cosmic Log – Faster-than-light neutrinos confirmed. Goodbye E=m² !!! It looks like scientists have discovered that matter can travel faster than the speed of light. One of Einstein’s simplest and most dramatic theories postulated that this was impossible. According to the theory when matter approaches the speed of light it turns into pure energy. He also postulated that matter no bigger than an eraser could … Continue reading Say It Isn't So….

Congress prepares for year-end spending and tax cut bazaar

Source: NBC Politics – Congress prepares for year-end spending and tax cut bazaar. Complain if you will about congressional gridlock, but right before the holidays is often when the gridlock eases because everyone is focused on getting out of town and back to their families. The extension of at least some of the 53 tax credits and preferences which Congress created or preserved last December. The … Continue reading Congress prepares for year-end spending and tax cut bazaar

Taking Money Out of Social Security

Source: Obama Strikes Populist Chord With Speech in Heartland – NYTimes.com. The most recent proposal by Senate Democrats calls for reducing the share of Social Security payroll tax paid by employees to 3.1 percent from the already reduced level of 4.2 percent. If Congress takes no action, the tax is to revert to 6.2 percent next month. The cut, under the proposal, would be offset by … Continue reading Taking Money Out of Social Security

Bankers, Lawyers, and Politicians….

The banker, the lawyer, and the politician are still our best bets for a laugh. Audiences haven’t changed at all, and neither has the three above professions. -August 11, 1935  Will Rogers As Will said almost eighty years ago I probably get my best laughs from posts about these three groups. I personally have fairly intimately known at least one person from each of these … Continue reading Bankers, Lawyers, and Politicians….

Comic Books Made Me Who I Am???

Cosmic Log – Bam! How comics teach science. The source article above doesn’t have much to do with this post other than invoking some buried thoughts from my childhood. The comics they talk about in no way resemble the ones I read when I was a kid. I haven’t been around comic books in years so I don’t know what the general contexts are now. … Continue reading Comic Books Made Me Who I Am???

Not as Much as We Would Like to Believe…

Dear R.J., “Jim, Christianity has nothing to do with racism.” That’s what my church elder told me when I was a 15-year-old boy. Can you believe that? “That’s political, and our faith is personal,” he said. That’s the night I left my church. This kind of story is all too common. So that’s exactly why we founded Sojourners 40 years ago – to call Christians … Continue reading Not as Much as We Would Like to Believe…

About Video Sharing….

Source:  Start-ups cue up for mobile video-sharing – USATODAY.com. Texting is so old school according to the latest trends. Video is where it is at today. Here is a quote from the referenced article: The meteoric rise of camera-equipped smartphones has popularized personal videos. And several new companies are rushing to develop mobile apps to help consumers capture, edit and share those videos across Facebook, … Continue reading About Video Sharing….

An Investment Strategy No One Talks About….

Source: Wolfram Blog : Stock Market Returns by Presidential Party. The New York Times recently published an “Op-Chart” by Tommy McCall on its Opinion page showing what your returns would have been had you started with $10,000 in 1929 and invested it in the stock market, but only during the administrations of either Democratic or Republican presidents. His calculations showed that if you had invested only … Continue reading An Investment Strategy No One Talks About….

Salvation According to a Progressive Quaker

Here is an interesting article from the blog quakerquaker.org that I thought worth putting here. He has quite a few valid arguments but I’m sure most will ignore them due to him coming to the “wrong” conclusion. The Progressive Gospel (according to me) Posted by Dave Salyers on 12th mo. 8, 2011 at 11:00am Send Message   View Blog The essence of the Good News of the Gospel as … Continue reading Salvation According to a Progressive Quaker

My Anger Obliges Me to Take Action…

  I get a daily email from Sojourners.net containing a verse from the Christian Bible as well as a corresponding quote from someone in today’s world. Here is one I got recently:   “My father . . . used to say, ‘I need my anger. It obliges me to take action.’ I think my father was partly right. Anger arises, naturally, to signal disturbing situations … Continue reading My Anger Obliges Me to Take Action…

Getting Enough to Eat….

Ten men in our country could buy the World, and ten million can’t buy enough to eat. -August 16, 1931  Will Rogers Sometimes it is almost eerie to see the similarities between the depth of the Great Depression and today.  The last time we were not able to break the grip of our aristocracy’s absolute control of wealth. Maybe we will this time around? After … Continue reading Getting Enough to Eat….

Putting the Political Process into Business Decisions….

The Republicans are constantly harping about how ineffective it is to have businesses run by political processes. In most cases I agree with them in that regard. Just look at the many military contractors and their infamous $10,000 toilet seats to see an example of that.  Every person in congress has his hand out when it comes to our bloated military budgets. Things run by … Continue reading Putting the Political Process into Business Decisions….

Another Campaign Slogan…

source:  Obama Strikes Populist Chord With Speech in Heartland – NYTimes.com. Mr. Roosevelt called the conflict between “the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess” central to progress. The men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess I know this isn’t exactly a campaign … Continue reading Another Campaign Slogan…

Some Good News on the War Front…

Success: Senate Supports Quicker Afghanistan Withdrawal Good news! For the first time, the Senate has approved legislation calling for an end to the U.S. war in Afghanistan and your support was a big factor in this success. Last week, the Senate added the amendment, offered by Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) and Republican Senator Mike Lee (UT), to the military authorization bill. The near-unanimous approval of this … Continue reading Some Good News on the War Front…