Goldilocks and the Three Churches

A friend of mine just moved several states away and relayed to me about her search for a new church to call home.

She said that the first church was close by, in an old strip mall, very non-traditional, no organ, but great music.  They have a rotating music team that does a great job.  They have about 200 people at each service and  it is a little too large for them.  They have three clergy and all three deliver great sermons.

They then visited another church nearby which was very modern, had a big (overpowering) organ, modern stained glass windows and incredibly BORING sermons.

Then they found another church, about 20 minutes away, that was established in 1752.  The building was from 1825 and they have an old tracker organ from 1883 which was recently refurbished.  It is a smaller church and has about 75 in the congregation.  The sermon was great, the organ didn't overpower the congregation, there were very good singers in the congregation and this one pleased them in every way.

What do you look for in a church?

Threats and Enemies of America

Just what we need, more sabre rattling.  Recently Snowden informed the world about a massive, undercover spy program the US was conducting all over the world. Many of our European allies are furious over the revelation but we dismissed it stating that everyone does it so it is okay.  Of course, it is no surprise that Putin and other world leaders would offer Snowden protection.  The rest of the world sees him as a hero.  I am sure we would do the same thing for a Russian whistle-blower if he sought protection in the US.

Many people don't realize that Snowden is the Paul Revere or Thomas Jefferson of our time.  When history books are written, his name will be up there as a liberator of his country from the neo cons.  So now, Snowden is currently seeking asylum from several countries, including Ecuador.

Sen. Chuck Schumer with his Cold War and mobster mentality said this about Ecuador if it gives Snowden political asylum;

"We should cut off the foreign aid we have with them, it's about 10 million.  If Ecuador agrees to Edward Snowden’s request for asylum, there will be serious consequences.  Their economy will pay a very big price.  We will end all foreign aid, repeal trade agreements.  Whatever political benefit the leader of Ecuador thinks he will get by granting Mr. Snowden asylum, it will be far outweighed by the damage done to Ecuador’s economy.”

"Damage?"  Did he say "Damage?"  Will we intentionally damage another country's economy for want of one man?

And, did he say ten million?  It is more like billions.  These trade preferences include items like fruits, coffee, oil, shrimp, gold, vegetables and flowers.  Ecuador is the world's largest exporter of bananas to the US ($936.5 million in 2002) and a major exporter of shrimp ($251 million in 2002). Exports of non-traditional products such as flowers ($291 million in 2002) and canned fish ($333 million in 2002).  If my math is correct, like, you know, that comes out to about 10 million . . . I guess.  I'll take your word Senator Schumer.

Now, FIRST, if we were to cut off ties with Ecuador, what will that do to our own economy when we have to buy our imports from other countries if at all?  Where will we get those export items from and at what additional cost to us?  Is Snowden's freedom worth doubling the cost for some items to US citizens?

Secondly, Ecuador employs at least 50,000 people on about 550 farms across their country and is indirectly responsible for another 110,000 jobs.  Is it fair to to the children, families and innocent workers of that country to punish them because of our own government's ineptitude?   It is always easy to blame the foreign power because the last thing we want to do is admit that the Snowden incident happened because of our secret spy policies and failure to contain them.

Frankly, I think Senator Chuck Schumer has done far more harm to this country than Edward Snowden ever did. In fact, I think Snowden has done the country a great service.  Who does Schumer think he is, a 1950 mobster?  Our own senate is a greater enemy of the Constitution.

Schumer went on to say, “The U.S. should move forward with suspending the thousands of visas we issue to their businesses each year, and let trade preferences expire should they decide to grant Snowden asylum."

Is Schumer willing to mete out his version of justice and ruin thousands of lives to satisfy the letter of the law without considering the damage that will take place both here, there and to countless individuals?

Schumer and his kind dream of preserving Imperial America by endless war and intervention in every conflict. They think this planet is the property of the US and that other nations cannot reside here unless they meet our lease terms.  Do they really want us to be in war with every country?  Are they really willing to impose economic sanctions which can deny food, medicine and housing to hundreds of thousands of innocent people?    Are they willing to punish an entire nation, and ours, over this incident?  Instead of inflicting harm or spewing venom and threats, why don't we just stoop to bribery to get Snowden back?  Money talks.  Everyone will think they win.

In this predominately Christian country, is the church willing to allow such economic sanctions which could starve and hurt thousands of innocent people?  What will be the church's response and demand to all this be?  Is the church a monument or a movement?  Will it sacrifice everything to protect the poor and those persecuted by governments, even if it is their own?   I'm sure its response will be to pray for them. 

You know, Jesus was not the Milquetoast guy our church makes him out to be.  He was a passive aggressive who did not stand down when facing governments, politicians, friends or even his own church.  Those parables about carrying a soldier's cloak for an extra mile and turning the other cheek are not what we think they are about.  Research them. You will be surprised to realize how tough Jesus really was.  The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.  I am not discounting the power of prayer but, in many of our churches today, prayer is the least thing they can do for someone while still getting to grandstand like they are actually doing something.

Back to Schumer, one of the good people.  In 2009 on a US Airways flight from NY to DC, December 13, during the take off, Senator Charles Schumer was repeatedly asked by a flight attendant to turn off his cell phone.  Later, Schumer called the flight attendant a "bitch." He made the comment to fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who was seated next to him, and was overheard by a House aide who was also on the plane.  Schumer, after being outed to the press for his behavior issued an apology (because he got caught).  He said it was an "off-the-cuff comment".  I guess that makes hate speech okay if it is off-the-cuff.  Just ask Paula Deen.   According to the aide who overheard Mr. Schumer, the phone rang again moments after the attendant had told Mr. Schumer to shut it off.  But, everybody does it so it must be okay.

Schumer's comments about damaging Ecuador, their people and their economy (and eventually ours) really perturbed me.  He is a bully, no better and no less than a war criminal, willing to hurt other people with impunity so that our government can save face and get what they want.   And, if they don't get what they want, like a spoiled playground brat, they will take their ball and go home, resolving nothing.   Nobody wins.

Arrogant, ignorant and corrupt career politicians must go! We need term limits!

Poor Paula Deen

The media frenzy and rabid, foaming at the mouth impugnment of Paula Deen's character is rubberneckingly amazing.  The media, corporations and politicians have not only thrown her down a hole, but they are now using a plunger to send her further down and pull her back out so they can assail her even more - and sell more ad space, deflect attention and milk the witch hunt for all its worth.

I have no need to explore Paula's cultural heritage, character, remorse, rehabilitation, upbringing or Christic morality regarding the matter.  What I find more interesting are the corporations who are severing all ties with her and putting as much distance between them and her as they can.  Why?

They are all hypocrites.  We live in a society whose mob mentality embraces revenge, punishment, ostracization, fear and unforgiveness.  The irony is that many of these corporations probably have people on their boards who are far worse "racists" but are smart enough to never admit it.   This will teach people to paint over their windows of transparency. 

Nobody is the worse thing they've ever done or said and we've ALL said or done things we may not be proud of.  Whether those things have gotten us in trouble or fired does not negate the fact that we may have learned from those experiences, grown from them, changed or even made restitution and asked for forgiveness.  Many people go so far as to work more hard to prove themselves as worthy and productive members of society in the process of that reinvention.

If someone asks for forgiveness and we don't offer it, what does that say about us?  I'd rather have a repentant criminal live next door to me than a surreptitious "good  guy" who has never been caught.  For those of us who are Christians, while on the cross, Jesus took a repentant convicted criminal to paradise with him, not an honest man like all those "good" people who accused, convicted, leered and denied him.

As an aside, (Did anyone see the movie "The Gathering?"  It was about [spoiler alert] the people who witnessed the crucifixion and did nothing to stop it.  They were condemned to spend eternity witnessing the worse atrocities humanity inflicts upon itself for, not to act is to act.  ( For instance, the church must condone war since it does little to stop it)).

The corporations who severed their ties with Paula are blind.  All they are doing is tearing down and destroying in an effort to either get people to notice how superior and ethical they are or, to deflect attention away from themselves (Look how evil Paula is and how good we are because we threw her to the curb.  We're not hateful, prejudice or evil as she is.  Look at our moral superiority by denouncing her and her wickedness).

If I were in charge of one of these corporations, I'd embrace Paula and design an ad campaign using Paula and focusing the ad on race relations, the destructive force of prejudice and how we can heal from hate.  I would show the world what hate looks like, what it can do and what we are doing to help heal the wounds of ignorance.  Then combine it with coupons and events to promote healing, attract attention to the good we are doing rather than what we are not doing and of course, sell product.  What is that age old axiom about honey, vinegar and flies?

When all you do is destroy, disown and dissolve, you can't heal or build. These companies are cutting off their noses to spite their face.  So far, these companies are The Food Network, Walmart (a paragon of race and fair wage relations) Caesars Entertainment (gambling is not an addiction but bring your credit card anyway),  Target now has her in their cross-hairs (Target finds it acceptable to sell products made by minors working for $2 a day in Asian sweatshops. Their PR teams are thanking Deen for diverting attention away) and Smithfield Foods.

Smithfield issued a statement saying "As an ethical food leader, it is important that our values and those of our spokespeople are properly aligned.”

Smithfield has ethics? Their use of gestation crates would seem to be at odds with that. Not to mention all the land they have contaminated with feces-ridden runoff.  The very fact that they have the gall to use the word "ethical" when referring to themselves strikes me as ludicrous.

Novo Nordisk which produces the drug Victoza has dumped Paula, too.  Victoza is a drug for people with diabetes.  Paula was a spokesperson for Victoza while at the same time she was promoting lifestyle and dietary changes in an effort to battle diabetes.  I'm sure that that competitive opinion didn't sit well with Novo Nordisk who would rather that people afflicted with diabetes take their drug instead of putting down that doughnut and getting exercise.  Paula's alternative method of healing certainly had nothing to do with Novo Nordisk breaking their contract with her, I'm sure.  But her use of the N-word, the concision of insult, came at a convenient time.

The ancient art of the invective has been around for centuries and will be around for centuries more.  It won't stop by firing Paula and negating all the good she did and is further capable of doing, but, imagine what could be accomplished by using her to educate people and  proffering a little forgiveness laced with mercy and grace.

I have no doubt that Paula is going to reinvent herself and come back bigger and better.  The question is, which savvy corporation is going to align with her and make a big score when she does have a lucrative comeback?   Paula, I'm in!  But all I have is ten bucks.

Trilobite and Brachiopod Fossils

I found these fossils while hiking around Thatcher Park.  The park is part of the Helderberg Escarpment, one of the richest fossil-bearing formation in the world.  It is about six miles of limestone cliff-face and rock-strewn sloes overlooking the quaint town of Altamont. 

These fossils are from the Devonian period which was known as "The Age of Fish."  For you Christians, it is called "The Fifth Day."  From Genesus 1:20:

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life

And the evening and the morning were The Fifth Day

For an extremely informative academic report on the geological data of the area, Union College of Schenectady put out this document:

http://www.union.edu/academic_depts/geology/outreach/trips/helderberg.pdf

http://media.tumblr.com/99b8d0da12cbd65e194adf36c7775c6c/tumblr_inline_mozyll5GPj1qz4rgp.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/de8d1b5ada4db77fabc16f27e66b2de6/tumblr_inline_mozykf06lw1qz4rgp.jpg

From the Conspiracy Department: "Well, it's their fault for bringing kids into a battle."

I'm sure everyone has an opinion regarding those people who leak government secrets.  Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning are the latest. We held Manning for three years without charge while he was kept in a small cell, most of the time he was naked, the lights were on 24/7 and he was provided no blankets.  This "torture" was for his own safety. 

Manning leaked a video to Assange who then posted it on Wikileaks.  The government said that the video put American lives at risk.  I provided a link to the video so you may see our national security being compromised.  The two murdered men which the video highlights are Reuters News Services photographers each carrying cameras.  After the massacre, a van pulls up to help the wounded.  In the van was a father who was bringing his two children to school or to visit a relative.  While driving by, he saw one of the wounded men and stopped to help him.  No good deed goes unpunished.  The video is located here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw442y2fTeU

You can read about the video here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_12,_2007_Baghdad_airstrike

Manning is just now, three years later, being formally charged for treason because he leaked that video.  There are legal avenues to blow the whistle on the government but, there is no way the government would release this video on its own merit had Manning even pursued those avenues. 

The soldiers' demeanor in the video raises other issues.  There are many people who harshly judged them although no charges or punishment was lodged against them.  I admit I wouldn't want any of them as neighbors but this sort of activity and behavior is what they are trained to do.  They are trained, rewarded and some would even go so far as to say "brainwashed," into taking joy in what they do:  Killing.  The alternative is PTSD or not being able to do their job when it most counts.  They are like police dogs who are trained to attack.  Police dogs are not being vicious, they are having fun when they attack, it is mostly play for them.  That's how they are trained.  That is why they are effective at fighting crime.  If a dog didn't like what he was doing, he probably wouldn't do it, at least not effectively. 

Military training is one reason why there are so many unemployed veterans.  Employers know the type of training military soldiers go through and don't want to take a chance on one of them going "postal."  An interesting movie on the topic is "Jack Reacher."  It is about a military homicide investigator who digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims because he was trained to kill and was never afforded the opportunity to do it.

The other bane veterans have lurking in their corner is that many of them entered the military fresh out of high school and despite having some of the best training in the world, they don't have college degrees.  So a nurse, trained in battlefield triage, who has amputated limbs, stitched gaping wounds, stabilized traumatized bodies, set broken bones and even performed her job while under enemy fire, is not qualified to take your child's temperature in your local school.  Given the rise in school shooting incidents, I think I'd rather have her at my school than someone with text book training in boo-boo management. 

So, Manning, Assange, Snowden - are they patriots like so many of our national heroes who came before them by doing much the same and made this country what it is today or are they enemies of the state?   Sure, Snowden just informed every terrorist in the world that we are reading their emails and listening in on their phone calls (like we didn't know this ten years ago when Bush signed the Patriot Act) but don't you think that that too is a deterrent?  How many armchair terrorists have second thoughts because they now realize that trying to pull something off is too risky or difficult with the government listening in on their calls? 

We were warned after the Tsarnaev brothers pulled off the Boston bombings that there would be copycat bombings.  Well, after learning that there is a camera on every corner, in many cars, in every shirt pocket, in most stores, how many would-be-bombers decided not to do anything because they now know they can't pull it off?  I don't think Snowden put as many American lives at risk as we think.  He may have actually saved some. 

Isn't that the reason our country criminalizes honesty?  If someone admits to completing a crime we send them to prison.  Not because they are necessarily a threat to society, but the punishment is designed to serve as a warning to others not to commit the same crime.  In reality, if someone has designs to commit a crime, they're going to do it anyway because they are not thinking of the consequences, they are thinking about the immediate payoff.  They all think they can get away with it, that's why they do it and that is why deterrence sentencing doesn't work. 

Reading peoples' emails, Facebook accounts and cell phone records is a good way to stop crime as it is happening.  Knowing that the government is reading emails, Facebook accounts and cell phone records can also deter crime so it doesn't happen.  Knowing there are cameras in stores prevents shoplifting although, everyone knows that most store theft occurs by the employees in the back rooms.  You know - the people who passed the background and drug checks. 

I'm not sure how I feel about entrapment.  Should we turn the lights out and leave our doors unlocked so we can entrap criminals and burglars or should we warn them that there is a pit bull inside and and out of fear, they don't do the crime in the first place?  Currently the government is the biggest distributor of child pornography.  They distribute it so they can catch people downloading it.  If the government didn't distribute it, would the criminals exist?  Is it a wise investment to spend $30,000 per year to incarcerate someone who would otherwise be a taxpayer had we not entrapped him?  We then put them on the sex offender registry where they will be unemployable and a drain on the largess of the social service department.  Although, the new Farm Bill denies people convicted of violent crimes, such as downloading child pornography, of food stamps and other benefits afforded to people who can't find jobs or housing.

Contrary to what everyone opines, Manning, Assange and Snowden were not thinking about an immediate payoff, fame or fortune, they were thinking about the consequences and the actions by our government.  They knew they were sacrificing everything for what they thought to be the greater good:  Knowledge and transparency.

One thing these patriots/whistleblowers/traitors/snitches do reveal to us is why so many other countries in the world view America as the terrorists. 

Criminalizing Shopping

Councilwoman Margaret Chin is in charge of the Chinatown district, and she's hoping to pass a law that would prohibit the buying of counterfeit goods with the threat of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.   She said that "More needs to be done to crack down on counterfeits, which cost the city $1 billion in annual tax revenue."

It costs the city nothing for, if I didn't buy my $20 fake Rolex watch, I certainly wouldn't buy the $34,000 authentic Rolex watch.  The state lost nothing and at least my $20 supported some person who probably couldn't find a job otherwise. 

Bargain hunters from around the world flock to Manhattan’s Chinatown for bags, jewelry, perfume, electronics and other accessories bursting onto sidewalks from storefronts along Canal Street.  While tourists are there, they are spending money on other products, food, transportation, hotels and entertainment.  Margaret Chin is criminalizing shopping and does not take into account the innocent bargain hunter who doesn't know they are buying a fake and simply thinks they are getting a great price on an item.  Buyer beware.

Margaret Chin's legislation will only hurt the city, hurt Chinatown and fill their already overcrowded jails with grandmothers, unaware shoppers and poor people.  I would imagine that the police have bigger fish to catch than naive little old ladies or people who can't afford to buy the overpriced real item and is willing to settle for a fake at a fraction of the cost.  At least the fakes are not made by underpaid third world child labor. 

I know a priest who purchases a fake Rolex and cologne each year.  He knows he is getting what he pays for and doesn't mind.  He also can't afford the real thing.  Nobody is losing anything by his purchase but his trip to the city does provide other forms of revenue. 

Of course we want to protect the innocent person who thinks they are buying the real thing at a too-good-to-be-true price but, carnival games, casinos, lotteries and horse races are designed to take your money, too.  Nobody seems to mind if those people are ripped off and taken advantage of by impossible odds.

When is Margaret Chin up for reelection?  Chinatown should make a statement.  Maybe instead of spending money on the undercover cops it will take to scare off and entrap unwitting shoppers, she should put up an information kiosk educating people on the difference between fakes and the real thing. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HonBu7yUrts

Why Some Dogs Pee and Poop in the House

When I was about 13 years old, I had a significant growth spurt.  All of a sudden my bones grew faster than the rest of my body.  My muscles and tendons couldn't keep up with my bones and as a result I had minor growing pains.  Another area my body had difficulty compensating with was in muscle memory.  I was always tripping over nothing, falling up the stairs and misjudging leaps.  I had suddenly, and for no apparent reason, become rather clumsy.  I was embarrassed around friends, provided great amusement to my parents and convinced myself that I had some disease which would propel me into the pantheon of Jerry's Kids.

Muscle Memory.  Just as your foot knows exactly where the brake pedal is in your car, or you hand knows where the snooze button is on your alarm clock, if you were to suddenly grow three inches, your body would have have difficulty finding these items, you would need to re-learn the distances but it would only take a brief period of time.  Since our bones, muscles, ligaments and organs don't grow at the same rate, our brain is constantly compensating for these evolving differences and sometimes it takes time for instinct to find its way.  I grew out of my temporary clumsy stage only for the unfortunate malady of another growth spurt to reassert itself several months later.  D'oh!

A friend of mine had an eight year old son who stood at five foot ten.  He was extremely tall for his age.  This eight year old boy had a bed wetting problem and his parents punished and humiliated him severely for it.  His problem (besides bad parents) was that he had an adult body with an eight year old child's kidneys.  His bones and muscles grew fast but his kidneys and other organs hadn't caught up yet.  He was constantly hungry and had a voracious appetite.  His body was processing adult portions of food but his kidneys couldn't keep up.  He couldn't make it through the night without the need to void three or four times.  This unfortunate and uncontrollable process often happened while he was asleep. 

My German Shepherd dog could be left locked up in the house all day and if I had to be away, she was able to "hold it" until I got home late in the evening.  For many dogs, their mutual body and organs were designed for their size.  That is the way God/Nature/Time had designed them through the process of natural selection. 

Enter man who then begins to mess around with canine breeding and DNA.  We're not as proficient at evolution as God/Nature/Time and have bred animals who no longer have sympathetic body parts designed for their breed, size, metabolism and body. 

Sure, you can figure out a way to take the tires off of a Hummer and put them on a KIA but it will look really stupid and not be very functional.  Likewise, you can probably figure out a way to take the KIA tires and put them on your Hummer.  Again, it will look really stupid and will definitely not be very functional.  Why do we do this to dogs?

So the next time you leave your dogs locked up for ten hours and you come home to find that they messed in the house, don't blame them.  Blame your breeder.  And the next time you come home after having left your dogs locked up for ten hours and there is no mess, praise both your dog and God/Nature/Time for their time tested and perfect creation. 

There is one other thing; Why are you leaving your dog locked up for ten hours?  What's wrong with you?  At the very least, hire a dog walking service to come over and let them out one or two times each day.