LOL Moment….

Just a quick note to say I just watched a video of a town hall meeting opposing Obamacare. There was an elderly lady who ranted on and on about it. She was totally convinced that if we allow it to be implemented that it would certainly cause the downfall of the entire country.  She finished with the following statement. “I realize that Obamacare does not … Continue reading LOL Moment….

No Dignity…

“There is very little dignity, very little sportsmanship, or very little anything in politics, only get the job and hold it.” – Will Rogers, 2 November 1932 Many of the original founders of our country were hesitant volunteers in that nation building process. They say that all the time that George Washington spent in New York, which was the nation’s capital at that time, were … Continue reading No Dignity…

Willing To Change….

Be Willing to Change: I don’t expect to fully understand God by the time I’m done with middle school, high school, college, or when I retire—faith is a Pilgrim’s Progress, a journey of continual growth and maturity. God is too big and glorious to completely understand within a set amount of time, so my ideas, opinions, and understanding of God—my theology—will change. But why do you … Continue reading Willing To Change….

Jesus… One of “Those” People….

  What do we do as Christians when confronted with these harsh realities? The Bible urges us to “remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself!” (Hebrews 13:3).  Jesus knew what it was like to have a loved one incarcerated. His cousin, John the Baptist, was falsely accused and arrested (and eventually executed).  Perhaps this is why Jesus, in Matthew 25, tells his disciples … Continue reading Jesus… One of “Those” People….

5 Best Back-to-School Cars???

Another academic year has begun, and if you (or your child) need a good set of wheels for college or high school, here’s a look at Kelley Blue Book’s five top picks for Best 2013 Back-to-School Cars. KBB editors compiled the list by looking at all available 2013 and ’14 models starting at $20,000 or less, then choosing the cars they believe offer the best … Continue reading 5 Best Back-to-School Cars???

Roadtrip Nation…

Roadtrip Nation is a public television series and grassroots movement that encourages young people to hit the road in search of interviews with leaders who have defined their own distinct routes through life. The search for eclectic individuals who have resisted pressures to conform and who have become successful by following their own paths is what drives Roadtrip Nation. This remarkable movement documents these journeys … Continue reading Roadtrip Nation…

Egypt No Longer Matters

“They kept saying, ‘What do you think of the Muslim Brotherhood? What are the Egyptian military officers telling you about [Mohamed] Morsi?’” the general recalled, shaking his head in frustration. “I told them, ‘We had our own Arab Spring, now we have a democratic government, we have acute poverty, civil wars and al-Qaeda. Can you please stop talking about Egypt and start talking about Yemen?’” … Continue reading Egypt No Longer Matters

House Republicans pushing for major food stamp cuts…

The major cuts were designed to satisfy House conservatives who rejected more moderate reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) earlier this year, but with millions of Americans still struggling to recover from the recession, Democrats are balking at the GOP bill. “What the House Republicans are saying is this: get a good paying job or your family will just have to go hungry,” … Continue reading House Republicans pushing for major food stamp cuts…

About The Heritage Foundation…

In a sane world, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz would also be on the political ropes, in his case, for cheering the late Jesse Helms of North Carolina, an unreconstructed bigot who devoted his life to the defense of white supremacy and the advancement of far-right politics. Instead, Cruz—who in many ways is the ideological successor to Helms—will lose nothing, and continue to act as the … Continue reading About The Heritage Foundation…

Faith, Doubt and the Idol of Certainty: An Interview with Greg Boyd

“The quest to feel certain becomes an idol when a person’s sense of significance to God and security before God is anchored not in their simple trust of God’s character, as revealed on the cross, but in how certain they feel about the rightness of their beliefs.” – Greg Boyd SOURCE: Faith, Doubt and the Idol of Certainty: An Interview with Greg Boyd. I can say … Continue reading Faith, Doubt and the Idol of Certainty: An Interview with Greg Boyd

Crossing The Barrier For The Common Good….

In my life’s experiences I have found that it is extremely difficult to get people to cross a personal barrier in order to accomplish a common good. Politics…… It seems that the common good, that is things that people who have different political views can come together and accomplish, is becoming a rarity in the U.S. the last decade or so. There are a lot … Continue reading Crossing The Barrier For The Common Good….

UPS drops health benefits for 15,000 spouses…

In the case of UPS, the 15,000 spouses are husbands or wives whose employers also offer health benefits. This appears to be a case where they like the plan they have (they’ve opted for the UPS plan rather than their employer plan) and can’t keep it….. And for the 15,000 who are affected, it’s a bit simplistic to say their options are narrowing solely because … Continue reading UPS drops health benefits for 15,000 spouses…

An Emergent Witness for Friends…..

1.  As we often proclaim, Friends are, for the most part, non-creedal and non-hierarchical.  When we are at our best we’ve avoided creeds, and when we are at our worst we’ve just been bad at them.  One of the apparent features of the emerging church movement seems to be a general disinterest in formal creedal statements of belief that everyone is expected to conform to … Continue reading An Emergent Witness for Friends…..

Across Egypt, piles of ash where church pews once stood

SOURCE:  Across Egypt, piles of ash where church pews once stood (+video) – CSMonitor.com. While we are meddling in the various civil wars in the Middle East, and aren’t almost all of them in one form of war or another, how do we choose which side we are one? It seems in Syria and Egypt the “rebels” are the extremists who are burning churches that … Continue reading Across Egypt, piles of ash where church pews once stood

For Someone Who Knew Something…

This would be a great time in the world for some man to come along that knew something.” – Will Rogers, 21 September 1931 We seem to be a nation that so desperately needs someone that knows something. The problem is that we are looking in the absolutely wrong places.   We look for someone who agrees with us in our entrenched “principles” instead of … Continue reading For Someone Who Knew Something…

And My Tax Dollars Support It???

Al-Qaeda-linked rebels take Syrian Christian village, activists sayIt is unclear how an historic village just 26 miles from Damascus could be overrun; locals say rebels burned churches SOURCE:  Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News – CBS News. It bothers me greatly that there will likely be severe innocent deaths associated with President Obama’s rush to enter into the Syrian civil war. Yeah, million … Continue reading And My Tax Dollars Support It???

Narcissism And The 1%….

Recent studies show, for example, that wealthier people are more likely to cut people off in traffic and to behave unethically in simulated business and charity scenarios. Earlier this year, statistics on charitable giving revealed that while the wealthy donate about 1.3% of their income to charity, the poorest actually give more than twice as much as a proportion of their earnings — 3.2%. “There’s … Continue reading Narcissism And The 1%….

Hating the Poor but Loving Jesus?

“Americans react to the poor with disgust,” said Susan Fiske, professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University and the originator of the neuroimaging tests. She has studied attitudes toward the poor for a dozen years. “It’s the most negative prejudice people report, greater even than racism,“ Fiske stated. No doubt part of that response is aesthetic. Some of those who are very poor … Continue reading Hating the Poor but Loving Jesus?

European leaders urge U.S. on Syria: Slow down

Skeptical European foreign ministers on Saturday urged the U.S. to delay possible military action against Syria until U.N. inspectors report on last month’s suspected chemical weapons attack. SOURCE: European leaders urge U.S. on Syria: Slow down – CBS News. Will President Obama listen to some of the leaders of the other 95% of the world’s population and not rush into another war, no matter how limited … Continue reading European leaders urge U.S. on Syria: Slow down

Mixing Religion And Politics Is Like Mixing Ice Cream With Manure….

“Mixing religion and politics is like mixing ice cream and manure. It doesn’t do much to the manure but it sure does ruin the ice cream”, my friend Tony Campolo likes to say. No one would vote for Jesus. Seriously. Firstly He’s one of those boat people. Well, at least one of those “donkey people”. According to the second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel his family … Continue reading Mixing Religion And Politics Is Like Mixing Ice Cream With Manure….

How The Other Side Sees It….

 “Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man … living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture … Continue reading How The Other Side Sees It….

Democratic Party Is Too Skeptical…

The current Democratic Party is too skeptical of business, too hostile toward wealth creation, and overly abusive of America’s most productive citizens—often because there are votes to be had by poking the rich in the eye. Yes, a modern economy needs regulation, but that regulation needs to be targeted and have minimal costs. Like a good physician, we want to fix the problem—because there are … Continue reading Democratic Party Is Too Skeptical…

Shane Claiborne’s Statement on Syria – Red Letter Christians

Right after 9/11, I asked a kid in my neighborhood what we should do in response.  His answer: “Those people did something very wrong…”  He thought pensively and continued, “But two wrongs don’t make a right.”  As Martin Luther King taught us, you cannot fight fire with fire, you only get a bigger fire.  You fight fire with water.  You fight violence with nonviolence.  You … Continue reading Shane Claiborne’s Statement on Syria – Red Letter Christians