Ha!

Thanks LP for this one. It states so simply how I feel.

I also have a confession to make. Inspite of my recent jibes at Moleskine notebooks I had recently bought one of their pocket sized ones. I need something to cary around with me, but find most either too big, too flimsy or too expensive so I settled for the Moleskine. Actually, they had a softer leather one that seemed to fit my needs. So I brought it with me to the Dodge, made a whole bunch of notes in it, and even wrote two new poems. I recently did a load of laundry. Yep, that's right, I left it in my back pocket and it got ruined. Thankfully I had typed out the new poems before hand so I didn't lose those. I did lose all the notes I had made for a potential script idea a bunch of us are working on. I guess that'll teach me to mess with the mystic Moleskines! What is ironic, but what do I see all around the Dodge? More Moleskines! They were everywhere. Fortunately more were using the good old fashioned spiral bound notebooks.

9/11

This is one of those where were you moments. I have heard people who are old enough ask that question about the day Kennedy was shot. Now I on occassion hear the same question asked for 9/11. Living a few hours away from Philly and DC I have very vivid memories of that day. The day was ordinary. Aren't they all? The weather was moderate, the sun was shining, and nothing special was going on. At that time I was working in a finance office for the state, a small closed off room sharing four desks. Each morning we'd listen to a morning program getting a few yucks when one of the mentioned a news report that a plane hit one of the WTC towers then kept going on their usual shtick. We all commented how it was probably some knuckle head who flew off course and didn't know what he was doing. We went on with our business and they interrupted again to mention how a second plane had hit the second tower. Now we knew there was something going on. Everyone in the courts kept working, but we all switched our radios to news stations and find a TV to see what happened. Now I wish I had never saw what happened. It is still upsetting for me to remember the images of desctruction and of people falling to their deaths. What made it worse is thinking about my father who works at a naval yard in Philly. I ran to the nearest phone to see if he was ok and to convince him to go home. I don't think he did. I remember where I was that day. I was probably planning on taking a walk on the AC board walk down the street from my office. Who knows?

So where were you?

True Oil Freedom

If only this were true.

And It Begins

I thought old Dobsy would be a bit more quiet this time around since Mccain isn't really a Republican. Of course not. I mean look at him. He looks so reverent. So religious. So.... Ok, ok, I won't be so snipish this time around. Believe it or not I respect his work with mental health and faith. I read and learned a lot about life not always making sense from this man. His desire to stop pornography is a good thing. I want to believe what he is doing is for the better good of mankind and a desire to see God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. The only problem is he lets his politics get in the way of his faith. The old boy doesn't quite have the same amount of power he had back in the day. That doesn't quite stop him from giving his opinion about a recent speech made by Obama. It starts. Actually, it started however many months ago when Hillary and Obama sniping back and forth over who will be the lesser evil. And all the while Mccain sat back and let the blood bath occur. So I get to look forward to several more months of this crap? Just don't interrupt my UFC and I'll be happy.

UPDATE: I just discovered there is a whole sight to people who want to say James Dobson doesn't speak for them. Just for the record, I don't think either one of them speak for me. Only I speak for me. I just hope it's filled with the Spirit of truth.

Scott Mcknight has a good post on the subject.

Jesus For President: A Review

Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
If you have read Shane's first book you are getting much of the same. The positive of the book is it did make me ask about how I am using my time and finances. How do I look at the war? Treat the poor? etc. It has convicted me in a good sense and I am glad about that. Hopefully it'll reform my heart closer to God's will.



Now for the negative. A lot of his ideas to solve problems for helping the poor, to me, don't sound like they are really helping the poor. In creating a very temporary fix that in the long run does them no good. Feeding the poor is good. In my mind getting them off the streets for good whether through drug councelling, job placement, etc. is even better. They hand free pizza out to the homeless so they can continue to live on the street. That just seems wrong to me. Sure they got to feed them, but at the end of the day they are still homeless without prospects. Hey, I might be wrong. Plus there seems to be a lot of patting themselves on the back, but not nearly as much on their own backs. The desing of the book is great, but all the added little tidbits were a tad destracting. All in all it was a decent book. I'd have given it three stars, but the negative outweighed the positive. It still did teach me a few things.


View all my reviews.

The Presidential Faithful

While I do consider a presidents faith (or lack thereof) to be pretty important, I do appreciate LZ's point on the matter.

Angry White Man

Have you ever felt like there wasn't a candidate who spoke for people like you? Do you feel like your voice is lost in the crowd? Ever wish someone would say "Enough!"? More than likely you are an Angry White Man. With a few exceptions I'd say that was me. With the election season coming upon us and a whole bunch of people promising change (seriously, I counted at least 30 or 40 times in one day the candidates used the term change) yet I still pay a butt load of property taxes. I can't seem to save enough money to go back to school. And it took me over three years to find regular work. I'm not going to lie. I am very ambivalent about all the choices.

Goodbye Ward Churchill

I am all fore freedom of speech. Without my basic right to speak what I think and feel will turn us into a modern day "1984". That being said I believe other people have the right to correct me when I am speaking foolishly and to disagree with me. Heck, I am a nobody with a little blog that a few people read. I don't have the power of a Ward Churchill who each year has hundreds of young minds eating out of his hands. I have been trying to think of a nice way to put my feelings on this buy, but I can't. The dude is a whacko and a fraud. And he finally has gotten fired from his teaching position at a prestigious college. A few of his more colorful claims are that he is a native american and part of elite forces in Viet Nam and the people who died in the Twin Towers were little Eichmann's. I don't have a problem being taught by people I disagree with because it is nothing new. I do have a problem with people giving false information and not being held accountable for it.

Cuban Medical Care

Is medical care in Cuba better than what you can get in America? According to Michael Moore yes it is. Watch this clip of a woman who appeared in Sicko and see what she thinks.

Liberalism In The Church

I am a member of The Evangelical Presbyterian Church. As far as denominations go we are a young upstart which broke off from the PC USA about 20 years ago. In a very short time more churches are leaving the PC USA to join the EPC. The reason being is many fear liberalism has taken hold of the main line denominations. Though I agree with Religious Liberal that this isn't a new phenomena it is one we should take seriously. This is part of the reason why I'm not so concerned about people putting "My Boss Is A Jewish Carpenter" bumper stickers on their cars. Falling into the trap of extreme liberalism and conservatism is easy. The messages can be safe and appealing. Who wouldn't want to be happy and contented all the time? Who doesn't want people to look at Christians in the best possible light as welcoming and loving? I admit, there are many times I feel extremely embarressed by my Christian bretheren and sisteren. Though I can see valid points for having us know sin is sin as well as discussions on social justice. But what is really important to the church as a whole and Christians individually? What really matters? What should our focus be? Where is our treasure?

Article: Experiencing War From The Comfort Of Home

I just published my first article at Samantha Burns. It is more political than I usually write here, but I thought that forum was right for it. Hope you enjoy.