Abuse of Power

I have about a 25 mile round trip to work and back each day. I COULD get on Central Expressway and increase that to 30 miles round trip and MAYBE go above 30 miles an hour, but I choose to go the back roads, rarely getting about 40 mph. That is ok with me, I enjoy the 30 minutes or so in a relatively stress-free drive, listening to 100.7 Christian talk radio. The drive is normally uneventful, but twice I have had the opportunity to assist during an auto accident (calling 911, making sure the victims are OK, etc). I feel that I am doing my duty as a citizen.

I see a lot of police cars on my drive. I think that is good...some of Texas' finest are patrolling our streets, looking to "protect and serve" the citizens of the Plano/Allen/Richardson area. Several times over the past few weeks I have witnessed what I believe to be an abuse of power. A police officer will come towards and intersection and instead of stopping, they will flash the lights and hit the siren and drive through,without stopping. then they turn off the lights and keep driving. I have witnessed this many times. Why? Were they responding to a call? I doubt it, since they were driving near the speed limit and we all know police officers rarely drive at the posted speed. Are they lazy? It seems to me it would be more trouble to hit the lights and siren and then look around the intersection than it would to just stop and resume when they are legally able. No I think it is the "because I can" mentality. I have been around several police officers and to be honest, I have less respect for them the older I get. It seems to me that they are only hiding out looking for speeders and stop sign runners...two items that they can use to generate revenue. I would like to think that my town is so light on crime the police do not have to worry about solving crimes like we see in Dallas, but to be honest, we cannot get our local PD to respond to legitimate complaints. My son was once attacked by several youths and being the law abiding citizens we are, took him to the PD to file a complaint. My son knew the perp so finding him should be easy. Effectively the police did nothing. They never arrested him. However, they can drive into my neighborhood and spot a car pointing south (when it should have been facing north) and write a ticket for it. I understood the reason (after someone explained it to me, although I still think it is like splitting hairs) for the ticket, but could not understand how a crime of violence took the back seat to a parking violation. Answer? The parking violation MAKES the city money. Chasing down a punk COSTS the city money.

Another example of why I have limited respect for our local law enforcement. When we moved to this town, the house had an alarm system and we were told that we could get 20% off of our home owners insurance if we had it approved by the city PD. So we call the PD and ask to get someone to look at our home. Well the officer walk the house and gives us a VERBAL list of what needs done. We ask him if he can give us a punch list so we can make sure we get it all and he says, "sure" and leaves. He says he will mail it to us. We never get it. So we call and he will not take our calls. We ask another officer and he says, "it is being worked on" and drops it. 4 years later and we still have not gotten our cert from the PD. Not that we need it. The cert was needed by Farm Bureau Insurance (I do not recommend them at all) but is not needed by Allstate Insurance.

There is an "urban legend" that police officers have a "quota" of tickets they need to write every month. Now officially there is not any such beast, but I have know police officers from 3 states and they all say the same thing. If you do not write a certain amount (the amount varies depending on time of year and the officer) of citations, your Captain will give you a hard time until you write more. Oddly enough, the city of Dallas is officially considering the use of quotas for its officers.

Abuse of power. Anyone want to go Dutch on a small island? The more people we get, the smaller the payment will be!

"Brain Pills"?

This article is rather interesting, although I have read parts and/or similar things before. Science is progressing very rapidly in the field of medicines. The number and types of pills is staggering. Their use, like with many things can be a good or bad thing. While some of these are not addictive (most are not), you run into ethical questions as they become more widespread.

We know that God gave man the ability to learn...he wants us to gain knowledge. But he also wants us to come to him as children. Does he want us to "take the easy way" to our obtain our skills by popping a pill or is that a sin? What about events where a person is judged or graded. If they take a skill enhancing drug, is that unethical? Currently, it is. But the limits now are on PHYSICAL enhancement. What happens when we can take pills to increase our cognative output and/or sharpen our wit and go to a chess tourney or a math fair? Is it wrong then?

I think so. With all the advances in medicine come huge responsibility. We most likely will not be able to handle it. Someone is going to cheat. Will be able to stop them? Will we care?

Some of you may be asking, "Why all the concern?" Because it is cheating. We are turning our back more and more on cheaters. People who cheat will also lie and possibly steal. Even Christians. Yes, Christians cheat. We cheat on their taxes, we cheat the music world out of money by pirating mp3's, we cheat Bill Gates by copying Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows and installing them on their home PC's. We cheat on their spouses by allowing themselves to be tempted the offers of someone other than their mate. We as Christians cheat. We are living a lousy example to all the non-Christians we are trying to reach.

Cheating is easy. Taking a pill to enhance our performance is cheating. "OK, El Gee, I guess using your logic, taking Viagra or Cialis for 'men's performance issues' is cheating as well.'
No, it is not, unless you are being selfish about it. If you are only taking those drugs for your benefit, then it is cheating and a sin. If you are taking then for your wife's and your benefit, then you are being a responsible and loving husband. I could go on and get a bit graphic, but that is not really necessary. I think any intelligent adult can figure that out.

Now that I have gone in a completely different direction than intended, I will end this. Heaven knows where I will end up!

Your Clothes Shouldn't Just "Fall Off"

No, I am not posting pics, as easy as that would be.

It looks like we have another wardrobe malfunction, this time involving Mariah Carey. I do not normally go to that web site, but it was linked from Matt Drudge's web site, "The Drudge Report". Thanks, Matt for letting us know the rich and famous can't keep their clothes on in public. Somehow this does not surprise me much.

Mariah is an entertainer. She moves a lot on stage. You would think that if this was not intentional that she would know to dress with that in mind. If you do not keep your parts in check, they are gonna escape when you start moving around. Makes sense, eh?

Why do women entertainers have to dress that way and act so surprised when these "accidents" happen? Don't they know that these types of things can happen?

Ok that makes 3 that I know of: Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Tara Reid. I am sure there will be more.

People wonder why we are getting rid of cable.

Sunday

I enjoy Sunday. Getting up a bit later than normal (7 AM sometimes if all goes well), a long leisurely walk with the dogs (although the normal routes through the 'burbs is getting BOR-ING), strong coffee with a touch too much flavored creamer, a light breakfast, updating my main web page (www.mistergeek.com), CHURCH (and lunch afterwards...ok so I like food...sue me), and just taking it easy. It is the Sabbath after all, we should at least try to honor it. My wife and I busted our humps to get all the house/yard work done on Saturday (my new mower and trimmer are just too nice. Not expensive, but powerful) so we could relax on Sunday. We even had time to walk at the local dog park that evening.

I did all the normal Sunday things, but I was blessed to add one new thing to that list (at least for that day): help a Christian brother with a computer problem (OK, I AM a geek). Michael "The Harley Nut" (his words, not mine) was having home network problems and asked me if I would assist. Of course I said yes. He came over and brought his router that was giving him trouble and we fiddled with it but could not get anywhere, so we went back to his place and did a bit more research. after a bit of time researching and troubleshooting, we determined his router (a brand I personally had never heard of) was acting way to flaky to use all the time, so we went to Sam's Club and got a new one (newer technology, faster, better range, etc) and hooked it up. While it took longer than we hoped, we finally got it done (consider it a warning when the box says "install it in 5 minutes and be secure in 10", that it will take much longer. To be honest the new data encryption was harder than I thought to set up, but that is not my area of expertise). Michael and I have some similarities. He spent a great deal of his earlier life in Wisconsin, and I was in WV early on, both in small towns. We both have been married, divorced, and remarried (to wonderful women, I must add!), both LOVE bratwurst and kraut, both are geeks, although my skills are a tiny bit more advanced than his. He is in the Diesel Industry, I am in I/T. We both like Tom Clancy novels and Sci-Fi movies. I think I have a movie buddy!

Michael is a wonderful guy. I really enjoyed spending time with him. To look at the two of us, you would never know we were friends. He is a biker and looks a bit like one (big guy, ponytail, rides a Harley, wears bibbed overalls a fair amount of the time, is a mechanic) where I am medium build, short hair, drives a small pickup truck and a minivan, wears khaki's and Polo shirts 98% of the time and works in I/T. While we have a lot in common, we would have never met had we not attended the same church. Church brings people together.

Because we have been placed together, Michael and I can begin sharing our lives and help each other with our struggles. We can grow even more.

Do not avoid talking to someone because they appear different from you. You might have more in common than you think you do. Open up. Open up to those older than you, to those less fortunate than you, those who are in a different line of work than you. Married people, open up to the singles. You were designed BY GOD to interact with others. Do not waste that my ignoring those who are different. I am so glad that Michael opened up to me. He has done me the favor. He may think that helping him with his router issue was helping him, but just between you and me, I was the one who was blessed that day.

Who knows, maybe Michael will give me ride on his bike.

Big 'Ol Update

I am going to do one big post rather than several. Sorry if this is tougher on anyone who happens to read this, but it is my blog, 'k? :-)

First, I skipped my normal Tuesday evening volleyball game to go listen to Bishop EC Okoye from Nigeria give a lesson on prayer and fasting. It was very informative and it even got me to try it. Thursday evening, I skipped dinner and had a snack at about 9:30 PM. I went to bed that night knowing in my heart I needed to fast (my wife and I are struggling to figure out how to live on 1.2 incomes. Yes 1.2 . My wife has a part time job a few hours a week that we use as grocery money) to get some divine insight on our finances.

Before I went to bed, I grabbed my bible and headed out to the patio (it was late, 10-ish) to read and pray. After about 20-30 minutes I came in and started working on my Linux server (learning something like Linux is hard when you are old...) until about 1 AM Friday. I got up at 7-ish on Friday (not sure why since I was off that day) , walked the dogs and went out to help my wife trim the neighbors hedges and put down mulch (We only charged her for material, we donated the labor as a gift). We were done by noon or so. I had not had breakfast, coffee, or lunch at this point, only 40 ounces of water. When fasting, it is suggested that you limit your physical activity. I helped with some housework (laundry, vacuuming, changing the bedding, etc) and took 3-4 mini naps all day long. My body really zonks out if I do not eat every 6 hours or so, and this was the longest I had ever gone without food.

Before I took the dogs on their evening walk, my wife had begun preparing a late dinner of Mexican Chicken and Rice, one of my favorites. She did not know I was fasting (you are not supposed to announce to the world you are doing it. You can tell people AFTERWARDS, but is is not much of a sacrifice if you let people know. Anyoooo, after my wife started, she said she was given some divine insight that I was fasting and asked me, so I told her. It had been about 22 hours or so and I only had a couple more to go. I was hungry and weak. I had walked about 4 miles that day, worked out in the neighbor's yard, taken some junk to the dump, and a fair amount of house work. By 9:00 PM, I was ready for bed. I woke up at 11:00 PM a little hungry and since my fast was over, I allowed myself a small bowl of Mexican rice, a diet soda, and some yogurt. It is best to ease into fasting and ease out, which I did. I also prayed about 5 times during my fast as well as hit the bible (mostly Psalms) the same amount.

When I woke up, I was not overly hungry, but I allowed myself coffee and two small muffins. I walked about 2 miles or so and had a long talk with my wife about finances again, We are thinking about dropping cable, except for broadband to save money. We have not had the TV on in about a month or so and we have not missed it.

Next on my update is about my son. We received another letter from him Thursday and he was VERY upbeat and positive. He still misses everyone, but his resolve has grown stronger. He has taken it upon himself to become a bit of an Evangelist, speaking to about 20 of his platoon about Christ. He was able to witness to one young soldier and the soldier gave himself to Christ that following Sunday. I am so proud of him. I send him pictures of people he knows every now and then and I think he appreciates it.

He mentioned wanting to write to his friend Jory, who is also at BT right now. Jory's step-dad and his mother used to attend our church, but they have since moved on. I hope Lane responds to my e-mail requesting Jory's military mailing address.

I have been getting some updates from the newest addition to my spiritual family, "An-Anonymous-Angel". Although she is only 17, she is very wise for her years. Anyhooo, AAA has been kind enough to send me (and others as well) updates from her vacation. She is very involved in the German culture with dance and language and I am guessing other areas as well. I love getting updates and reading her Blog. She is a primary reason I continue to blog today. I was almost ready to close my blogger account when I got an anonymous e-mail from her encouraging me to continue. I was floored. Here I was a 40 year old "re-born again" (this is not a misprint, I gave my life to God 10 years ago, but I never FULLY gave it to him until 2004) who was being encouraged by someone, who I thought from reading her mail, a 20 something child of God. Me, an infant in the spiritual sense, being edified and a minor inspiration to someone, YOUNGER than me in age but much older in the spiritual sense. Wow.

Sorry to drone on about that, but AAA has given me an uplifted spirit and it is hard to contain at times. I hope she excels in quest of music. She has a heart of gold. She is exactly the type of gal I would want my son to marry (and respect).

I wanted to add one thing about the bombings in London. It pains me to know that terrorists are targeting civilians like this. This last attack was a well thought out and coordinated plan. Did you know that each of the 4 bombs used less than 10 lbs of explosives? The three subway bombs went of within 50 seconds of each other.

My heart and prayers go out to citizens of the UK. You have been relatively terror free for several years (the IRA has been a bit quiet, thankfully) and you now are facing the same threat we are. God Bless You and Protect You.

Sometimes, You Just Cannot Win

I am a regular on a web board that caters to geeks and the I/T crowd. We post about a range of subjects, sometimes the posts are not very friendly and some heated discussions can occur. The moderators usually step in and keep order. They do a rather good job.

Lately I noticed that one of the regular posters, "Flute" appears to be having a bad week. All of her posts have a negative tinge to them. I wonder why? She has been a bit down before, especially when she was trying to quit smoking. We all tried to keep he spirits high and we thought we had succeeded. She is not a Christian and uplifting words from those who are were lost on her.

Anyhoooo...I logged on to chat and "Flute" was there, so I asked her why she was so down. She began telling us that people avoid discussing things anymore, they are quick to give in and agree. Now I should have realized I was being baited at this point, but I am a bit slow, so I missed it.

I responded by saying some of us are tired of getting flamed, so we just do not fight over things. She then gave an example regarding a post made by one of the married women on the board who received a visit from a stranger on July 4th. The stranger eventually came back 3 times during the course of the day. "Sunny" was alone, he hubby was not at home. Now personally this worried me...I was concerned for "Sunny's" safety and so were many of the gang who posted a response.

"Flute" said that we were all just being too paranoid. She said that the posters should not be scaring "Sunny" that way. Most of the people in the room agreed with me, although some did not and that is ok. Anyhooo, "Flute" just kept on picking and picking. In the world of newsgroups, this type of person is called a "troll", not as in a beast, but as one who "trolls" (looks) for ways to cause trouble.

"Flute" kept this up for some time and I lost my cool and told her she was acting like a troll. That started a HUGE argument, with people who are her friends saying I called her a troll, and those who agreed with me saying she was ACTING like a troll. Big difference between acting and being.

The rest of the chat session was filled with one guy who has befriended her making snide remarks at me. I ignored them, not wanting to repeat the error.

The next day, "Flute" had responded with her own snide remark to one of my posts on the web board, causing a moderator to tell her to cool her jets. This only angered her more.

The next day when I was chatting with some of my friends in the same chatroom, I made an innoculous comment that "God has and interesting sense of humor". "Flute" and all her cohorts began bashing and making fun of the Bible, Christianity, and finally, religion in general. I thought that I (with the help of a couple of my online friends) could help smooth things out but the whole discussion turned very negative. "Flute" was being very rude, telling us we needed to go to debate school and that is when it hit me that all she wanted was to verbal fight. She even had someone who I like a lot as a person (at least online) verbally attaching my faith. She knocked prayer, saying that God never listens to her prayers...I wonder why! If I am not pleasing God, I feel my prayers are not being answered as well. Why would God go on answering prayers of non-believers if they will not accept who was giving the blessing?

After a while the scene calmed down and we were back to "normal".

I learned a few things today that I thought I already knew...but I guess I did not.

* Online chat rooms offer the weak a great deal of strength and that strength multiplies when joined by others.
* Be careful what you say and to whom. Some people love to take things out of context.
* You never know who your online friends are ... the can turn on you if you are not careful.
* Do not think you can mix a secular group with Christians and have everything fair. (Most of) The Christians in the room did not come to my aid, nor stand up for their faith. Even one guy who I have been praying for for while when his engagement fell apart. That hurt.

I think I am going to vacate the chat and maybe the message board I have been going to in favor of a more Christian themed one. I find myself wanting to move away from secular things more and more. The non-Christian crowd is beginning to wear on me. I thought at first God wanted me there to be a light, but darn, those folks just do not care about their soul. The are all about the here and now. I really hope that my prayers will bring some of them to Christ, especially "Flute".

Not Just in the United States

Killers walk free outside the US, even in Canada. Canada has a very fair legal system, similar to the US. People can offer/accept plea bargains for lesser sentences. The story linked is sad. A woman who turned states evidence to help convict her husband is just as guilty as he is. He is serving life in prison and she is released in 12 years. There are some serious conditions to her release and she is going to appeal them, but she is out of a horrible place and into the "free" world. While they did not say where she was going to live, they gave her new name, the name she changed to escape the public eye.

I will not go into detail of this case too much. The article does that enough. The fact that girls (one victim was this woman's sister) were raped (by both the husband and the wife) and murdered is horrible to imagine. We expect big sisters to protect us, not harm us. Why would a woman, who is programmed by God to be nurturing, fall under the Enemy's grip and do such horrible things? Was she really under he husband's control? Where was God in all of this? Right where this woman left him, out on the doorstep, knocking, but she did not hear him. If she did hear him, she was not going to let him in.

This brings to mind what should be done with violent offenders. There are many who believe that we should just lock them up and leave them there. Others feel that the convicted person deserves to die for their crimes. I have mixed emotions about what needs to be done. It would be so nice to make the person "vanish" (not kill them, just "wish" them away". I know this is not possible, but I can dream. We do not want the prisons near our homes, in fear that a prison break will put us in harms way. This makes me recall all the sci-fi movies that have whole planets as prisons. Some isolated frozen block of stone, far from civilians, where inmates have to live with no chance of leaving alive. Is it wrong to think this? What about those wrongly convicted? I will admit, it has a few downfalls. I would hate to be convicted falsely and sent to a place that would mean much suffering. I know that in regards to the death penalty, I want the courts to be as sure as they can that the person is guilty before they sentence that person to death.

Can this woman be forgiven? Yes, will it be easy for us to do it? Not likely. We will still see her for a sadistic killer and rapist. Oh do not misunderstand me, she needs to pay for her crimes in the court of mankind, but God will judge her soul.

Letter from our Army Boy

We received a letter from our son who is away at Basic Training at Fort Benning, GA. He is doing much better, becoming accustomed to the rigors of the military. He has repelled down the 60 foot Eagle Tower, received his M-16 variant, his Kevlar, and survived the gas chamber. The chamber was the hardest thing for him so far. He said he made it ok, but it was difficult.

Contrary to what he told us earlier, he is having a graduation in August. We have to drive to GA, which is about 13-15 hours away, since we have dogs. We cannot board them (financial reasons and personal reasons), so flying is out of the question (and it would cost more to fly anyway). It will be the second long trip we have taken in the past 3 months.

His class is having the Beret Ceremony on one day and Graduation the next. I know I will burn a couple of hundred pictures on our digital camera. It is not a high quality (a 1.3 megapixel model from 4 years ago), but it takes good outside pics. I cannot express how proud we are of him. he has done something (actually several things!) that I have never done:

1) He has almost completed BT.
2) Witnessed to a fellow Texas soldier and have him accept Christ as his savior.
3) Held on to his faith when things were going against him.

I am proud of my son. God Bless Him.

Morning Coffee Thoughts

I have been having my morning kaffe on the back patio the past couple of mornings. It has been tolerable outside at 5:30 AM. I usually spend 30 minutes with my coffee in front of Fox News, but since my wife has the living room dismantled for her painting project (which is a long process, but worth it...she does a great job), I have been trying to vary where I have my coffee. Sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes in the office in front of the PC (I could watch the news there, I have a TV Tuner card), and now outside on the patio. The patio is nice because it allows me to meditate on my life, scripture, current events, family, etc.

living in the 'burbs is not ideal for having your morning coffee outside. The homes are just a few meters apart, traffic noises detract from the stillness, as does the yapping of small dogs (big dogs bark, little dogs yap), and there is no real privacy. However, I have found the past 2 mornings at 5:30 are tolerable. No dogs are out at that hour, traffic is minimal, and our 8 foot tall cedar fence provides some degree of solitude.

It was this morning that I began thinking about that fence, the same basic style that 2 of my neighbors have. As a matter of fact, all three fences were erected by the same company. They are very similar in style, height, materials, and workmanship. We paid a bit more of these fences, but they came with a good warranty (3 years) that is valid only if the company sign they placed remains on the fence the entire three years. At first I was a bit put off, seeing as this is free advertisement for the contractor, but I did not let it get to me. On of my neighbors though, did let it bother him and he removed the sign. I asked him about his decision and he told me that he did not like it. When I told him that the warranty stipulates the sign MUST remain in place for the warranty to remain valid, he just said, "Any good lawyer will tear that contract apart". I agreed that any lawyer worth his/her salt could do just that, but was it worth the cost? I told him, "Whatever warranty work needs to be done will certainly cost less than the price of a lawyer. If you take the sign down, need work and have no warranty and you have to hire a lawyer to get the work done, how have you saved any money?"

He did not say anything to me. On my way home last night, as I was pulling into my driveway, I noticed he put the sign back up. I guess he sees my point.

But I digress. Solitude. That is what I crave. Not unlike Jesus, I like to be alone sometimes. Do not get me wrong, spending time with family and friends is great, but I need a certain measure of alone time to get me in the proper frame of mind. My morning coffee is one such time. There are a few times during the week my wife will either get up before or the same time I do. Waking up with her is not as easy as waking alone. My wife is very chipper when she gets up, I am not. I take 30-60 minutes to become "human" where she wakes up fresh as a daisy.

When I lived in WV and in NC, I used to take long walks in the woods every week. It allowed me time to reflect and meditate on things and really allowed me to get a better perspective on my life. In Tejas (the Dallas area), it is rather barren. No heavily wooded areas that I can wander for hours in. I have been known to walk for hours when the weather was hot in NC and WV, but the trees allowed me to remain mostly comfortable. In Tejas, if you do not walk under cover of trees (which there are few), you will roast.

I am not sure what I will do about this dilemma.

I hope you enjoy YOUR coffee.

Heart Breaking

This story has broken my heart. Dear Lord, this man was her step-father. Although the outcome (a pregnancy and birth) are not common, I fear the rape part is. I have heard too many stories from friends who have been or know someone who has been molested/raped as a child.

When a man starts a family, he has an obligation to be human. Animals copulate among the pack, humans do not. We have a higher consciousness that seperates us from the animal kingdom. This man has proven me wrong, not all of us do.

I pray that the little girl and her new baby are filled with your grace God. If she does not know you, then I hope she learns of your great love soon. She has lost her innocence and her childhood to a very sick man who was her father figure.

Flag Burning

Lot's of talk on Christian Radio (100.7 FM in Dallas) about the possibility of an amendment being created to make it a federal crime to burn/desicrate the American Flag. I am very partriotic person, standing up to all sorts of people at work and on the web, defending America the Great. Do you want to hear something interesting, though? I think that the amendment is a BAD idea. Let me tell you why.

As a Christian, I put God above all. If we allow this amendment to pass, then we are saying that God is below the flag. We can desicrate (HEAVEN FORBID!) the Christian faith and MAYBE, you can get hit with a hate crime (although not very likely), but burn a piece of red, white, and blue cloth and go to PRISON for at leat 10 years? No. Where will it stop? If I have a flag decal on my vehicle and it becomes unusable and I decide to scrape it off, are you going to have be thrown in jail?

I think people who feel they need to vent should deal with the community and their disdain for the flag burner (not violence, just boycotting), not the Feds.

Dat's what I think!

Where Did They Come From?

Listening to arguments from various sources regarding the recent SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) decision regarding the posting of The Ten Commandments on Government property got me to thinking. If Constitution is to be honored as the primary legal document of the United States, then we were given certain rights by Our Creator, God. The Constitution explains these to us. The rights are not given by man, just enforced by our government.

Now let's look at this through different eyes, those eyes of our mislead brethren, the liberals. If God did not give us the rights as the Constitution says, but the rights are given to us by the government of the US, then the US has the right to take them away. If that is the case, why are the liberals so upset when a right we have is being perceived as in danger of being taken away? We know as Christians that,"The Lord giveth, and The Lord taketh away". If the Government gives, why can't it take away as well?

Now we know liberals do not want any form of religion anywhere near government, even though we were established as a nation on Judeo-Christian values. Many state government have constitutions that refer very heavily on verbiage about God. If that is the case and the we are to believe the way the liberals are interpreting the Constitution of the US, then all the state Constitution's are UNCONSTITUTIONAL. I am not going to go into great detail, but I want you to think about the US Constitution, the state constitutions, freedom OF religion (not freedom FROM religion), and the liberals of the US (and the world for that matter). Liberals do not think religion has any place in government and that our Constitution spells that out. Those liberals are misinterpreting the document. It states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." in regards to religious freedoms. Where do you see that you cannot have the Ten Commandments (which is honored among many religions as "sound doctrine") in a courthouse?

I realize I am not a constitutional lawyer, I am a layman. Judges INTERPRET the law, they do not write it.

"Paul" update

Quick update...I need to get to work!

"Paul" came to work Friday and he was there yesterday (Monday) as well. I chatted with him about being out three days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). In a nutshell, he is denying he took anything other than his Paxil (his legal scripts). While he was at work and under the influence of WHATEVER he was taking he admitted to taking Ice (baaaaaddd stuff). A good friend/colleague of ours asked "Paul" Friday, "Were you high on something Monday?". "Paul" denied being high, but you cannot fool our friend, "Ben".

"Paul" stated he had a boring weekend, just watching movies, not going out or doing anything. I wish he would take the hints I drop his way (about his past, the Bible, God, the Promise Keeper magazines in my office, etc), or get back into walking and talking with me, but he wont.

God, hear my cries. Please send an angel to sit with "Paul", show him the way. I am not getting the job done alone. I beseech you for help. I realize it may take a crisis for him to understand and see the light, if so, so be it. I will be there for him.

Well, off to work, it has been crazy the past couple of days, at work and with finances.

Thou Shall Not Murder

I have always believed that God did not mean "kill", when he gave Moses the 10 commandments. There is a difference in the two. If a man breaks into your home with the intent of killing/raping someone in your home, taking his life is not murder, you have ended his life. You defended yourself. This is murder. The man is evil personified.

Why do people murder? Many feel it is a psychological issue, some feel it is just a bad person. Still others think it is a matter of a person being possessed by demons. I am unsure. I would not want to bet on any one of those, but more of a combination of the three. It is not hard to fathom people who are weak spirited being tempted and convinced by Satan to murder others.

What is frightening is that this man was an active member of his church for many, many years. This only goes to show you the Devil can hide anywhere. I fear he is active in many churches. He takes control of those who are weak and those people begin to erode at the fabric of the church. I have seen adulterers, thieves, liars, and cheats ... Satan is everywhere.

BtW have you noticed how serial killers always look a little bit like someone you know? Mr. Rader is no exception. I am sorry, but this guy looks like a man I used to work for named Jack.

My Testimony

No, this is not my profession of faith, just an update on the Testimony I gave at our church last week.

I got up and started with a bit of humor about how nervous I was and I received a polite, but sincere round of laughter, which helped. I detest speaking in front of large groups. I get very nervous. I bet it is a pride thing, since at that point, I am not in control (but are we ever really in control?) and I feel the whole world can see me as a nervous little boy, not a strong confident man.

My testimony was on the Men's Ministry at our church, and how it has affected me and my family. I kept it at just about 5 minutes, and covered most everything I wanted to cover. I received a much healthier round of applause than I expected. While my voice did not crack much, my hands shook uncontrollably. I felt horrible.

But, I did what God wanted me to do. The real surprising thing that happened was I received a letter (not an e-mail) from one of the older ladies in our church telling me that she thought I did a great job, and to keep giving testimonies and it would become easier each time. She had been in my Start-Up group and plans on joining our Care Group when it officially starts up again. She has such a servant's heart, and a neat last name.

I also received several "Good Job!" comments from many of the congregation. I know they were just being polite, but it DID go better than I had expected.

I do not think I mentioned this before, but I have been baptized in the Methodist Church (The Methodist Sprinkle), and while that is accepted by our church, I get the feeling that God is asking me to make a public show of faith by getting a baptism by immersion in the church's Baptismal Font. I am not sure why, but I believe it is divinely inspired.

I hope I did not offend anyone with the "sprinkle" comment. That was not my intention. I originally was very satisfied with my Baptism, but now I am unsure. I need to talk to our pastor. When in doubt, go to your elders! Good advice to live by, eh?

So have you been Baptized and received the Holy Spirit? How? When?

I would love to know.

Update Before I Leave Work

"Paul" did not come to work today. This is the 3rd day he has missed this week. I do not want to inquire too much, or it may look suspicious...let me tell you why. Yesterday, I took a leap of faith and asked my boss (A Divinity student) what I should do if I suspected that a colleague had a substance abuse problem. He looked at me and I said, "Tim, it is not me, but I will not tell you who until I know what the policy is." We chatted about what I suspected, what I had observed, and what I felt. "I want to do the ethical thing - the right thing", I told him. He agreed and told me since he is new to the policies of the company we work for, he would investigate.

"Paul" has a valid, legal prescription for Paxil and he has taken other anti-depression (Xanex/Zoloft?) drugs in addition to the illegal street drugs he takes for recreation. I have been told that he has a close friend, who is studying to be a pharmacist, is dealing to him. He goes to Raves, clubbing, and if truth be known, I think their is a darker sin he is hiding. I will not mention it but I have wondered about it for some time. He needs away from those people. He needs a change of venue.

My wife is trying to put together brochure for her boss. She brought home some photos and asked me to scan them for her, which I did. She is trying to insert them into the newly formed brochure, but she is having some difficulties. I told her that I would cut work early (hey, I worked through my lunch!) and come down.

I have been transferring all of our home movies from VHS to digital files, later to be transferred to DVD. I am having difficulties editing the raw footage. I have never been very good at media editing, I am more of a hardware/software config guy, not an A/V technician. I have all the tools, I just need to figure out how to do it. I can build PC's load Linux or Windows, create networks, set up motion activated cameras and have the pictures on a web site and make web pages but I cannot cut up my raw video data and merge it into a usable format.

I am such a geek.

Sadness Hits Like a Stone

My wife went to say goodbye to one of her friends last night. Ruth had been my wife's friend for less than a year, but my wife cared for her very much. They met at the dog park, each walking her own dog. My wife was led by the Spirit to talk to Ruth and she is glad that she listened. Ruth needed a friend.

Ruth's dog, Honey, was a Golden Retriever who was in pain. She was old and had medical issues. No amount of surgery was going to help her, and the poor dog's days were numbered. Ruth had done everything she could to keep Honey going, but it was a losing battle. Enter my wife, the assistant to Saint Assissi (that is what we call her), the patron saint of animals. She offers words of advice to Ruth and the two become friends.

Timing is not something that God wants us to understand about him. Honey was in her golden years and in pain. Ruth wanted her to live on, but knew that it was wrong to let an animal suffer. Ruth was also almost out of Seminary(why do Divinity students have it so hard with faith?) , getting ready to take a couple of mission trips and then move back to NY state within 6 months. My wife would be there for her (well, Ruth and Honey) and then both Ruth and Honey would leave my wife. No, Ruth did not die but she did make the decision to put Honey down and the vet (who is not a Christian, but is very moral) said it was the right thing to do. God was allowing Ruth to make a hard choice, and my wife was part of that equation.

I am positive that God put my wife into Ruth's life for a reason. Ruth had a lot of issues that my wife was perfectly suited to help with. The problem with Honey, Ruth's questioning her faith and her attitude of not sharing (which was completely reversed by God!) were the biggest. My wife got Ruth to assist the church in moving a family that is a bit less fortunate that Ruth is (she is used to the finer things in life most of the time. Her townhome cost more than our house), helped her through Honey's eutheniasia, and helped Ruth distribute almost all her possesions to those who could use them when she decided to move back to NY. Ruth was kind to me through my wife, by giving her 2 huge Italian book cases for my office.

Ruth told my wife that her mission trips were tough. She saw so much poverty, she cried. The same thing happened when my wife went to Matamoros, Mexico. That is one poor city. My wife cried for hours after she returned.

Ruth leaves (for good) to NY state today. She met with my wife and our Golden-Boxer mix, Maggie Mae for a few hours last night. Ruth gave my wife a 1 lb bag of Guatamalan coffee (from her last mission trip) and the two talked and said their goodbyes. My wife came home upset. She does not handle goodbyes very well, especially extended ones. She is going to miss Ruth.

My wife does not have a lot of close friends, but the few she has had tend to move away to other states, so my wife cannot see them as much as she likes. Yes, there is e-mail and phone, but for my wife that is just not the same. Her closest friends have moved to Minnesota, Indiana, and Alabama.

My wife loves her friends almost as much as she loves Jesus. When those friends are not close to her physically, she hurts. You should have seen how upset she was when I told her we were moving from NC to TX 4 years ago. If looks could kill... :-)

I know my wife will manage, but she clearly is hurting now. I hope she remembers that Jesus is the best friend she ever will have, and he never leaves.

Not Sure what to Do.

It has been a while since I have posted. I was going to post Monday, but an issue at work was on my mind and I could not shake it. The same issue held my thoughts most of Tuesday as well as last night. Today, new information about Monday's issue has really given me more to think of.

I have a colleague who I will call "Paul". Paul is 30 something, single, has a roommate and has, what is in my opinion, a chemical dependency -- a drug addiction. He has taken Ice and Ecstasy in the past and I think I have heard him talking about Crystal Meth. If you search for these drugs and read the effects they have on you, you will see why I am so worried.

I came to work on Monday, my first day back from my 2 week vacation and asked "Paul" how the past 2 weeks were. He immediately started rambling on in incoherent sentences, starting several conversation threads and not completing any of them. He looked very tired, but wired as well. I know that seems impossible, but if you could have seen him, you would understand. He had explained to me that he had been up for over 48 hours and was taking some medication on top of the illegal drugs he had taken the previous 2 days. I told him he was foolish, tried to get him to go home, told him he needs to stop this or it will kill him, etc. He told me that he knows he should not take the illegal drugs, but he does not do it "all that much". He missed yesterday and today. I do not know if it is related or not, but I believe it is.

"Paul" was raised on Christian values, although he did not go to church much. He has read the bible as a child, but is very agnostic today. I have been praying for him for months. He really is a good guy. He has a servants heart, but he does not realize it. He has loaned money to people freely, sold some of his used electronics to friends for very good prices (which he did use to buy newer electronics), has given me an old PC as well as some PC equipment, etc. I have talked to him about my relationship with God, hoping that seeds would be planted and he would see the light.

He has told me a few times in the past that he is going to quit, that he does not need to use the drugs, but he keeps going back. I assume that is one clear sign he is an addict. He also has shown up for work high and missed work because of drugs/alcohol in the past. 2 more very good signs of addiction.

What should I do? Tell him to get help or I will get it for him, risking my job and my good name? Contact HR? Talk to my boss or "Paul's" boss? Keep praying? I know know that God wishes for all of us to walk with him. I have prayed and I get the impression that God wants me to have one last talk with him. I wish "Paul" was here today. I really want to talk to him. Maybe I can see if he is online and talk to him.

What to do...

Back from Vacation

I am finally back from vacation, and settling into my normal routine. I was blessed while I was gone by getting a letter from my son (he is away at Basic Training), and upon my return home, was blessed again with a phone call and another letter. We have written him back and sent a couple of photos. The Army is very strict about what we can send him. Anything that does not meet their strict guidelines is destroyed. Period. If you would like to write him, please e-mail me. I must have all your contact info before I give out his mailing address. Once I get that, I can send on the format that is required for mailing him letters. He really needs people to write to him.

My wife is in the process of painting the living room. I want to give here a lot of credit. I do not like to paint and she has allowed me to do a lot of other things while she paints. I cook, wash dishes, fold laundry, cut the grass, walk the dogs and do other things. This is week number two of my two week vacation. The first week I was visiting my mom, sis, and friends in WV. While my mom and some of my friends there are Christian, my sis and most of my other friends are not. This was a bit painful, since I care for them deeply and I see them struggling with their lives. If they would only give themselves to the Lord they would be so much better off.

The weather was hot and humid. Many of my friends are "financially challenged" and do not have A/C in the entire house, choosing to use window units in their bedrooms to keep cool at night. Mom has A/C and she finally used it. She is a bit old-fashioned and does not like to "waste electricity" on such a luxury as A/C.

The drive up (Friday and Saturday) was good and uneventful. I stopped off at the halfway point of my drive up (and back) to camp at Natchez Trace State Park in Tennessee. It was nice, but a bit humid. No rain that night, although it had rained a few days before and everything was still damp.

When I finally made it home to visit, I spent the rest of Saturday (the day I arrived) and all of Sunday with Mom, Sis, and her kids. We went to her small church on Sunday. We went early to visit with her friends there, and after a good sermon, came home to eat. Since mom had forgotten to take anything out of the freezer, we did not eat until 2 PM, way past my normal lunch time. I managed to survive.

Monday, Mom had a storage building delivered and we chatted off and on all day. Tuesday, I loaded up her shed with her lawn tools and installed a tool rack for her. I put in her mower, lawn cart, chainsaw, trimmers, and the rest of the tools and we still had plenty of room left for her to fill up. I am sure she will.

I spent each day with mom and my nephews, helping out where I could. I walked the mall a few times with one of my friends, and also walked the park with my sis and by myself. I had errands to run and My friend Keith chauffeured me around, He has a big heart. His car does not have A/C so he was constantly buying me ice cream and Gatorade to rehydrate me.

My evenings were spent with my other two friends, Rob and Brenda. Both are recent additions to Christ's Kingdom and are growing in faith at a rapid pace. Both are very active in their church which is down the street from Mom's house. They are very giving people. I have known them for about 15 years or so, right after I divorced my first wife. They always insist I come by every night to visit with them when I come to town.

I visited my Dad's and Grandma and Grandpa's grave. I did not get out to the other cemetery to see my other Grandparents graves. I should have and I feel bad about not doing so. Hard to believe that Dad and Grandma have been gone 3 years.

Keith and I had lunch at Ryan's on Thursday, since I was leaving early on Friday. I wanted to have breakfast with him on Friday, but I needed to get back on the road. I can only drive about 8-10 hours before I need to stop for the day and it is a 18-19 hour drive. The first day of my drive back was uneventful, but the following day was marred with rain and bad traffic. I still made pretty good time. Including my pit stops for gas, toilet, and food, It took only about 20 hours total. Not bad.

I was glad to get home and so was my wife. She was a bit stressed not having me or my son to help her with the myriad of things she does on a daily basis. I would have to agree with her that I did not realize how helpful it is to have our son around. He does a lot. I miss him. A lot.

Reflecting back on my trip, I am glad I do not normally make it more than once a year. It is a hard trip to take and is very bittersweet. I love my family and friends, but to see the way they live is heartbreaking. My mom is a packrat, keeping broken, rusted and rotten items in her basement. She has cleared out a lot of it, but she still has a way to go. I think my dad was the reason. He was raised during the Depression and people saved everything, not knowing if they would need it in hard times. Mom had a habit of saving wire bread ties, plastic butter and ice cream buckets, bread bags, popsicle sticks and a lot more. We have finally gotten her to recycle what she could.

Enough rambling...I should have regular posts in the next few days or so. Not much free time. I am supposed to give a testimony at church on Sunday...pray for me...I do not like speaking to large groups.

Another Milestone

Last night, I finished the last chapter in my "1 to 1 Discipling" class. It is normally a 10 week class, but my mentor and I have pretty full schedules. It was difficult to meet every week, so it took longer than expected.

My mentor, Fred is a wonderful Christian man, who was raised in a Christian home. Upon our first meeting, we shared how we came to know Christ. He was surprised to learn of my past errors and seemed very surprised to see where I was in my Christian walk considering the short amount of time I have been a Christian. We were about as opposite as we could be when were were young, although our paths are much more aligned now.

Fred and his wife invited my wife and I over to their home for dinner before Fred and I began our last lesson. Fred and his wife had a chance to get to know my wife a bit better and we all shared some good conversation.

The meal was excellent and I but I was itchin' to get started on my final lesson, which was on obedience. It was a short chapter, but it had a lot of scripture to reference and questions to answer. It took a while to go over each question, but after we finished, he congratulated me and gave me a mentoring guide and asked me if I would consider mentoring someone. I was a bit surprised, but I told him I would be honored. I am no scholar in biblical matters, but I know the one simple truth that guides me: Jesus Christ Died For Me.

Fred was kind and said I made a great student, which made me a bit embarrassed. I am only the second student he has graduated in the past few years. He has 3 or 4 other students, but they are not very far along. I know their schedules are conflicting.

I think this was a great way to begin my vacation, which begins tomorrow. I will not be able to post as much as I like, but I am going to try.

Soldier Boy

Last night was the last time my wife and I will see our son for about 11 weeks. We dropped him off at a hotel near DFW so he could ship out with several other recruits to Fort Benning, GA for basic training. My son joined the Army National Guard of Texas a few months ago and has been working very hard at improving himself. He has taken online testing, scored well on his test, referred 2 friends, and completed a ton of PT. He is going in at an PFC/E3, two grades above most of the people he joined up with. He is a smart kid, he will go far. I guess that is what hurts me some. He does not do well in school, even though he has been tagged as gifted. He does not like school, but instead is a very physical person. He has great aptitude for music and all things mechanical. He has not taken the love of I/T like I have, but he is very sharp nonetheless. He picks up on technology like a duck to water.

He will return in August to start his senior year in high school. After he completes that, he will go to AIT next summer. He will then qualify for another promotion. He is very gung ho for the Army National Guard right now. He wants to become a peace keeper and travel. Like us, he has a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. He was hurt to know he could not take a Bible to BT, but was relieved to know they were going to issue him one when he got there. He also took his Crucifix, the one he normally carried in his wallet. We said a prayer for him in a quiet corner of the hotel before we left. We were sad, but we knew we had to move on. We had forgotten how hungry we were until we passes a busy little bbq joint. The smell of hickory beckoned us, so we had some ribs, brisket, and sausage. We then continued home to go walk our two dogs. It gave me more time to reflect and pray. I needed that.

Sad Day

I am a firm believer in the right to bear arms, as stated in the US Constitution. I hold no ill will to anyone who wishes to practice that right, as long as they are responsible. If guns are not controlled properly, horrible things can happen.

I understand no charges are going to be filled. Now I do not think murder charges should be filed, but the parent failed to keep a child safe. At the very least they should get a child endangerment charge. Maybe no time, but at least a conviction.

I have had people argue, "They have suffered enough...they lost a child." Yes, they have suffered and lost. But they are the reason they have suffered and lost. If a neighbot would have been the trigger person, do you think the parents would press charges? Of course they would.

Also, why did the child have on camoulage pants? If I had small children anywhere near guns, I would want them wearing bright orange, so I could see them easier.

No Michael Jackson Penis Pics

Thank the Lord for that one. I have not been following this trial because I personally think that MJ is a strange bird, but this article jumped out at me. Using descriptions of genitalia and photos are a bit much for me, and I am glad that the jury will not have to see them. While I understand the prosecution's reasoning, I find it very tacky. Read the entire story.

So how far should we go to try a person for a crime? Forget WHO is on trial. Concentrate on what they are doing. If you were accused, would you want your genitalia (whether you are male of female) photographed and the have those photos shown to 12 strangers who will be sitting in front of you for months?

Whether or not I think MJ is guilty is not the point. He is a peculiar person to say the least. His lifestyle augments his personality and his finances enables his lifestyle. He has had a troubled past, tried to find solace in Islam and keeps strange company. Does this make him guilty? No, it only makes him media fodder.

All I can do is pray that justice is done (either innocent or guilty) and that MJ accepts Christ someday.

Bad Day

Yesterday was a bad day for my wife. She had a full plate of activities and she began her day running errands, getting ready to prepare a meal for a member of our church who is recovering from GI (Gastro-Intestinal) surgery. A vicious storm had blown in, with strong winds that sent debris everywhere. Trash cans, litter, toys, even several trampolines had blown out of yards (and in one case, on a neighbors roof). Trees were down in some areas and we even had a lightning strike at our church, hitting a tree in the preschool playground. Things were a mess.

As my wife turned into the alley that runs behind our house, she noticed that the alley was littered with garbage cans and recycle bins (among other things) that kept her from driving on. She thought about just parking in the street out in front of our house, but the thought of hail damaging our second vehicle made her cringe (the van is only 2 years old, my truck was hit HARD last year with hail. It is 6 years old), so she got out of her van and moved as much debris as she could to get the van through. She sat the cans upright (what little good that would do with all the wind) and pushed the bins out of the way. She did this the entire 300 feet or so of the alley until she was able to get into our garage.

As she was pulling in she noticed a beagle running loose in the storm. It was soaked and scared and ran right towards her (My wife is a true animal lover. I think she will be Saint Assisi's helper when she gets to heaven), practically begging for her help. She left brought the dog into the garage, and check the caller. She called the owner's number, but they were not home. There was no address. The dog had registration tags (thankfully) so she called the county and was told to take it to the local approved vet so the owner could be contacted. So she put the beagle in our dog's carrier and loaded it up into her van and set out to help the animal. When she got home, she noticed the power was out and she had just a few hours before she was to deliver dinner to our recuperating friend. Without electricity and pouring the rain down, dinner was on hold.

When I got home from work and then the eye doctor (to pick up my new specs) she was frazzled. She told me the story and I held her, telling her it was going to be OK. She then told me that our son had not returned something to school and she had to run over to the school during the height of all this madness to take it back. She was also upset because our son told us (he did not ask) that he was going to the National Guard Armory to get some things done (He has enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard and has been studying online to go up in rank before he attends basic training Monday). There were clothes in the dryer, a huge pile of dishes that needed washed, the dogs needed fed and my wife still needed to get a ready so we could go to our church Care Group meeting in about 75 minutes. What a day.

She started crying, saying she did not want to go to Care Group. I asked why and she told me. Her day was a shambles and did not fell like going. I asked her to go. She said no. I asked her again, she said no. Then I said, "You are going, and that is final. You 'bad day' is over and we need to get spiritually right with God. The devil is tempting you with a quiet evening, but what you do nor realize is that we will really have a great time if we both go. I want you to go with me."

She went, we had a good meal, great fellowship, and a great time. Any do you know what else? She may have had a rotten day, but you could never tell it. She enjoyed herself.

The Devil Made Me Do It

I am old enough to remember when it was fashionable for folks to do something that was either naughty or bad and then say "the devil made me do it". I heard it all the time, and since I was agnostic at the time, it made sense to me. While that saying is not in vogue anymore, we still want to blame our enemy, the devil for everything WE do wrong. The devil does not make us sin, he tempts us. He knows we are weak in the flesh, which is the domain he is strongest in. While we may be spiritually strong, we all still have flesh. That flesh is given to temptation. The enemy knows what our weaknesses are and will do everything in his power to tempt you into sinning. Christ himself was tempted by the devil. Does that mean Jesus sinned? No, he was sinless, but he was tempted in all ways, just like we are.

I have a simple, but accurate example of the difference between temptation and sin. Imagine you work in an office building that has conference rooms that are frequently in use. Snacks have been ordered and set up outside one of the conference rooms for the attendees. You see about 20 people in the room and enough snacks for about 30 or so. One of the snacks is fudge brownies, your favorite. You are tempted to take one, because you like them so much. The devil knows you like them, and he tries to rationalize you taking one by reminding you that there is plenty for the people in the meeting, so they will not miss one of those gooey, fudgey treats. The temptation is great, but you know that you are not an invited guest, so taking one would be stealing, a sin. So you resist the temptation and go back to your desk and drink your coffee. You did not sin, but you were tempted. Had you taken one of the brownies, then you would have sinned, but the devil did not make you do it, he only planted the seed.

Much like you can never make a person become a believer, you can plant a seed. That seed will either germinate and the person will believe or it will die and their soul will be lost. The devil plants seeds of sin (called temptation) in your mind. You will either let those seeds grow in to sin, or they seeds will die. God uses those dead seeds to strengthen us, to allow us to get better at resisting temptation.

A couple of days ago as I was checking my personal e-mail, I noticed one from a couple we had not heard from in quite some time. They had just adopted their second child from Easter Europe, a charming pre-teen who looks remarkably like her adopting mother. The e-mail was sent to a large group of people, indicating to me they had friends all over the world they wanted to share their joy with. I responded to her, telling her how happy we were for their family and hoped they would share more info with us as time permitted.

Yesterday morning I noticed that one of the recipients on the distro list had made the mistake of replying to everyone on that large list, instead of replying to the sender. Since I am an 'Net geek, I knew that "reply to all" was a bad thing, since it creates a ton of extra 'Net traffic and opens the door to spam. I replied to the sender of that e-mail with a polite request not to include me in any future e-mails. It went something along the lines of, "While I share in your thoughts that $senders_child is a gift from God (she is adorable), it would be best to reply to the sender only instead of sending your thoughts to the entire Distro List. Peace in Christ, $El_Gee"

I never gave the e-mail any more thought after I sent it until last night, when I got home from work and noticed the person who replied to all had responded to my e-mail. I was expecting a "Oh, sorry about that, my mistake" e-mail, but instead, I received a scathing e-mail telling me "not to judge them, go look in a mirror and look at myself, who did I think I was correcting them, and did I consider that it was a mistake...". WOW, that was harsh. It was a whole paragraph from someone I did not know rebuking me for gently reminding them not to reply to all in an e-mail. I had thought I was doing them a favor by informing them of their oversight, but instead, I am read the riot act. I wish I had saved the e-mail, but something told me to get rid of it. Since the enemy knows our weaknesses, he tempted me with this e-mail. He wanted me to give in to my hurt by replying (in a less than Christian way) to this person and rebuking them, but I didn't. I won't say that it was easy. I am normally pretty thin skinned. But I felt that this person was wrong for their actions towards me. I was tempted to respond, but I didn't. God, by telling me to delete the e-mail, gave me a way out, so I would not be tempted to sin against my brother/sister, whom I do not know personally. Actually this situation follows scripture. I cannot remember the exact verse, but scripture tells us that we are led to temptation, but God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can endure, and when we are tempted, he will provide a way out so we can stand beneath it. He did just that for me.

Thank you, Jesus. While I still feel the sting of that persons words, I am free from the temptation to retaliate.

I wonder why?

This story touches on something I have been thinking about for awhile. San Fran has a very small child population (18 and under). I wonder why? Of course there are many reasons. Cost of living keeping families from living in the city (not really a bad thing in my opinion), crime, poor schools, lack of space, etc contribute to this problem. But all cities have this. Why is San Fran leading the way in this statistic? The kicker is the large gay population. Let us put religion aside for a moment. Two men cannot produce a child, neither can 2 women. I takes one of each to join together and fertilize an egg that will develope into an embryo, which will grow in to a human being. if the 20% gay and lesbian statistic is correct, then it is no wonder why San Fran is losing ground.

Did you ever wonder what would happen if the gay and lesbian lifestyle became the norm? We would slowly die off. Now, if the gay and lesbian population think homosexuality is normal, then why cant we reproduce assexually?

Gay and lesbian life is all about being selfish, only caring about your needs, not the needs of others. It kills me to hear gays and lesbians say that "it is not all about sex." If it wasn't then why have it? Every gay and lesbian person I have ever talked to was into sex outside the marriage. Most admitted to having pornography in the home.

"It does not hurt anyone." Puh-lease. Ever hear of AIDS? I know you can get AIDS in ways other than homosexual activity, but it is a major contributor to the disease.

"I am not bringing any unwanted babies into the world." Neither do responsible straight people.

I am not "bashing" anyone I am asking for people to wake up and stop lying to themselves. Stop giving special rights and start working on equal rights. You can have a gay pride parade, but see if I can have a Christian Pride parade in your town. We cannot even have a Christmas parade. It might offend someone. Why is it that it is OK to offend Christians, but not gays?

Free Viagra!

I realize this is a complete oversight, and was not done on purpose, but I think we need to watch current and former prisoners a bit closer.

I personally wonder how anyone in their right mind could think this was (or should) tax deductible. That would be like and counterfeiter writing off his PC, printer, ink on his taxes.

On a positive note, I have only one more session (after tonight) with my mentor for "One on One Discipling". Tonight's session is on temptation. Although the section was short, I am sure we will have a lot to discuss.

**** S P O I L E R A L E R T****

On a lighter note, I went with my US Army Reservist son to see the latest installment in the Star Wars saga, "Revenge of the Sith". My son and I have seen every Star Wars movie in the theaters together ever since Lucas re-released the original 3 episodes with newer special effects. It has been a father and son tradition. We almost missed this one, simply because my son and I have a busy week ahead of us and he leaves for basic training on Monday of next week.

This movie was OK, but I agree with Donald Sensing over at "One Hand Clapping" that it only deserves "6 out of 10 light sabers". We went at 8:45 PM and I was rather excited. I had read some of the spoilers (they usually enhance the movie for me) but I must say that the action was good, the visuals were great, the acting very forced and wooded (even with the veteran actors), the story line was pretty good, but the dialog made me groan. Audibly. More than once. It had funny parts (The Wookiee Tarzan style yell and the scenes where Yoda kicks some serious butt), but the love dialogue was horrible. Mr. Lucas, PLEASE do not write any more movies. If you must create episodes 7,8, and 9, let someone else do it.

It is a great story (the entire Star Wars Saga I mean) of good versus evil, but in this episode, the bad guys win (to be expected, to keep in line with episode 4) and it is much darker than the other movies. More graphic in places and the CGI well done.

A bit of trivia for you: Episode 6 was initially going to be called Revenge of the Jedi", but after some of the promo posters were printed up, someone realized that Jedi were not supposed to seek revenge, so it was renamed to "Return of the Jedi". Just and FYI. I knew a collector who had one of the promo posters...it is worth a small fortune I hear.

WTF?

Sorry, I could not resist, only because (wait, you do not know what WTF means? It is short for "what the f**k?"). DO NOT BE OFFENDED. I chose my words carefully, to prep you for this. From the director of "Napoleon Dynamite" comes, "F**K: THE DOCUMENTARY". I am not kidding. Thanx goes out to Michelle Malkin for bringing this to our attention.

Do we really need a documentary centered around the f-bomb? What value can it possibly have? It reminds me of the very bad audio joke that circulated around the Internet, featuring a prim and proper British announcer using the f-bomb as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc, etc, etc. I will admit that I laughed at it back in my secular days (the irony of the announcers voice against the harshness of the f-word), but I was an ignorant heathen then. Things have changed.

You just can't make up stuff like this. Stay tuned for next week's feature, "Horton Hears a Ho".

Caught With His Pants Down...

While I will never be considered a Saddam sympathizer, I am rather appalled at the photo in the Sun of him in his (thankfully not so tighty) whiteys. While I do not read The Sun, I do visit Matt Drudge's web site and got an eyeful yesterday since Matt had this as his lead story.

Personally, I do not approve of public shame of this type. Yes, Saddam is a crook, but he is in custody, being tried for war crimes in which he will either be put to death, or spend the rest of his life in prison. Must he be humiliated by showing him on the front page of a major UK newspaper in his skivvies?

I find it also quite interesting that Europe bashes the US for our Gov'ts exploits, but snapping a picture of him and placing it on the front page is proper? What am I missing?

The More the Merrier

I post on an online message board that caters to the more technically savvy. The board really started as a joke, poking fun at those who are not as smart as they think they are. The members are an eclectic bunch, with a variety of viewpoints and opinions. I believe I am probably the most conservative.

One of the regular contributors is openly lesbian and, if the photo is accurate, rather attractive by modern definition. Her sexual orientation and living arrangement (she states she is living with two other lesbians, women she claims she converted to the lifestyle) have been the source of a great deal of interest to many of the males who read and post on the board. She has mentioned many times she has a non-recognized, 3-way lesbian marriage. With the recent headlines regarding gay and lesbian marriage legalities lately, this topic has been discussed ad nausuem. She has been trying to get her 3-way living arrangement legalized as a legal marriage for the past few months, with no success. Everytime a news article is posted regarding the subject of gay and Lesbian marriage, this contributor makes this point know. She seriously thinks this is ok. I feel for her. She is so wrong..

My question. If it is wrong for a man to have more than one wife or a woman to have more than one husband, WHY would it be acceptable for a lesbian (or gay man for that matter) to have multiple partners? Think about this outside of the Christian perspective and think what kind of problems this could create for AMERICA. If multiple partners are allowed for the sake of "marriage", then NOTHING would stop a large group of people (clubs, organizations, schools, universities, churches, hate groups, gangs, etc) of declaring the same thing, having all the rights and privileges granted to traditionally married people? I hear the argument, "Well, if two or more people are in love, they should allowed to be married." How do measure love? A man and a woman today can get married without being "in love". Since US law states you can only marry one person at a time, getting married and getting divorced is a bit time consuming. I can see NOTHING but problems if we allow just anyone to be legally wed, especially if multiple partners are involved.

Weekend update

I joined 20+ other men from our church at a Men's Retreat at Glen Rose Camp, in Glen Rose, TX. It was a refreshing getaway in many ways. We gathered to worship, share things in a small group setting, hiked up a hill to have a worship service outdoors (under a majestic stone cross), listened to uplifting messages, and fellowshiped together (sports, stories, eating, etc). I was exhausted when I got back.

My wife commented to me that night as we were getting ready for bed that that none of the men looked spiritually refreshed. "Men never seem to look that way when they get back from a retreat", she said. I think there is a good reason for this. It comes down to a fundamental difference between men and women.

First, most of the men work 45+ hours a week. Many of them work in blue collar jobs, so the work is very physical. When we are given some time off, we normally: sleep, watch TV, or do "guy things" (hunt, fish, camp, play cards, sports, etc). When we have a retreat set up for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we have to work our week, pack, and then drive 2+ hours to get there. So Friday night, we are pretty tired, but still wound up. So we stay up until about midnight, then settle in. We get up anywhere from 6-8 AM, shower, eat, and begin small group time and worship. We get some free time, so we find something to do (for me it was basketball and some walking. I did manage to get a nap later that day). After our noon meal, we had some more free time and then some small group activities. By the time we have our evening meal, we are rather spent. Then we start our hike up into the hills for our evening service / fireside share time. Since the hike up the hill was a bit of a workout for some, we opted to drive down (the long way) to avoid injury. We get back at 10 PM, fellowship some and then hit the bunks. Sunday we got up, showered, ate our morning meal and had service. Since there was an activity at church in the early afternoon, we hurried and packed after the service to begin our drive back.

So, we did not look refreshed? I am sure we did not. My wife on her retreat was not as physical as I was, although she works just as hard (if not harder). Her retreat, because it was a women's retreat, did not encourage its attendees to play sports. Guys share differently than women do. Neither is wrong, just different.

I can assure you this retreat was very beneficial to me. It allowed me to make better friendships, I opened up to some people regarding personal struggles I have, and I realized that I really do need the company of others if I want to grow as a Christian. All we need to do now is to show the other men in the congregation they need this as well.

The Land of the Offended

I tend to get rather miffed at our legal system at times. It is not just the fact local gov't is more interested in making money than arresting real criminals (We once got a parking ticket IN FRONT OF OUR OWN HOUSE from the local city police for parking IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. We live on a cul-de-sac, no through traffic, quiet street with 2 families that have small children. We had filed a police report 12 months earlier for our son who was the recipient of an assault. Nothing ever came of it. The police knew the perp and did nothing.), it is the fact we cater to everyone elses whims and wishes...unless they are Christian. We are not allowed to read our Bibles in school, but try to stop a Mulsim from praying 5 times a day and the school get's sued ... and loses. Atheists complain about Christian holidays (there are very few observed) and want some of there own (I thought every day was "Atheist Day"), they want all traces of Christianity removed but will allow outlandish references to Pagan and other religious customs to remain mainstream. How about we just let each group celibrate their own holidays and stay out of each others business?

The one ploy the liberals are trying to pull that made me laugh was the renaming of the Easter Bunny to the "Spring Bunny" or something similar. The reason why I laughed was that the liberals are trying (yet again) to slam Christians. Well, this time you failed! Read the Bible and you will not see ANY mention of the word Easter. Easter (thank to Constantine) is a derivative if the Pagan word Ishtar. "Easter" just happens to be a conglomeration of many holidays and festivals both Christian and Pagan, celibrated on the same day. Our church recognizes The Resurrection. Makes sense to me and since the world is in such an anti-Christian mode, for once we are not complaining at the liberals, but laughing instead. Ok at least I am laughing.

I also find it interesting that secular folks say that Christians are the minority and we should not have special rights. Well, if other groups can be given "special rights", why not us? Before any of those groups start flaming me, I am not bashing you at all. All I ask is EQUAL treatment, not special treatment, for everyone. If we are such a minority, why do all the radical left, secular tinfoil hat wearing people say that the Christian vote changed the outcome of the election? Surely one minority cannot do that. It is not like we were embraced by any other "minority" to help further our cause. Would that be because we are a very unique group and most other groups do not follow our theology and ideology?

I had an employee a few years ago who was a Wiccan, Pagan, polytheist, whatever you care to call it. I am not bashing it, nor did I when she sheepishly told me what her beliefs were. I began to be curious about Pagan beliefs, so I l researched it on the internet and found a wealth of info. Now to be fair, the code they are supposed to live by is a moral code. However it leaves a lot to interpretation, since it is a code, man inspired, not God or (god) breathed, like the Christian bible. The code "Do what ye wish, but harm no one" is a nice idea, but not practical. How do you know what you are doing is not harming anyone? I mean let's say you are a single man, not dating and you aquire some pornography (of the adult kind, not anyting illegal). You go home and view it. Who is harmed? You did what you wanted, and people benefited from the sale, people made money, we all win, right? Well, under the Wiccan code, this is acceptable, but they do not realize that the pornography that was legally purchased helped exploit someones daughter, sister, mother, aunt, cousin, or even grandmother. Harm no one? Right.

I know this post was a little helter-skelter, and am sorry for leading you that way. I just needed to vent a bit.

Great Idea. Right.

This is as smart as telling kids, "Arguing with with a gang member may get you shot...here is a Kevlar vest."

Why are we allowing groups to do this sort of thing? We need to educate on what can happen to your body if you engage in sex, not tell them how to lessen the chances of pregnancy or disease.

I was not a Christian growing up as a child/teen/young adult. My home was a bit tense with a father who worked very hard and got very little in return. He turned to alcohol when he needed companionship. My mother watched all this, being raised that the man is the head of the house and his way is law. When things got escalated, no one wanted to be home. I stayed out late, drank, used tobacco, had pre-marital sex (although my list of partners is much smaller than others I know, both male and female), and I was disrespectful to my parents. I was a product of what I was exposed to from my parents. My point? Parents, be a positive role modlefor your kids. Keep up with your kids activities. Do not assume that they are being taught the "right" things in school. Kids, do not believe the hype. Having sex before you are ready to even be married is like running into a battle field with a weapon that has no ammo. It is dangerous, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually. You have no idea how badly you cna be injured until it happens to you.

I really have not given up ...

I know that it has been 2 months since I last posted. Work has kept me very busy and I havenot been inspired to post. A lot has gone on in the news and I am sure there were many things that were post worthy. I am sorry if I let anyone down.

I got a response to my "Depression and Suicide" post via e-mail today. Although the person gave very little info about themselves (I am assuming was a female over 18 from the verbiage), they said they enjoyed my posts. God moves people to different things and this was a hint from Jehovah to get back to posting. So I will do everything I can to post at least 4 times a week on something that grabs me.

Things that have been keeping me busy the last 2 months:

* Home repairs (new fence, sprinkler system, and patio extension)
* Tuesday night volleyball
* My Wednesday night Care Group (we take the summer off)
* 1 on 1 Discipling with my mentor Fred (two more sessions left)
* 3 Weekends helping friends move
* Family Day Celibration at our church preparations
* A couple of PC repairs for friends
* A major PC repair for me (new motherboard)
* A week-long training session on ITSM processes and OVSD usage
* Split shifts to train our night crew while still doing my primary job(s)
* Acting as both mom and dad while my wife was out of town visiting friends
* Lawn care for me and my single neighbor

Upcoming activities:

* Two weeks of vacation in June
* New Gutters on the house
* Job transition (not sure yet, the details are still fuzzy)


To the person who posted the comment on the Depression post, I thank you for listening to God's voice and letting me know what you think.

People Wonder Why I Frown on Public Restrooms

This is not my primary reason, but it could be now! Normally I detest public restrooms because of the lack of cleanliness. The are often very dirty, smelly and cramped. Now I have to worry about so sicko trying to get photos of me or my family members when "nature calls".

When will this end?

Give It A Rest

Please. THK, get over it. The election is over with. Dubya is in the White House, the Liberal Democratic Party is in shambles, and you are not "African American".

I like this :

She argued that it is "very easy to hack into the mother machines."

Really? How do you know that? If JK had become President, THK would have made the role of First Lady a joke.

You really need to take the time to research some of her quotes. They are laughable.

Hungry, Hungry Hippos

...was a fun, noisy game my friend had when we were kids. After reading the headlines recently, maybe the next game will be called "Horny Horny Ho's". I am sorry if this is offensive, I am not trying to. Did this kind of depravity (story from my home state) go on when we were in middle school? This is the third or fourth case of teacher sex abuse I have heard of in the past 12 months. Here is one from the state I live in currently. I found a who listing of them by Googling "North Carolina teacher student sex scandal". Sick.

Teens are having far too much sex. They are performing acts that really are beyond their years. Prep schools are not immune. In this story, a 15 year old girl has been performing sex acts with multiple boys.

I know girls like that existed in our day, we normally stayed away from them. I look at this and think that our kids are facing such tremendous pressures. Their secular friends are having sex. They are smoking. They are drinking. We want to protect our kids. Some of us want to wish it all away. That will not work. Get on your knees people and pray. We need God's love right now. We have to help our kids.

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!
<><

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?