No Winners

Christians did not walk away from the Oscars as winners (no surprise there), but Chris Rock came out a loser, Bush bashing his way into Hollyweird's heart.

That is the bad news. The good news is the number of "R" rated films has dropped considerably over the past couple of years and "PG" and "G" movies are increasing. Gratuitous sex and language is not needed to make a good film. Accurate films, maybe, but not good films.

Good For Him!

I have been a busier than I expected over the last few weeks. I just finished the "Start Up" class at church, just begun my "1 on 1 Descipling" with my favorite Elder at church, just joined a new "Care Group" at our church, trying to find time to work on a very basic web project, keeping in shape, being a husband, father and breadwinner. I see news stories every day but do not always have the time to post. This story is one that I find hopeful. If only more people who be this sincere. Hats off to Michell Malkin for reporting this.

PPP

I never really thought that something like this would ever show up, but I guess it only makes sense. Now while this is a variant of the minors buying cigarettes, alcohol, and adult magazines, it is much worse, because it is mainly anonymous. Now while the article is bad, what really kills me is the last line:

At the newsstand in the Village, the clerks were apologetic. "I'm sorry," said Mohammed Khan. "We normally don't do that. We won't do it again."

I am going to go out on a limb and say this guy is a Muslim. One of the groups that says American's are evil and corrupt. Why is he selling porn access? Does that make him a bad Muslim or a hypocrite? I will tell you why. Once he game to America, he forsake some of his beliefs to make money. He is not the only one and I cannot fault him fully, but I can say that selling out your faith for money is low. Maybe he should change his name to Judas.

Trash

Good start in his new job, in my opinion. Porn is not a victimless crime. Every man, woman, and CHILD who participate in this industry has a mother, wife, or husband somewhere. Everytime you view an adult image on the web, you are exploiting another person.

"They are doing this voluntarily, and besides, they are getting paid good money for there skills." Bull. A lot of these people have no self esteem, are being pressured, bribed with money and drugs, promised a life of glamour. Many dream of a legitimate career, but few have done so. The on notable is Tracy Lords (I am not sure on the spelling and I cannot check it here from work). She is now a legitimate actress, although she still plays sleazy characters. Ms Lords started in the porn industry as a minor and got out shortly after becoming an adult. It was not her career of choice.

Christian men (and women) who view adult material thinking that no one is being harmed need to rethink this idea. WHO are those naked people on the screen, sweating and groaning? What if it was one of your kids? Your neighbor? Your wife? Would it still victimless?

"But my (insert relationship here) would never do that, we are good Christian people". So you are judging the people on your screen, deeming them inferior to you? How many "Christians" are arrested visiting prostitutes, molesting children, buying/renting/stealing pornography? Good people fail. We are all God's children.

I fought with this concept when I was younger, before I became a Christian. I figured since I was not paying for prostitutes and only looking at movies or other images, there was no harm. Heck, my ex-wife was really turned on by those things. But after becoming a Christian, I realized that God created sex for husband and wife to enjoy. It is a PRIVATE and beautiful thing. It is a gift (and a rather nice one at that) He wants you to have. The Enemy has twisted that into "Why should only married people have all the fun" and has convinced us that it is ok to view naked or semi-naked bodies of people other than our spouses. We see soda, beer, make-up, and fast food (there are many others...just turn on the TV) commercials using semi-clad people to get us to buy a product.

When my wife and I are watching live TV (as opposed to the stuff we tape), I tend to overt my eyes when the sexy commercials come on. My wife has noticed this. Although she has not said anything, I know she appreciates it. It is very difficult to keep your eyes away at times. We all like to see attractive things, and the human body can be very appealing. However if you look, you may be tempted to stare and once you get a second look, you have sinned.

There was a minister at a Methodist church I attended a few years ago who said during a sermon, "The Devil tempts me all the time with pretty women. He has never tempted me with ugly ones". Dr. Bob as he was known, has a good point. The Enemy knows what our weaknesses are. If you are easily distracted by short skirts and nice legs, he is going to have you encounter this daily. If you can keep your mind focused on the Lord when you see temptation coming, you will defeat the Enemy. All he has to corrupt you are lies. If you do not believe the lies, he cannot win.

Enough ranting. Enjoy your day!
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Another Reason Why the UN Should Be Disbanded

Not a new story, but one I have not brought up yet. For the past 3-4 years I have grown very suspicious of the UN. Lately things have convinced me that the whole organization needs to be dissolved.

Oil for Food -- Joke
Sanctions against Iraq -- Right
UN Peacekeepers drinking on the job (on the Iraq border) -- Good job, Sparky.
UN Congo Sex scandal -- CHILDREN?? That is bad, but what is worse is that Kofi Annan wants to fix the problem by sending more peacekeepers to keep an eye. on. the. peacekeepers. RIGHT. Good move, Skippy. Maybe we should have asked Osama bin Laden to keep an eye on Saddam.

Any doubt that planet Earth is in closing in (or has begun, depending on your beliefs) can be dismissed now.

Get on your knees people. Make peace with God. Ask Christ to forgive you of the multitude of sins we ALL have committed. Ask Him to become the sovereign ruler of your life. Believe it.

Life is short, Pray hard.

Jacko's Star defense

One look at Michael Jackson's defense witness list worries me a bit. I am not trying to judge, but most of his witnesses are celebrities and many have a tarnished reputations:

Kobe Bryant - Accused of Rape / admitted to affair
Liz Taylor - Married a bazillion times. If I cannot get it right after 2 or 3 tries...I would assume I am the problem.
Deepak Chopra - He is a "spritualist" and Jackson is now Muslim (Nation of Islam).. huh?
Steve Wynn - Casino owner. Right.
Diana Ross - DUI's
Quincy Jones - nothing really horrible, but he did back the Tupac movie. Tupac was a hood.

Sounds like wholesome family friends to me.

White Cop + Black Parade + Yellow Banana = Racism

You can no longer eat fruit in public. If you do, SOMEONE may get offended. People please. This crap has got to stop. Had the man been acting in a overtly anti-black, racially charged way, I would be the first to want him put on corrective action.

I love bananas. They are my favorite. I also like mangos, pineapple, kiwi, apples, cherries, grapes, plantains, oranges and all kinds of berries. I guess I should be careful eating those in public as well. I might offend Islanders, women, Romans, virgins, Latinos, and rural folk.

Is America Ready for This?

A female president? How about a black female president?

No, nothing has been announced, but this article does make you think. The Dems nominate Hillary, the Reps, nominate Condoleezza. You thought Kerry had a hard campaign, how would Hillary fair in that race?

Personal, I am not sure America is ready to change the old fashioned thinking that a woman (let alone an stereotype defying black woman) could be president. I for one would welcome it, but would it be worth the pain Ms. Rice would endure? As a Christian, I would applaud her nomination, just on her current merits. She is a woman of faith, she is intelligent, articulate, a very good diplomat, and people seem to like and trust her.

42? Single? You must be Gay!

True! At least according to Barbara Walters.

It is amazing how people will assume you are gay if you do not fit their idea of what straight is. A few months after I got separated from wife #1, (the mother of my son), I went out on a few dates, just so I would not fall into a pit of despair. I did not have all that many friends since we had just moved into a new city in a new state. One the 4-5 dates I went on, 3 of the women asked me if I was gay. Their reasoning? I did not "make a move on them" by the second date. Obviously they liked me enough (even though we went Dutch the first date) to see me a second time. At the end of the second dates, all three times, the young woman asked me if I was gay. When I told them "no" and asked them why they thought it, they said I was not acting like a single, straight, mid-20's male. I was being judged gay because I had morals (I was not a Christian at the time, but my moral values were very strong).

Another situation I am familiar with is when two middle-aged women share an apartment, those two women must be gay. Or at least the popular opinion is that they are (I do not subscribe to this opinion). I have know many single 25+ year old women who share homes or apartments who are NOT gay, but on the other hand I know a few who are.

Guilty by popular opinion.

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Sell Sex

Conservative? Not any more. Adelphia Communications has decided since it is facing the financial difficulties that it will now seel hardcore sex to its customers, well the video kind that is.

Comcast is considering a Gay and Lesbian channel as an option in our area. I just hope it is not part of the standard programming. All I need is to be channel surfing and catch to guys making out to make me lose my lunch.

What a warped society we live in.

Before I get called a homophobe, when I was single, I rented a room from a guy ("Fred") who rented out rooms in his home. He was gay. I am not. The other guy in the house was a recovering alcoholic. The man who owned the house lived downstairs, "Todd" and I had rooms upstairs, at opposite ends of the house. When I moved in, Fred told me he was gay and asked me if it would be a problem. I told him "no". If he would not push his lifestyle on me, I would not push mine on him.

What a joke. I came home one day and found gay porn in the VCR in the TV room (a common area for all of us), a week later, I came home and he had a houseful of guests, all men, many of which who were kissing passionately with each other on the sofa. I dismissed myself and went upstairs, horrified. Fred came upstairs and asked me if I was OK. I lied (sorry God...) and said yes. He asked me if I wanted to come down an meet his friends and I told him I needed to get cleaned up because I was going out.

I am not afraid of gays (unless they are armed!). The whole lifestyle makes me uneasy. IT IS NOT NATURAL. I have known several gay and lesbian people and I am not afraid to tell them how I feel. Most understand. Some do not.

The Kid's Are Alright...Riiiigggghhhttt.

This gives me the creeps. Is this what "art" has evolved into? I have in-laws that go to this every year...and they are rather strict with their kids. I do not understand.

Films hve gotten pretty bad. Bad enough I rarely want to go out any more, let alone rent them. Yeah, I will go see a superhero flick, but mature films are just bit over the top.

Do you approve of this? Want your kids to see this? Is it art?