As I have grown older and wiser I have learned some important lessons in life. One of them is that everyone deserves a hand up when they come across hard times in their lives. The words of Jesus taught me that early on but I guess I just wasn’t ready to hear that message. It would be years and many personal relationships before I took it to heart. I think I have had my share of troubles during my life. I grew up in poverty although I didn’t really realize it at the time. I had a very narcissist mother who just … Continue reading Everyone Deserves a Hand Up…

Lord knows I have my problems in life, I have even been blogging about some of them in my Celebrate Diversity posts lately. So I can understand how so many women are addicted to their make-up. I also admit that I am not very well attuned to the social scene so I really didn’t know much about Alicia Keys, but I admired her audacity. By baring her bare face, Keys has revealed how makeup can become a crutch and a mask. The very fact that women are so encouraged to apply makeup communicates that we should be concealing our imperfections and … Continue reading About Make-up…

This post has been sitting in my “draft” pile for as long as any there. I don’t pretend to be some guru siting on a mountain with the meaning of life. I’m just a guy who has managed to survive seventy years on this earth and not get into too much trouble. But living those seventy years I have made a lot of mistakes and had a few successes. The last post was about rules and how they can be stifling in life and now here I am giving you my “rules for life”. Kind of ironic isn’t it? I … Continue reading 10 Rules for Living a 21st Century Life

History backs-up the scientific evidence that secular people are more moral, as reviewed by Israeli psychologist Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi. Most white supporters of the US Civil Rights Movement were non-religious, for example, while the apartheid regime in South Africa was led by devout Christians and opposed by atheists. But the view that non-religious individuals are morally dubious is deeply embedded in American society. Atheists and agnostics are considered less trustworthy, even immoral, which explains why people who don’t believe in God are unlikely to be elected to high political office, such as President of the United States…. ”It’s sometimes claimed that … Continue reading Religion Makes Children More Selfish…

  I must admit that I love Shonda Rhimes and her creative mind! Grey’s Anatomy is probably my all-time favorite show and since I have been around quite a while that is a lot of shows. She shows us the challenges of life that many of us have never faced.  I captured the quote above from a recent CNN broadcast talking about the Oscars. I have not watched that awards ceremony in many years but I do get glimpses of it and the meat parade that goes on as the actors enter the theatre are still very prevalent. It seems that those … Continue reading Containers They Carry Their Brains Around In…

While being shown around, Uyanwah asked Hawking which human shortcoming he would most like to change, and which trait he’d enhance. Hawking chose aggression and warned that a nuclear war could end civilization and possibly the human race. We need to replace aggression with empathy, which “brings us together in a peaceful loving state,” he said. SOURCE: Stephen Hawking Warns That Aggression Could ‘Destroy Us All’. I want to admit up front that I am not much of a fan of Steven Hawking. Maybe it is his avowed atheism or maybe it is because most of what he says is really … Continue reading Our Most Deadly Trait…

I’m not sure if religion is the opiate of the masses, but I’m convinced that indifference is the opiate of the privileged. We turn to it when overwhelmed by the discomfort we feel about our complicity in an oppressed person’s reality. To anesthetize ourselves against their reality, we willfully ingest this opiate and use it as a coping mechanism. After years of the westernized church ingesting unhealthy amounts of indifference, we now experience delusional thoughts which blame the victims of injustice for their suffering. We have contorted scripture to please our ears. Ignoring the words and life of Christ, disregarding the narrative of Israel, … Continue reading Against Indifference….

“There’s a lot of people out here in the working field doing what Governor Walker wants us to do: he says he wants us to be out here working,” said Branch, who identified herself as a supporter of Burke. “I was hoping that Mr. Walker would see [the complaints] and take account of these workers out here … he just needs to take a walk in my shoes.” SOURCE: This Is Scott Walker’s Idea Of A Living Wage. I know that Scott Walker’s fellow Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan simply adores all of Ayn Rand’s teaching and a primary part of … Continue reading This Is Scott Walker’s Idea Of A Living Wage

The name Rockefeller is deeply synonymous with turning oil into gold. Familial patriarch John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in 1870 and bought up most of the oil refineries in the United States, eventually controlling over 90 percent of the American oil business. “Competition,” he said, “is a sin.” That empire, in inflation-adjusted terms, made him the richest man in history with a fortune estimated at $336 billion in 2010 dollars. The Standard Oil monopoly, meanwhile, was broken up and evolved into the global oil brands Exxon-Mobil, Amoco, and Chevron. But the times they are a-changin’, and you don’t need … Continue reading Why the Rockefellers are betting on renewable energy

That second set of ears belongs to Sharon Wolozin, who takes notes the old-fashioned way – with pen and paper – and then reads some of the main points aloud to confirm them with the doctor. If the patient forgets a question she told Wolozin she planned to ask, Wolozin will remind her. But she is not an advocate and has no medical training. “We don’t get between the doctor and the patient,” said Wolozin. Her role is only to create an accurate record of what happened at the appointment that she gives to Couturier, who can then share it … Continue reading During Doctor Visits….