Just My Opinion

2011-07-12T15:52:00.000-05:00

iCasualties: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Casualties

2010-06-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

iCasualties: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Casualties

Iris, A trophy of God's Grace

2009-09-19T10:03:00.005-05:00

memories of the days gone by. Iris Urrey Blue and our three kids, Richard, Angela and Annette ... taken a long time ago in our home in Germany.

Ron Owens has written a book about Iris and Blue ... soon to be published.

Manley Beasley somewhere in Europe .. also taken a long time ago.

Iris and Dwayne surprise me in a sandwich move ... I am actually off the floor a few inches.

Houston CBF and Rachel

2009-07-04T11:21:00.003-05:00

This is the main reason we came to Houston to see our beautiful granddaughter.

We also came to see old friends like Jim Smith and Becky.
They were so kind to our daughters Angela and Annette.

Rachel Catrina Sutherland

2009-06-29T12:59:00.000-05:00

Rachel Catrina Sutherland
is my beautiful grandaughter and she is almost
two months old.

Annette and Wes plus One: Birth Announcement

2009-05-25T11:45:00.001-05:00

Annette and Wes plus One: Birth Announcement

Something Good May be Happening

2009-03-10T20:19:00.003-05:00

Francis Shaeffer has been call the father of the religious right. Not many people know who he was ... but I came across this video and it has given me great cause for joy! Watch it and you may agree with me.

2008-12-11T10:58:00.000-06:00

YouTube - christian the lion

2008-07-25T17:10:00.000-05:00

YouTube - christian the lion

Middle East Pop Quiz - by Charley Reese

2008-06-08T07:27:00.000-05:00

There are none so blind as those who will not see. Fundamentalist Christians have duped millions into believing that Israel belongs to the Jewish people and no one else should be allowed to live in the Land. That the Jewish people are God's chosen people and therefore deserving of special treatment. I believe that the Jews ceased being God's chosen people with the coming of Christ. Now all Christians are the spiritual seed of Abraham ... and if you are Muslim ... all Muslims.

Middle East Pop Quiz - by Charley Reese

On Faith: Guest Voices: What is Liberation Theology?

2008-05-01T08:52:00.000-05:00

On Faith: Guest Voices: What is Liberation Theology?

This is a good article to help a person understand Liberation Theology from one of Americas outstanding preachers.

Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking' - Health News, Health & Wellbeing - The Independent

2008-04-01T05:49:00.000-05:00

Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking' - Health News, Health & Wellbeing - The Independent

Professor Khurana – a top neurosurgeon who has received 14 awards over the past 16 years, has published more than three dozen scientific papers – reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phones. He has put the results on a brain surgery website, and a paper based on the research is currently being peer-reviewed for publication in a scientific journal.

He admits that mobiles can save lives in emergencies, but concludes that "there is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours". He believes this will be "definitively proven" in the next decade.

Noting that malignant brain tumours represent "a life-ending diagnosis", he adds: "We are currently experiencing a reactively unchecked and dangerous situation." He fears that "unless the industry and governments take immediate and decisive steps", the incidence of malignant brain tumours and associated death rate will be observed to rise globally within a decade from now, by which time it may be far too late to intervene medically.

"It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking," says Professor Khurana, who told the IoS his assessment is partly based on the fact that three billion people now use the phones worldwide, three times as many as smoke. Smoking kills some five million worldwide each year, and exposure to asbestos is responsible for as many deaths in Britain as road accidents.

Late last week, the Mobile Operators Association dismissed Khurana's study as "a selective discussion of scientific literature by one individual". It believes he "does not present a balanced analysis" of the published science, and "reaches opposite conclusions to the WHO and more than 30 other independent expert scientific reviews".

Interesting?

Amazing Grace

2008-02-27T13:44:00.001-06:00

Wintley Phipps - Amazing Grace

One of the most magical moments in gospel came when Wintley Phipps, the Grammy-winning Trinidadian, paused during a concert to talk about the history, meaning and power of the Negro spirituals and how all of them are based on "just the black notes" on the piano.
(Skeptical? He proves it.) This combination history lesson, musicology lesson, sermon, and spine-tingling evocation of "Amazing Grace" is something that will probably require a hanky.

Politics and the Pulpit | New York Times Video

2007-12-30T20:21:00.001-06:00

Check out this video about religion/politics and evangelicals ... two different views. Very interesting and informative.

Politics and the Pulpit | New York Times Video

2007-12-29T08:27:00.000-06:00

While traveling in German in July I had the opportunity of visiting in the home of Rick and Nancy Dill. They are former FMB(IMB) missionaries who were fired because they refused to sign the BFM2000. They were serving in Wiemar where God has richly blessed their work, pastoring a growing church as a part of the German Baptist Union. Thank the Lord that after their termination they were about to stay in Wiemar, in their same house and same church and continue their robust ministry.
I don't think I will ever understand the mindset of a missions organization that would terminate veteran missionaries. The only thing they could use was the fact that they refuse to sign the paper!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T12:27:00.000-06:00

Hillary's Prayer: Hillary Clinton's Religion and Politics

2007-12-21T11:42:00.000-06:00

(I posted this blog before ... but would be interested in any comments that you, the reader, would make after reading the article posted below.)\ :)

It is not secret to those who know me that I lean to the left in both politics and religion. Nor is it a secret that I strongly supported Bill Clinton both times that he was elected president. And I believe that he was a great president. I do not like GWB at all. I have no great admiration for his intelligence and love David Letterman's regular segment on his show that's called: Great moments in presidential speech. I am not sure if I will be supportive of Mrs. Clinton in her presidential run ... but I am leaning strongly in her favor. I also like John Edwards.

I can across this article in Mother Jones magazine about Hillary Clinton and I was very surprised at some of the things it said. Here is a bit from the 4 page article.

'It was an elegant example of the Clinton style, a rhetorical maneuver subtle, bold, and banal all at once. During a Democratic candidate forum in June, hosted by the liberal evangelical group Sojourners, Hillary Clinton fielded a softball query about Bill's infidelity: How had her faith gotten her through the Lewinsky scandal?

After a glancing shot at Republican "pharisees," Clinton explained that, of course, her "very serious" grounding in faith had helped her weather the affair. But she had also relied on the "extended faith family" that came to her aid, "people whom I knew who were literally praying for me in prayer chains, who were prayer warriors for me."

Taking Christ out of Christmas?

2007-12-18T09:15:00.000-06:00

With all of the brain washed Christian right wingers crying and whining about Christ being taken of Christmas and declaring that the secular humanist is making war against Christmas this article is very welcome and worth reading and maybe commenting on.

THE BAPTIST STUDIES BULLETIN"Taking the Christ Out of Christmas"By Bruce T. Gourley
'Tis the season for many Christians to complain that Christmas is under siege by a hostile, anti-Christian American culture. Let's forget, for a moment, that American Christians readily embrace the unbiblical consumerism and materialism that characterizes the Christmas season. And, of course, there is the slightly unsettling fact that the history of Christmas is rooted in an ancient pagan celebration later co-opted by Christianity. These annoyances aside, we should get upset that the religious aspect of Christmas is sometimes downplayed by society, and when someone slights our faith, we need to stand up and fight them. Right? Christmas, after all, should be a celebration of Jesus. And the Jesus of the Gospels surely wrapped himself in a human body for the purpose of championing the pure and undefiled among earth's inhabitants, condemning those of other faiths or no faith, and calling down the wrath of God upon the pagan society that characterized the Roman Empire. Thus by demanding that unbelieving individuals and a pluralistic society bow to our wishes―or else!―we honor the spirit of Jesus at Christmas. Right? As silly as it sounds, that is exactly the message that popular Christendom is communicating to American society: we demand our rights right now, and we'll stomp into the ground any who stand in our way, all because we love Jesus and you don't. Let's get real. The biggest enemies of Christmas in modern America are those who claim the name of Christ yet are wandering in a self-righteous wilderness, turning the Bread of Life into stones and hurling holy rocks at unbelievers. Is it possible that somewhere this Christmas season, a follower of Christ will stand up and champion equal rights for persons of other faiths or no faith in American society? Is it possible that somewhere this Christmas season a local Christian church will extend a hand of friendship to a nearby Hindu or Muslim congregation? Is it possible that somewhere this Christmas season a local newspaper's "Letters to the Editor" section will be spared the annual chorus of complaints of "Christ" being taken out of Christmas? This is the time of year in which joy, hope, peace and love are celebrated in songs of faith and the merriment of family and community gatherings. We are able to celebrate the season because Jesus forsook his own heavenly rights and joyfully came to live among and serve sin-ridden humanity. My hope this Advent season is that somewhere in America, at least a few members of the family called Christians, in addition to moving beyond the enticements of materialism and consumerism, will manage to avoid the temptations of the wilderness of self-righteousness and instead live as servants and light among their fellow human beings. Only then will Christ remain in Christmas. (colored text is mine not the author of the article..rcf)
Visit Bruce's personal website.

Huckabee Hides His Full Gospel?

2007-12-14T09:17:00.000-06:00

Huckabee Hides His Full Gospel?

Huckabee is slick and as smooth talking as any snake oil salesman. If he were running for my pastor I would not vote for him because I do not share a lot of his tertiary beliefs ... like about conception, evolution, guns, etc. He would be a disaster as president of the United States. He would turn this country into an American Taliban. Just my opinion! Click on his 30 second commercial or his entertaining 42 minute speech. And if you have some time follow some of the other links located at YOU TUBE.

Annette and Wes in Thailand

2007-09-30T09:57:00.000-05:00

This is exciting. Basically because I am learning to insert photos to my blog. Annette recently sent some picture from Thailand. I am only including two here:

Wat in Chiang Mai

Wes is hot after a long hike

Annette sent some more pictures, along with these two, and they can be viewed here.

In case you are interested in looking at some more pictures ... they also spend some time in Vietnam
This has been an educational experience. I have not thought about SE Asia since our troops left Vietnam. It really looks like a beautiful place.

President Bush

2007-09-29T11:04:00.000-05:00

Brother George at prayer before stopping off at the local pub.

A quick snap of our teetotaling President while he was visiting Germany.

Global Village Program - Habitat for Humanity Int'l

2007-09-28T09:39:00.000-05:00

My youngest daughter Annette and her husband Wes are traveling in Southeast Asia for both vounteer work and vacation. I have been living vicariously throught their itinerary and have been enjoying learning new things about places I have never been. It is really fun!

Global Village Program - Habitat for Humanity Int'l

Traveling along with W and A is fun

October 7, Sunday – Depart for Malaysia
October 8, Monday – Travel time (you will lose a day crossing the International Date Line)
October 9, Tuesday – Arrive in Kuching; travel to affiliate for orientation
October 10, Wednesday – Walking tour of Kuching; welcome lunch; build
October 11-12, Thursday-Friday – Build
October 13-14, Saturday-Sunday – R&R (overnight stay in Borneo Highlands; trekking; kayaking; longhouse home stay ; visit Semenggoh Wildlife Rehab Center
October 15, Monday – Build
October 16, Tuesday – Build
October 17, Wednesday – Build; sunset cruise along Sarawak River
October 18, Thursday – Build
October 19, Friday – Build
October 20, Saturday – Sarawak Museum; weekend market; farewell dinner
October 21, Sunday – Depart for home

Following along on A and W's journey in Malaysia at the Semenggoh Wildlife Rehab Center

Return to old memories

2007-09-27T14:57:00.000-05:00

I had the priviledge of preaching at my old church in Germany on July 8, 2007. You can hear if you click on on this link. Pastor Altus Newell is reading the scripture and then I preach. The audio isn't best but you can hear okay.

I enjoyed the couple of hours I had to spend at Faith Baptist Church. It brought back of lot of great memories.

God's warriors

2007-08-24T17:17:00.000-05:00

For three nights this week I have watched Christiane Amanpour's documentary on three of the world's great religions. There will be an encore performance on CNN soon and it is well worth watching. The one about Christianity was just plain scary! Focuses a lot of attention on the radical fundamentalist on the far right. Compares some aspects with the Taliban and the institution of Sharia Law.

Karl Rove Agnostic

2007-08-17T20:25:00.001-05:00

Bill Moyers is always on the money. Check out this clip about Karl Rove:

The apostate theology of John Hagee exposed!

2007-08-12T12:16:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I posted a video. Well take a look at this article

Here is an excerpt: “Christians United For Israel”, and their leader John Hagee, are giving the Jewish people false hope, and are propagating bloodshed and injustice in the process. Many “church” leaders propagate this error and are leading both Christians and Jews dangerously astray. Israel has become an idol to many Christians, and those of Jewish ancestry have become an idol to many Christians. Idolatry has ascended and Jesus has fallen to second place. Jesus said “whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” Now it is erroneously taught that we will be blessed if we bless unbelieving Israel, and cursed if we don’t bless them. It is so important to read the word of God for ourselves, lest the same be said of us, that we knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets."

Please remember that I am expressing my opinion and my opinion alone .. but it is good to find someone who agrees with my opinion!

Frau Ferguson Tour Guide

2007-08-12T10:20:00.000-05:00

Frau Angela Ferguson was my tour guide while I was in Berlin.

She was tutoring a group of Samford students in a summer study of German things.

We stayed in the middle of nowhere at the German Baptist Seminary .. its in the forest behind this train station.

These are two examples of cheap transport in Berlin. The blue one is a human driven bike with a seat behind the rider for two persons. I don't know how much it cost to ride because I only found it as I was leaving. The red and yellow vehicles are obvious.

Home - Christian House Sitters

2007-08-12T09:08:00.000-05:00

Home - Christian House Sitters

This might be of interest to Christian world travelers. I never heard of this program and just came across it by accident and thought I would pass it along.

My Very "own" Rock!

2007-08-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

Bobfergusonite

Thanks to a new friend at Baptist Life Forum and to"honor Emeritus Professor Robert Bury Ferguson (1920- ), Canadian mineralogist, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, especially for his contributions to pegmatite mineralogy." Information found on their website says that it is an uncommon primary mineral in the intermediate zone of a granite pegmatite enriched in manganese and fluorine from the Gotcha claim, on an island in Cross Lake, Manitoba, Canada.

IMA Status: Approved IMA 1984

I know nothing more about this mineral. I just thought it was a fun piece of trivia to share. After all Judge Roy Moore has his very own Roy's Rock.

Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour

2007-08-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

Please note that the title to my Blog is Just My Opinion. The interesting things to me is that my opposition to the theology (or lack of theology) as portrayed in this video is as strong today as it was 50 years ago. I support Israel's right to have a homeland but not at the expense of rooting our the Arabs who had been living on that same piece of land for hundreds of years. Why not two countries ... well except if the Jews can't take it all ... Jesus cannot return!

Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour from huffpost and Vimeo.

This article was published yesterday and offers move views of this conference. And just a little more scearching I found this article. I along with a few other people may sound alarmist ... but this man Hagee with his minions (Sen. Joe Libermann, Sen. John McCain) is a dangerous man and millions believe this junk.

THREE Lovely Girls

2007-07-31T14:40:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

2007-07-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

What Would Jesus Do?

Jim Evans always hits a home run in his column. In this
column he has outdone himself. This is a must read. And worthwhile saving.

Generation Chickenhawk: The Unauthorized College Republican Convention Tour

2007-07-27T12:07:00.000-05:00

Viewing this video was eye opening with regard to youth opinions on the Iraq war. "Fight them over there so that we do not have to fight them over here." This opinion is expressed by young and old alike. Most of those "over here" would like to have others fighting them "over there."

Generation Chickenhawk: The Unauthorized College Republican Convention Tour from huffpost and Vimeo.

Some pictures of our excellent adventure

2007-07-22T06:58:00.000-05:00

Angela, Annette and Me enjoying bowl of spagetti
eis! Fantastic!

Three invited guests

Preaching at Faith Baptist Church in
Kaiserslautern, Germany

Wonderful lunch at Helga and Werner Schuff's
home before rushing off to the airport
for Annette and Berlin for Angela and myself.

I am looking forward to showing some more pictures
from the Berlin portion of my trip. Coming Soon!

What a day that was!

2007-07-18T07:59:00.000-05:00

Today
marks our 37th wedding anniersary. We were married inArlington
Texas in the small chapel of FBC. Dr. Jimmy Hester preformed
the ceremony.

This a picture of us leaving after the ceremony.

Diane has flown in from Perth, Western Australia the day
before and we had to work very fast to get
a wedding arranged with flowers, cake, invited guests, etc.
Without the help of old friends from Germany we would not have been successful.

Olbermann: All hail the prophetic gut!

2007-07-16T06:10:00.000-05:00

After flying back from Germany on Saturday July 14. I have only good thing to say about Mr. Olbermann's assessment of our homeland security folks.

Bella, Bella, Bella

2007-07-02T10:24:00.000-05:00

I was digging under the bench on our patio
and something got me in the eye.
I thought I would have to wear an
eyepatch.

And now you can see that I am all
better.

And I am sleeping in my favorite spot.
Between Bob and his keyboard.
I am also very excited that Diane is coming
home TODAY! I have really missed her.
She feeds me better than Bob.

Sunday at Faith

2007-06-30T15:17:00.001-05:00

I will be preaching at Faith Baptist Church in Kaiserslautern, Germany of July 8, 2007. Several people have ask what I will preach about. I am going to preach my favorite sermon from Psalm 137. The idea was back "then" that all of these American Baptist Christians had found themselves in Germany and they just didn't like it. Hence the responsibility of "singing the Lord's song in a foreign land." This sermon will talk about all of the ways they sang the song at Faith.

Toronto Daily News - 'Massive' Bomb Found in London - A bomb was found in an abandoned car in London's theatre district of Haymarket on Friday.

2007-06-29T06:50:00.000-05:00

Toronto Daily News - 'Massive' Bomb Found in London - A bomb was found in an abandoned car in London's theatre district of Haymarket on Friday.

This is a chilling story! Not the first and probably not the last. I could be wrong but had the US and GB not invaded Iraq these perhaps these threats would be minimal? Just my opinion.

2007-06-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

Oma, Mother, Daughter
Three generations. Looks like they get
bigger with each generation.

What a beautiful picture!
The two pictures are of the same lady. Diane's friend Allison from New Zealand.

Maya's picture

2007-06-24T15:28:00.000-05:00

And what about me? That silly girl
Bella has a blog story. Why not
me?

I am Annette's cat. My name is Maya Angeloe. I have been left here for
almost two years, but I am looking forward
to my freedom in just a few more months!

WooHoo ;)

Bella ... Angela's Cat!

2007-06-24T08:21:00.000-05:00

God has blessed Diane and my self with beautiful animal loving children!
And they have no problem leaving their animals at our house! Bella is
just a baby and is into everything!

Are you talking to me?

But you can see how cute I am.

They can be fun at times.

Diane in Australia 2007

2007-06-24T08:13:00.000-05:00

Walking Along the River

A cup of tea with some friends

Freemantle?

Funny Trees

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

2007-06-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

Could it be that good things are beginning to happen within the SBC. The tenacious grip of the far right "neo-cons" like Paige Patterson, Albert Mohler, et al is being loosened. This is good news maybe the SBC can come back to the place where it is engaged in missions, gospel preaching and out of the business of baptizing people into the Republican party. Jim Evans, a syndicated columnist, also serves as pastor of Auburn First Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala., has written another eye opening column and well worth reading.

For Family Members Planning to Return to Houston

2007-06-22T09:06:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

Ten Commandments for Driving in Houston Ed Hogan06-21-07
The pope has given a list of "Ten Commandments" for driving, warning against sins of road rage, drinking and driving and even being rude. Taking them in the spirit in which they were given, this Baptist preacher can't help but wonder what the list would be if the Vatican was in the city where I live, Houston, Texas.
Read the article here. I am not sure if its tongue in cheek. I have driven a few times in Houston, got hit by a bus once!, and it is indeed a scary and daunting proposition.

Do Southern Baptists Really Support 'Biblical' Marriage?

2007-06-20T11:35:00.000-05:00

Read this article from by clicking on the link above. Miques De La Torre has written a thought provoking essay in response to Paige Patterson homemaking course at SWBTS> Here are some excerpts:

"God bless you Paige Patterson! It is men of courage like you who will save the Southern Baptist Convention and the nation.
For far too long, our faith and our nation have taken an unbiblical turn when it comes to marriage. Your wisdom and insight in providing an academic program to train women how to make a Christian home is long overdue.

You are right, Paige. Traditional marriage as now defined by Western culture does not have biblical roots. It is incongruent with what is spelled out in the biblical text.

In fact, it would be hard to find a modern-day Christian who does abide by a truly biblical marriage in practice, for the biblical understanding of marriage meant male ownership of women who existed for his pleasure
But, Paige, why stop with marriage? Why doesn't the seminary hold classes on how to treat slaves? There are multiple biblical references on how believers are to humanely treat their slaves.

Just because our secular society abolished slavery in the mid-19th century and Jim Crow in the mid-20th century doesn't mean that Bible-believing Christians must do likewise.

If the Bible advocates slavery, then by golly, so should the SBC! After all, wasn't our denomination started over this very issue? "

Enjoy This Cartoon

2007-06-18T14:00:00.000-05:00

Internet-Spa� auf www.piep001.de

I found this on the "daily dish" and thought I would share it with all of you world travellers. http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/ Click on the title.

Baptist Seminary Homemaking Classes for Wives to Rescue Culture, Church

2007-06-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary moves from the ridiculous to the sublime. Teaching women how to be women, wives and mothers. And offering a seminary degree in same. Read the article and try to control your gag reflex. Here is a brief sample:

Christian homemaking will save the Southern Baptist Convention and the nation, according to the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, one of the nation's largest training schools for pastors.
Paige Patterson announced at the SBC meeting in San Antonio that his school was offering an academic program to train women how to make a Christian home.

Yes, there is evidently a Christian way for wives to water houseplants, wash clothes, warm leftovers and wax floors.

Having made June Cleaver the biblical model for motherhood, training the wives of ministers to be June Cleaver with a Christian twist shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Heaven help us! What is this "flagship" of SBC seminary education doing? Paige Patterson wants us to give all of our young boys guns and dogs so that can become great hunters. Albert Mohler thinks none of the boys should remain unmarried beyond the age of 17 ot 18 but should get about the business of impregnating their submissive wives! Stupidity upon stupidity.

Jesus Was a Homeless Bum

2007-06-16T17:18:00.000-05:00

Jesus Was a Homeless Bum

You might find this an interesting read and the picture is neat.

Robertson Does it again

2007-06-15T08:22:00.000-05:00

Media Matters - Robertson: "Islam is not a religion. It is a worldwide political movement meant on domination" Pat Robertson and all preachers who have a jihad against Islam are kooks. They should check out all of these right wing dominionist who want to impose "Christian law" on the nation. I have no idea which group would be bigger, Islam extremist or Christian extremist, but I certainly would not want to painted with the same brush that paints Christian extremists!

Print Story: A pious nation? on Yahoo! News

2007-06-11T11:33:00.000-05:00

Print Story: A pious nation? on Yahoo! News

This is a very interesting article as to whether or not America is a Christian Nations. The article seems to suggest that America is Christian in on only in the rhetoric of right-wing Christians who are trying to rewrite history. Here is a short excerpt.

Let's start with violence, a phenomenon hard to square with New Testament teachings about living in peace and Old Testament commandments not to kill one another. For all our virtues, we are beyond doubt a violent society, inundated by weapons, murders and pop culture glorification of violence to a degree unmatched by other First World nations.

The massacre at Virginia Tech this spring might seem an extreme case. Defenders of gun rights warn against overreaction, claiming that mass shootings, however horrific, are quite rare. In truth, Virginia Tech-style massacres happen every day, albeit in less dramatic form. Statistics show that gun violence kills close to 30,000 people a year in America, or about 80 a day - more than double the number slain in Blacksburg, Va. Is this what one should expect of a country guided by Jesus, the "Prince of Peace"?

Then there is the violence projected by our government. Here, too, it is impossible to claim that America is a peaceful nation in the image of Christ. Under the Bush administration, the United States has pursued an aggressive foreign policy and a war in Iraq that theologians struggle to justify with Christian doctrines about morally defensible war. Certainly, the case can be made that dangerous forces left our government with no choice but to fight. But the question must be raised again: Is our behavior as a nation consistent with our ostensibly Christian character?

You will really want to read the whole article. Please read and comment.

My Travels

2007-06-10T12:54:00.001-05:00

Video on Demand | Deutsche Welle

2007-06-06T09:19:00.000-05:00

Video on Demand | Deutsche Welle

This is a link to Deutsche Welle. A whole series of English language programs. The first on the list is "Discover Germany" and is very interesting (to me). Gives a tour of many highlights ending with a study of the Bamberg and her bells. The last article on the list is on "Faith" it is a great discussion of Jews, Christians and Muslims as they co-exist in peace in the City of Frankfurt. Someone, who has students studying German, might want to pass along some of this stuff ... albeit all in English. Just My Opinion.

I am the President

2007-06-05T18:43:00.000-05:00

Listen to this piece about our crazy President.

That's what I am talking about

2007-06-04T15:22:00.000-05:00

U.S. health care is bad for your health

Here is a short excerpt from this must be read article.

"Compared to the other countries studied, the United States lags behind in the adoption of information technology and other national policies that promote quality improvement. Up-to-date information systems in countries such as New Zealand, Germany and the United Kingdom enhance physicians' ability to monitor chronic conditions and medication use, including medications prescribed by other physicians. In other countries, experienced nurses are working to monitor chronic conditions, thus easing the physicians' burden.

The United States also ranks last among the countries studied, both in terms of efficiency and equity. The United States has poor performance on national health expenditures and administrative costs. In terms of equity, Americans with below-average income were more reluctant to visit a physician when sick, and more often did not get a recommended test, fill a prescription or undergo a needed treatment or seek a proper follow-up on a condition.

Only a thorough reform can solve the U.S. health care system's deep structural problems. It is imperative that everyone is adequately insured and has the possibility to afford good care. At the same time, the United States must make sure to incorporate the advantages of modern health information technology and to ensure an integrated medical record and information system."

Diane is OFF

2007-06-03T06:14:00.000-05:00

Saturday, June 2, 2007. Here is a great picture of Diane
as she departs for the airport in New Orleans. You
will note the teacup in hand. I meant to take more pictures but
left my camera in the car.
She called us from
the gate in New Orleans,
the gate in Dallas,
the gate in San Francisco.

She is well and truly on her way!

New Abortion Bill To Require Fetal Consent | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2007-05-27T18:11:00.000-05:00

New Abortion Bill To Require Fetal Consent

Falwell was GOP's prophet of intolerance | ajc.com#

2007-05-23T07:40:00.000-05:00

Falwell was GOP's prophet of intolerance ajc.com#

Cynthia Tucker tells it like it is. She is not deterred by the death of Jerry Falwell that she refuses to the tell the truth about her perspective on his legacy. Read her latest editorial in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The Atlantic Times :: Archive

2007-05-22T14:11:00.000-05:00

The Atlantic Times :: Archive I am pleased to see that rail transportation is returning to some of America's cities. If the average person could give up the idea that the automobile is the only way to go. Naturally this is true in many if not most places but it doesn't need to be that way. Check out this article from The Atlantic Times ... a German newspaper printed in English. I am glad that something is happening in Memphis: Here is an excerpt from the whole article:

Prosaic types in the local transit authority did away with this charming institution of a bygone era, causing lament among true lovers of civilized urban travel. But perhaps this, too, will come back one day, just like the tram with is clang, clang, clang and its ding, ding, ding in Memphis – like those transplanted Melbourne and Oporto trolleys that have contributed so much to the recreation of some splendor downtown and on the banks of the Mississippi.One recent weekend, my wife and I spent the better part of two days traveling the ancient cars – along Main Street and the River Front and to the Medical Center up Madison Avenue. Nowhere else have we ever enjoyed such a splendid and harmonious mix of people all jesting with each other – blacks and whites, locals and strangers, workers, nurses, hotel pages and tourists, old people on an outing and, yes, young lovers too.As they embraced, the compressors kicked into action at every stop, building up pressure for the brakes. Once again we thought of Judy Garland: “Chug, chug, chug went the motor / Thump, thump, thump went the brake / thump, thump, thump went my heartstrings? When she smiled I could feel the car shake.”

What A Great Day

2007-05-20T09:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday [19 May 2007] Diane and I attended the wedding of Grey Falanga and Sarah Elizabeth Rhett in Enterprise, Mississippi. It was a beautiful wedding set in a very old Episcopal chapel called "St. John in the Woods." Indeed it truly was in the woods! We also learned that there are four different towns named "Enterprise" located in four different counties. Carolyn Falanga was my secretary for about six years. I knew Grey when he was a little boy and now he is a towering 6'6". Wow! I felt like I was standing in a hole. His bride, Sarah Elizabeth, is beautiful. It is great to share in the lives of people who have come to mean so much to you over the years. Diane and I were so pleased to be invited to share in this special time. Where have all of the years gone. Everything seems like it was only yesterday but you look around and all of the kids are big, grown and getting married ... well at least some of them.

Bob and Carolyn Falanga and us.

Daniel Vestal: Seek first a Christian witness

2007-05-18T09:11:00.000-05:00

The Shreveport Times This is an excellent article to get a good perspective on the death of Jerry Falwell. It is well worth reading if one is interested in a different perspective and Danny Vestal's article says it much better that I can. Here is a snippet for the brief article:

"In contrast to seeking a "moral majority" which seems to have the connotation of partisan power, it seems that as followers of Christ we should seek to be bold witnesses, humble servants, compassionate ministers in our society. We should not seek to control or impose but to be faithful to our Lord who promises "to make all things new." Of course this will mean engagement in the political process and public advocacy as well as prayer and worship, but not in a way that so clearly identifies the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ with partisan politics."

No email answers

2007-05-17T15:32:00.000-05:00

I said one day in the presence of my two daughters and maybe my son and my dear wife that I never got any email. One or both of my daughters alleged that I did not answer any of my emails and therefore got no email. Or that I didn't email anybody so how could I expect to get an answer. Harrumph! I have written many emails and have not received any answers! In the last month or so I have written 10-15 emails and have gotten no answer! Now that doesn't bother me ... And I take care of their mail and their cats! I am faced with deciding where I should store Annette's Skate Boarding Magazines which seem to arrive weekly ... what does Annette need with skateboard mags. Her mother suggested that they might be for Wes? But I have not gotten an answer.

Television Evangelist Falwell Dies at 73

2007-05-15T14:11:00.000-05:00

Television Evangelist Falwell Dies at 73 I did not like his politics ... but he did accomplish many good things in his life time. My prayers go out to his family, the students and his church.

AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Limbaugh plays "Barack The Magic Negro" on his show

2007-05-14T07:51:00.000-05:00

AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Limbaugh plays "Barack The Magic Negro" on his show

Poor old dirty mouthed Imus gets canned for making a throw-away comment about lady basketball players. Why not can loose lips Limbaugh for his playing of this video. What a service to America that would be ... can his fat rear-end!

A Lament by Clyde Fant

2007-05-10T09:59:00.000-05:00

Author's Note: I am originally from Louisiana, a former pastor of two Southern Baptist churches in the state. My father was the mayor of Shreveport for twenty years. In the last days, grief and outrage have held a contest inside me. So I wrote this Lamentation--because I have to.
"Lamentation"
By Clyde Fant

How like a widow sits the city once so beautiful!
She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks,
Because there is none to comfort her.
She stretched forth her hands, but none came to her;
They heard how she was groaning, but none came unto her.
In her streets the flood bereaves;
In the sodden houses there is death.
The leaders and elders of the city have fled, but the poor are trapped within her levees.

Her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
Those who promised to help are worse than her enemies.
When she cried aloud, none came;
Smooth words made promises,
But they were empty rhetoric, wells without water, phantom bread.
Shame! Shame upon us all.

Who would have believed it!
She who sang even when she mourned,
The people who danced even in their want:
Now they are dying.
Their colorful robes are stained with mud;
They are gray, all gray, pallor of the dead.

Weep, weep for the great city!
Orators of platitudes, politicians of promises, it is you who betrayed her!
You took her safety from her; you neglected her when she reached out to you.
You channeled her rivers and harnessed her waters–but for yourselves! For the profits of your friends!
You caused her marshes to dry and her wilderness to recede,
You brought the might of the waves and the winds to her very doors.
The poor, those who dwelt in the lowest places, in miserable shanties of wood, termite-ridden and forlorn,
Where none but the hopeless would dwell:
You have murdered them, and their corpses drift in the brackish floods,
But their cries have gone up to God!

Woe to you, Republicans!
For you pumped wealth from their lands and sent their sons to die in your wars,
But they are as nothing to you.
"Who is my neighbor?" You do not know yet the answer to this ancient question.
Are your only neighbors your friends in the country clubs or the board rooms?
Your grandfathers set the slaves free, and you return them to a worse bondage of perpetual poverty!
Then you redistrict them to take away the few voices they have,
But God will cause the ruined city to cry on their behalf!
Shame! Shame for your hypocritical use of God's name to lure the unwary.

Woe to you also, Democrats!
You were the fathers of slavery, first sons of the South!
You damned the poor to generations of ignorance and want.
You fathers segregated them, and you promised to bring them into your family.
But where were you when they needed you?
For you lack the courage of your convictions! You curry the favor of those who despise your people!
You have become impotent by your timidity.
You endorse the wars,
You approve miserable crumbs for education and employment,
You court the indifferent, smug suburbs–may you live among them eternally, bored forever by their white sameness!
Shame! Shame for the graft in your statehouses;
Your selfishness has turned your people from you in disgust.

Woe to you Christians who pride yourselves in the name Conservative,
Who call all generous spirits and inclusive hearts liberals,
Who see wars as strength and peace as weakness!
The Prince of Peace rebuke you!

Woe to you also, Liberal Christians!
You scorn the common and cause the simple to feel inferior in your midst.
Your hearts are ever open, but your pocketbooks are always closed!
He who lived among the poor rebuke you!

Woe to you, television preachers and megachurch pastors! False prophets!
You deceive the people with your bleats of piety while you endorse wars and favor your rich benefactors.
Your prophecies of end times have come true–in your own generation!
Look upon the city! Look upon hell on earth!
See what your leaders have wrought, the shame of the earth!
All mock us and call us fools,
We who send armies across oceans but cannot cross the Mississippi to help our own!
Shame, shame upon you!

I hate, I despise your solemn assemblies,
The self-hypnotic repetitions of your praise-songs are a scandal in my ears.
Come before me no more lifting up unholy hands,
Do not use my name to grow your personal kingdoms
Or to bless your political ambitions.
What do you think I desire? Barrels of oil from Iraq?
Herds of sacred cows from Texas?
Go now and learn what this means:
I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
Lovingkindness, and not benign neglect.

Weep, weep for my city,
For my people,
For my children.
For they are dead.

Paul Krugman | For God's Sake

2007-04-15T07:46:00.000-05:00

Paul Krugman For God's Sake This is an excellent explanation of what the far Christian right is trying to pull off. Basically they are no different from extreme Islamist. They want to rule the world! God helps us if they continue to stay in power. The neo-cons think that they can use them for their own nefarious ends. But they can't. Here is an excerpt from this article:

Friday 13 April 2007

In 1981, Gary North, a leader of the Christian Re-constructionist movement - the openly theocratic wing of the Christian right - suggested that the movement could achieve power by stealth. "Christians must begin to organize politically within the present party structure," he wrote, "and they must begin to infiltrate the existing institutional order."

Today, Regent University, founded by the televangelist Pat Robertson to provide "Christian leadership to change the world," boasts that it has 150 graduates working in the Bush administration.

Unfortunately for the image of the school, where Mr. Robertson is chancellor and president, the most famous of those graduates is Monica Goodling, a product of the university's law school. She's the former top aide to Alberto Gonzales who appears central to the scandal of the fired U.S. attorneys and has declared that she will take the Fifth rather than testify to Congress on the matter.

The infiltration of the federal government by large numbers of people seeking to impose a religious agenda - which is very different from simply being people of faith - is one of the most important stories of the last six years. It's also a story that tends to go underreported, perhaps because journalists are afraid of sounding like conspiracy theorists.

But this conspiracy is no theory. The official platform of the Texas Republican Party pledges to "dispel the myth of the separation of church and state." And the Texas Republicans now running the country are doing their best to fulfill that pledge.

Custodians of chaos

2007-04-13T15:41:00.000-05:00

Custodians of chaos

I was once asked if I had any ideas for a really scary reality TV show. I have one reality show that would really make your hair stand on end: "C-Students from Yale".George W Bush has gathered around him upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography, plus not-so-closeted white supremacists, aka Christians, and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities, or PPs, the medical term for smart, personable people who have no consciences.To say somebody is a PP is to make a perfectly respectable diagnosis, like saying he or she has appendicitis or athlete's foot. The classic medical text on PPs is The Mask of Sanity by Dr Hervey Cleckley, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia, published in 1941. Read it!Some people are born deaf, some are born blind or whatever, and this book is about congenitally defective human beings of a sort that is making this whole country and many other parts of the planet go completely haywire nowadays. These were people born without consciences, and suddenly they are taking charge of everything.PPs are presentable, they know full well the suffering their actions may cause others, but they do not care. They cannot care because they are nuts. They have a screw loose!And what syndrome better describes so many executives at Enron and WorldCom and on and on, who have enriched themselves while ruining their employees and investors and country and who still feel as pure as the driven snow, no matter what anybody may say to or about them? And they are waging a war that is making billionaires out of millionaires, and trillionaires out of billionaires, and they own television, and they bankroll George Bush, and not because he's against gay marriage.So many of these heartless PPs now hold big jobs in our federal government, as though they were leaders instead of sick. They have taken charge. They have taken charge of communications and the schools, so we might as well be Poland under occupation.They might have felt that taking our country into an endless war was simply something decisive to do.

-- Kurt Vannagut

A GOOD THOUGHT FOR FRIDAY THE 13TH

2007-04-13T06:52:00.000-05:00

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html: "
'If flying-saucer creatures or angels or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good message for humanity to leave for them, maybe carved in great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall? Here is this old poop's suggestion: WE PROBABLY COULD HAVE SAVED OURSELVES, BUT WERE TOO DAMNED LAZY TO TRY VERY HARD...
-- Kurt Vonnegut "

Bob at Westminister Chapel, London

2007-04-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

This is me standing on the steps at the front of Westminster Chapel in London.[Pretty slim and trim!] Number 38 Buckingham Gate about 200 meters from the gates to Buchingham Palace. I wish that I had mentioned this to Wes and Annette before she left on her trip to London. Westminster Chapel is a well known Church in London. There are three: Abby, Catherdal and Chapel. Over the years I had the priviledge of supplying the pulpit for my friend, the Rev. Dr. R. T. Kendall, during the summer when he was on holiday.

Posted by Bob Ferguson at 9:43 AM 0 comments Links to this post
April 12, 2007

The Moral Dilemma of Homelessness

2007-04-12T09:19:00.000-05:00

If the shoe were on the other foot we might not be so smug! I have never been homeless and don't think I will ever be ... but "what if?" This editorial by Jim Evans offers an insightful look at the possibility. Click on the link and read it.

Dobson is deluded!

2007-03-29T13:11:00.000-05:00

Street Prophets: Faith and Politics

Read this whole blog. It is really good and has Dobson's number. Here is an excerpt: The last paragraph.

Dobson it appears believes he is the king of the evangelicals. Making candidates come to him, favoring those who believe as he does, damning those who do not. He believes that he controls the voting bloc, that people will unify behind him, and that his blessing is important. He has attacked the faith of Thompson and Romney, knowing what they believe and think before they do. Dobson's threats and actions don't carry the weight he thinks, but his words still have an effect. His thoughts and beliefs are gobbled up by thousands upon thousands on a daily basis, which makes it scary when he says things like this. Condemning someone you haven't met for what is in their heart is horrible. Dobosn's use of God and the Bible to justify his own prejudice, anger and lust for power is seen by all his followers. To them, hey, it must be good, Dr. Dobson does it. This is exactly the reason why he is so dangers. Not only is he politically active with his ideas and power hungry ways, but he is indoctrinating many many more, convincing them it is God's way. Thank you Dr. Dobson, thank you for boiling down the Christian message into Hate and Greed

King Maker! God Called ... James Dobson

2007-03-29T08:50:00.000-05:00

I must confess that I have a hard time with my "gag" reflex when I see or hear this man speak. He is a big man in Republican politics and has the ear of the President and exercises great influence over people who, apparently, cannot think for themselves.

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also weighing a presidential run, in a phone interview Tuesday.

Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression," Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party's conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination.

Now for sure I love "Law and Order" and in his role I like Fred Thompson. But to go for a "scum bucket" like Newt Ginrich is beyond imagination. It is not likely that if Mr. Thompson got the nomination that I would vote for him because he is a Republican! But if he were the only choice over some of the other republican contenders he would have my vote. Then on the other hand Mitt Romney would probably be the best choice for the Repubs.

Dobson has all of the money in the world but I think that he is a seriously flawed man. As I shared with a friend of mine who is also a good friend of Dobson's, I think he is the most dangerous man in America and for that matter in the whole Kingdom of God maybe more so that the devil himself. JUST MY OPINION.

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

2007-03-13T15:12:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

This article makes very good sense of the matter of the Resurrection of Christ. He (the Christ) is alive. This is a faith supposition that must be renewed Sunday by Sunday as we gather in worship to reaffirm our relationship with Christ. The wing-nuts on the religious right who want us to fear an attack on Christianity. As the ancient affirmation goes: "Christ is Risen, Christ is Risen, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Chicago Tribune news: Falwell lauds Gingrich for repentance

2007-03-10T16:45:00.000-06:00

Chicago Tribune news: Falwell lauds Gingrich for repentance Read Jerry Falwell pompous account of Newt Gingrich's confession and then listen to Bill Clinton's repentance speech at the September 11, 1998 Congressional prayer breakfast.

http://easylink.playstream.com/historyplace/thp-clinton-sinned.ra

Why would Falwell believe Gingrich who is now on his third wife and not believe Clinton who is still married to his one and only wife?

Americans Have Lost Their Country | BaltimoreChronicle.com

2007-03-06T12:40:00.000-06:00

Americans Have Lost Their Country BaltimoreChronicle.com This article is a must read for any freedom loving person. Paul Craig Roberts is a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. As one can see from the article is well qualified to make comments on the present Bush Administration and his cabal of neo-cons.

They have been supported by their media shills at the Weekly Standard, National Review, Fox News, New York Times, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal editorial page and by "scholars" in assorted think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute
Initially, the 9/11 attack was blamed on Osama bin Laden, but after an American puppet was installed in Afghanistan, the blame for 9/11 was shifted to Iraq's Saddam Hussein, who was said to have weapons of mass destruction that would be used against America. The regime sent Secretary of State Colin Powell to tell the lie to the UN that the Bush-Cheney regime had conclusive proof of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
Having conned the UN, Congress, and the American people, the regime invaded Iraq under totally false pretenses and with totally false expectations. The regime's occupation of Iraq has failed in a military sense, but the neoconservatives are turning their failure into a strategic advantage. At the beginning of this year President Bush began blaming Iran for America's embarrassing defeat by a few thousand lightly armed insurgents in Iraq.
Bush accuses Iran of arming the Iraqi insurgents, a charge that experts regard as improbable. The Iraqi insurgents are Sunni. They inflict casualties on our troops, but spend most of their energy killing Iraqi Shi'ites, who are closely allied with Iran, which is Shi'ite. Bush's accusation requires us to believe that Iran is arming the enemies of its allies. On the basis of this absurd accusation--a pure invention--Bush has ordered a heavy concentration of aircraft carrier attack forces off Iran's coast, and he has moved US attack planes to Turkish bases and other US bases in countries contingent to Iran.

'Thanks Lotz,' say global Baptists, Billy Graham to retiring BWA head

2007-03-06T06:32:00.000-06:00

'Thanks Lotz,' say global Baptists, Billy Graham to retiring BWA head

Denton Lotz is a great person and I am proud to say a friend of mine over the years. I had the joy of knowing him as a professor at Ruschlikon and then in his early years with the BWA He will be sorely missed by world Baptist.

In responding, Lotz expressed his appreciation and issued a plea for unity. "One of the great doctrines of the Christian faith is unity," he said. "Therefore, I would pray with you and plead with you to work for the unity of Baptists. Jesus prayed that we might be one and this was an evangelistic prayer. Why should we be one? That the world might believe! Our lack of unity means that the world cannot believe."
That unity was sorely tested in 2004, when the Southern Baptist Convention voted to withdraw from the BWA. The denomination's conservative leadership alleged that the global group had become too open to moderate Baptists in the United States, Western Europe and elsewhere in the world. However, the SBC convinced only a handful of fundamentalist Baptists in former Soviet-bloc countries to join their crusade.
In concluding, Lotz told the story of when he decided to retire from BWA. He referred to a night when his wife, Janice, was out of town on an overnight trip. Feeling lonely and somewhat uneasy about being alone, he began to reflect on the nights he had left her alone as he traveled. Realizing that he had spent the equivalent of 10 years of their marriage away from her, he decided it was time for him to retire so they could be together.

Go to the BWA cite to learn more about BWA. http://www.bwanet.org/

Go to this link: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=438 to read Dr. Lotz's retirement statement.

Thomas and Christina Wedding

2007-03-04T21:25:00.000-06:00

This is Thomas and Christina. They are going to get married on July 7, 2007 ...777 ... The actual "legal" marriage ceremony will be done in the City Hall by the town mayor. The marriage will be blessed in the church with a special wedding service. I have been asked to preach during that special service. I am really looking forward to sharing in this very special time in their young lives. He is (will be?) twenty and she is twenty-two.

They have asked me to preach in German! I am not sure I can do that. My eldest daughter will be with me and has agreed to interpret for me. This should be fun!

A Faithful Response to the War

2007-03-04T15:15:00.000-06:00

Jim Evans03-01-07

Here's what we know. First, our reasons for going to war in Iraq were almost entirely based on fabrications and fantasies. There were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks, and there was no threat of Iraq acquiring nuclear weapons.
That Saddam was a bad man is beyond doubt, but we cannot make it our practice to wage war against every despotic ruler that comes along. The bottom line here is this war did not even come close to meeting the criteria for a Just War.

A Faithful Response to the War is one of the best of Jim Evan's columns. I have never met this Baptist minister ... but I am certainly looking forward to the day when I do! Read this article and see what you think.

Molly Ivins: America's Jericho Voice

2007-02-06T17:18:00.000-06:00

Molly Ivins: America's Jericho Voice

And another great tribute!by Maya Angelou

Molly lives | Salon.com

2007-02-05T09:58:00.000-06:00

Molly lives Salon.com
Behind her beautiful, gleeful grin there was no real malice, however, not even toward the most deserving. She didn't hate anybody, not even the state representative whose intelligence she compared to that of a potted plant. Besides, they had to respect her because, back in the day, she could drink them all under the table.

In my opinion this article in Salon is one of the best I have read and it has a lot of interesting links.

Remembering Molly

2007-02-02T22:27:00.000-06:00

Remembering Molly

Molly was my favorite writer. I always looked forward to her column. She had pegged the religious wingnuts on the right and their number one patron .. GWB ... the bushies as she called them... to a "T".

Told You So

2006-12-08T10:36:00.000-06:00

The Bush Administration had a lot of help and advise before going into Iraq. Now these helpers and advisers can say "I told you so!"

Article by Paul Krugman:

Shortly after U.S. forces marched into Baghdad in 2003, The Weekly Standard published a jeering article titled, “The Cassandra Chronicles: The stupidity of the antiwar doomsayers.” Among those the article mocked was a “war novelist” named James Webb, who is now the senator-elect from Virginia.The article’s title was more revealing than its authors knew. People forget the nature of Cassandra’s curse: although nobody would believe her, all her prophecies came true.And so it was with those who warned against invading Iraq. At best, they were ignored. A recent article in The Washington Post ruefully conceded that the paper’s account of the debate in the House of Representatives over the resolution authorizing the Iraq war — a resolution opposed by a majority of the Democrats — gave no coverage at all to those antiwar arguments that now seem prescient.At worst, those who were skeptical about the case for war had their patriotism and/or their sanity questioned. The New Republic now says that it “deeply regrets its early support for this war.” Does it also deeply regret accusing those who opposed rushing into war of “abject pacifism?”Now, only a few neocon dead-enders still believe that this war was anything but a vast exercise in folly. And those who braved political pressure and ridicule to oppose what Al Gore has rightly called “the worst strategic mistake in the history of the United States” deserve some credit.Unlike The Weekly Standard, which singled out those it thought had been proved wrong, I’d like to offer some praise to those who got it right. Here’s a partial honor roll:Former President George H. W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft, explaining in 1998 why they didn’t go on to Baghdad in 1991: “Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land.”Representative Ike Skelton, September 2002: “I have no doubt that our military would decisively defeat Iraq’s forces and remove Saddam. But like the proverbial dog chasing the car down the road, we must consider what we would do after we caught it.”Al Gore, September 2002: “I am deeply concerned that the course of action that we are presently embarking upon with respect to Iraq has the potential to seriously damage our ability to win the war against terrorism and to weaken our ability to lead the world in this new century.”Barack Obama, now a United States senator, September 2002: “I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.”Representative John Spratt, October 2002: “The outcome after the conflict is actually going to be the hardest part, and it is far less certain.”Representative Nancy Pelosi, now the House speaker-elect, October 2002: “When we go in, the occupation, which is now being called the liberation, could be interminable and the amount of money it costs could be unlimited.”Senator Russ Feingold, October 2002: “I am increasingly troubled by the seemingly shifting justifications for an invasion at this time. … When the administration moves back and forth from one argument to another, I think it undercuts the credibility of the case and the belief in its urgency. I believe that this practice of shifting justifications has much to do with the troubling phenomenon of many Americans questioning the administration’s motives.”Howard Dean, then a candidate for president and now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, February 2003: “I firmly believe that the president is focusing our diplomats, our military, our intelligence agencies, and even our people on the wrong war, at the wrong time. … Iraq is a divided country, with Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions that share both bitter rivalries and access to large quantities of arms.”We should honor these people for their wisdom and courage. We should also ask why anyone who didn’t raise questions about the war — or, at any rate, anyone who acted as a cheerleader for this march of folly — should be taken seriously when he or she talks about matters of national security. - Paul Krugman

Great Visits in New Orleans

2006-11-05T11:25:00.000-06:00

This is me! We are eating a great dinner in the French Quarter to visit with Angela and her students who are here attending a language conference.
This is Angela in the middle and two students and Diane (mother) in front of St. Louis Cath. Can't see it but its there in the dark.
This is me again with my spiffy new New Balance Shoes and new Adidas shirt in the resturant.

This is our son Richard on his 33rd birthday. This is the birthday celebration that I missed because I was in the hospital.

Last night was a really fun time. After our walk in the Quarters we wemt to the Cafe Dumonde for coffee and bignets.

A Stand in favor of PUBLIC EDUCATION

2006-10-14T09:16:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com! Be sure and see the link to Keith Obermann's video editoral and review of this book and then see his designation of James Dobson as the worst man in the Worldd! Good stuff but not for the faint of heart.

A Happy Day

2006-09-28T07:02:00.000-05:00

What a great day! September 27, 2006. John Merritt, former General Secretary for the International Baptist Convention and a veteran IMB missionary called to invite me to have lunch with him and long time friends Ron and Patricia Owens. Click here http://www.owensministries.org/ministries.asp and then click on Music and listen to some of Ron and Pat's music. I don't know if this is proper since I am sure the music is copywrited but anyway ... I have always thought of this song as Ron and Pats signature song . They may not feel that way but I do. The very first 33.3 record was entitled Alive Again (as best I remember) and this song was on that recording.

Sharing memories over the years is wonderful and a reminder of the Lord's work and leadership in all of our lives. John Merritt is the author of a very informative book on the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC. The title is: The Betrayal. Check out this link for great information.

Editorial: President Bush's Reality - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

2006-09-18T10:30:00.000-05:00

Editorial: President Bush's Reality - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News Der Spiegel exposes the fantasy world of GWB and his minions. Check out the article and this excerpt:

It's hard to figure out how to build consensus when the men in charge embrace a series of myths. Vice President Dick Cheney suggested last weekend that the White House is even more delusional than Mr. Bush's rhetoric suggests. The vice president volunteered to NBC's Tim Russert that not only was the Iraq invasion the right thing to do, "if we had it to do over again, we'd do exactly the same thing."
It is a breathtaking thought. If we could return to Sept. 12, 2001, knowing all we have seen since, Mr. Cheney and the president would march right out and "do exactly the same thing" all over again. It will be hard to hear the phrase "lessons of Sept. 11" again without contemplating that statement.

This is hard to believe but it is true and the unfortunate things that so few Americans, particarily conservatives, take the time to read anything that they might consider "liberal." And get all of their news from Fox News! Haven't they heard of Jon Stewart?

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

2006-09-18T10:13:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com! Here is an excerpt for this article. Please read the article. James Dobson is over the top! Using people in his Christian conference that could not hold a position in a church. Anything to save GWB's hide!

Those of us who know Jesus know James Dobson is no Jesus.
Jesus warned against the hypocrisy of faulty faith: "Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint … and neglect justice."

"Woe" was a word of censorship that Jesus placed here on religious leaders for downgrading authentic faith for their own agenda.

Dobson engages in similar Pharisaical practice when he prioritizes a few issues as the moral agenda, while neglecting many issues central to Jesus' teachings and placing the moral mantel on the GOP, as God's Only Party.

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

2006-09-11T08:36:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

Jim Evans is a Baptist preacher with his head out of the sand and the political pocket of the GOP! This is a great article. Here is an excerpt:

At the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, it is hard not to ask "What is different now?" Other than the obvious changes brought about by increased airport security, daily "alert updates," and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has anything really changed?

2006 Election and WW III

2006-09-09T09:30:00.000-05:00

The Consortiumnews.com

As Americans go to the polls in two months, they should have one thought fixed in their minds: they will be voting on whether to commit the nation to fighting World War III against large segments of the world’s one billion Muslims. Beyond the cost in blood and treasure, this war will mean the end of the United States as a democratic Republic.

Read the whole article!

Diane's Birthday

2006-09-04T15:24:00.000-05:00

This my wife on her birthday September 3, 2006 modeling her new clothes and Birkenstock sandals. The tops all came from Hong Kong the rest were gifts selected by Diane and designated as gifts from me.

Sunday Church Victory Fellowship

2006-08-29T10:49:00.000-05:00

Guess who I went to church with this past Sunday, August 26, 2006. Well you can see in the picture who they are: Senator Mary Landreiu and the Reverend Doctor R. T. Kendall. We were all present at the Victory Fellowship church in Metairie, Louisiana.

Senator Landreiu was present to extend her appreciation and gratitude to the church for all of the wonderful things they have done toward the Katrina recovery. This church provides thousands of meals for worker and for homeless people in Metairie and in New Orleans.

Pastor Frank Bailey is open to the leadership of the Lord and responds to that leading in meeting needs and in preaching the word. He is truly a godly man and a complete gentleman. In his kindness and openness he invited my friend R. T. Kendall to come and preach and welcomed me to share in that time. I am truly thankful for that time with Pastor Bailey, R. T. and his son T. R. A wonderful week end. Plus it was great to meet the Senator. She is my Senator!

A Daughter's Advice

2006-08-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED!

this is the Mama

Last night my youngest daughter sent a message telephonically from Hong Kong via her mother advising me to spend more time updating and adding to my Blog! This, of course, is very hard work and requires the exercise of my prolific brain and an ability to sort through all of the cascading thoughts that run through my brain.

Rather than telling her to tend to her knitting (see picture), which she does very well, I have decided to redouble my efforts and share my thoughts with world.

Pat Robertson Laments Cease Fire

2006-08-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

Time to get rid of Pat Robertson

Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for Ethics said the time has come for conservative evangelicals to "disown Robertson for his theo-politico wackiness and false teachings from the Bible" and for the CBN board to "act responsibly and remove him from office."

He said Robertson "distorts the biblical witness and puts at risk the global Christian community."

"Robertson distorts the biblical witness and puts at risk the global Christian community. As for the former, he confuses the biblical Israel with the political state of Israel, an all too common mistake within fundamentalist Christianity and a popular trick among TV preachers who lure literalists for loot. As for the latter, when he prays with Israel's prime minister for Israel's victory, he places Christians in Muslim countries in harm's way. Regrettably, non-Christians wrongly think that America is a Christian country at war against non-Christian countries and that Robertson is a representative Christian. Neither is America a Christian nation, nor is Robertson a good representative of Christianity.

"When will conservative evangelicals disown Robertson for his theo-politico wackiness and false teachings from the Bible? When will his own board act responsibility and remove him from office?"

AlterNet: Blogs: The Mix: Christian Zionist Lies

2006-08-18T20:56:00.000-05:00

Little fat preacher from San Antonio who draws

a lot of people to hear his babble. He seems to think

of himself as God's only representative on earth.

Well if not God then the savior of God's people Israel! I would view this little blight on humanity as one of the most dangerous

men in America ... That is if I could stop laughing at him.

He is truly funny.

You can catch his act on almost any day on TBN or one

of the other wingnut religious radio/tv stations.

He is most disappointed, I only surmise, with the cease fire between God's people and the Party of God. I bet he sees all of the nations who are sending peace keepers as precursors to the Last Battle

AlterNet: Blogs: The Mix: Christian Zionist Lies

AlterNet: Stunned, Scared and Silent

2006-08-16T08:35:00.000-05:00

AlterNet: Stunned, Scared and Silent

We have nothing to fear but fear itself, especially since fear is now being fomented and manipulated for political purposes by a bunch of shameless hacks. Who is trying to make you afraid and why? This Karl Rove tactic is getting quite threadbare, in fact, and so much so that it is getting dangerously close to comedy.
My favorite episode, of course, was the Miami terrorists, a fearsome horde of seven described by the FBI's deputy director as, "More inspirational that operational." That means wanna-bes. An FBI informant posing as a member of al-Qaida offered to supply the plotters with material for the jihad, so they asked for boots and uniforms. Every terrorist needs a uniform.
Of course, even a nincompoop can succeed occasionally -- but the list of wanna-bes keeps growing. Seventeen people were arrested in Canada for intending to behead the prime minister. Has anyone in all of history ever cared that much about a Canadian prime minister? Their national motto is, "Now, let's not get excited."

Read the whole article. Molly Ivins is on target as usual.

Bush's Fondness For Fundamentalism Is Courting Disaster At Home and Abroad

2006-07-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

Bush's Fondness For Fundamentalism Is Courting Disaster At Home and Abroad

Here is an excerpt from the whole article. It is well worth reading. If moderate Christians do not inform themselves we're are on the road to disaster.

Whatever Bush's personal beliefs, the ideology of the Christian right is both familiar and congenial to him. This strange amalgam of ideas can perhaps throw light on the behaviour of a president, who, it is said, believes that God chose him to lead the world to Rapture, who has little interest in social reform, and whose selective concern for life issues has now inspired him to veto important scientific research. It explains his unconditional and uncritical support for Israel, his willingness to use "Jewish End-time warriors" to fulfil a vision of his own - arguably against Israel's best interests - and to see Syria and Iran (who seem to be replacing Saddam as the "enemy of the north") as entirely responsible for the unfolding tragedy. Fundamentalists do not want a humanly constructed peace; many, indeed, regard the UN as the abode of the Antichrist. The willingness of the US to turn a blind eye to the suffering of innocent people in Lebanon will certainly fuel the rage of the extremists and lead to further acts of terror. We can only hope that it does not take us all the way to Armageddon. [italics added by me]

Some Evangelicals Get if Right Maybe?

2006-07-30T08:15:00.000-05:00

Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock - New York Times

Maybe the tide is turning and more Evangelical pastor's will join this brother in denouncing the right wing religious agenda in favor of Christianity!

July 30, 2006
Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — Like most pastors who lead thriving evangelical megachurches, the Rev. Gregory A. Boyd was asked frequently to give his blessing — and the church’s — to conservative political candidates and causes.
The requests came from church members and visitors alike: Would he please announce a rally against gay marriage during services? Would he introduce a politician from the pulpit? Could members set up a table in the lobby promoting their anti-abortion work? Would the church distribute “voters’ guides” that all but endorsed Republican candidates? And with the country at war, please couldn’t the church hang an American flag in the sanctuary?
After refusing each time, Mr. Boyd finally became fed up, he said. Before the last presidential election, he preached six sermons called “The Cross and the Sword” in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a “Christian nation” and stop glorifying American military campaigns.
“When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses,” Mr. Boyd preached. “When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross.”
Mr. Boyd says he is no liberal. He is opposed to abortion and thinks homosexuality is not God’s ideal. The response from his congregation at Woodland Hills Church here in suburban St. Paul — packed mostly with politically and theologically conservative, middle-class evangelicals — was passionate. Some members walked out of a sermon and never returned. By the time the dust had settled, Woodland Hills, which Mr. Boyd founded in 1992, had lost about 1,000 of its 5,000 members.

The Joy of Kitty Kats

2006-07-16T15:54:00.000-05:00

This is our "grand-cat". Not ours by choice, but we have come to love her as one of our very own children.

This lovely Kat if Maya and she belongs to Annette and Wes Sutherland who presently abide in Hong Kong, PRC. They expect to get her back upon their return. That remains to be seen!

Christianity vs Christianism

2006-07-04T13:23:00.000-05:00

kingdomcoming.com

Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg

This has been my 4th of July reading. An apt description of how we are losing our freedoms in America. This present administration is out to destroy as much of our inalienable rights as possible. So far this has been a chilling read. Ms. Goldberg makes a distinction between "Christians" and "Christian Nationalist" or Christianity vs. Christianism.

Excerpt from a Review of the book:

In Kingdom Coming, Goldberg demonstrates how an increasingly bellicose fundamentalism is gaining traction throughout our national life, taking us on a tour of the parallel right-wing evangelical culture that is buoyed by Republican political patronage. Deep within the red zones of a divided America, we meet military veterans pledging to seize the nation in ChristÂs name, perfidious congressmen courting the confidence of neo-confederates and proponents of theocracy, and leaders of federally funded programs offering Jesus as the solution to the countryÂs social problems.

With her trenchant interviews and the telling testimonies of the people behind this movement, Goldberg gains access into the hearts and minds of citizens who are striving to remake the secular Republic bequeathed by our founders into a Christian nation run according to their interpretation of scripture. In her examination of the ever-widening divide between believers and nonbelievers, Goldberg illustrates the subversive effect of this conservative stranglehold nationwide. In an age when faith rather than reason is heralded and the values of the Enlightenment are threatened by a mystical nationalism claiming divine sanction, Kingdom Coming brings us face to face with the irrational forces that are remaking much of America.

Marriage is safe in Alabama

2006-07-03T13:25:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!

Excellent article written by James L. Evans pastor of Auburn First Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala. Here are some excerpts.

The primaries are now over and the main races are set for November. Marriage is also safe. With the Marriage Protection amendment to the Alabama state constitution, marriages in our state are now secure from the ravages of the so-called "gay agenda." We haven't figured out yet how to save marriage from what actually threatens marriage—I guess that will require yet another amendment in some future campaign.

Vote for Jesus. Republicans have really learned how to play the Jesus card! Hosea reminds us: "They Sow the Wind, and Reap the Whirlwind". One day all of the chickens are going to come home to roost.

Incidentally, Jesus also weighed in on the issue of marriage, but not once did he mention homosexuality as the main threat. Jesus seemed to think that something he called "hardness of heart," was the main cause of marital failure. I'll leave you to do your own biblical research, but don't be surprised to learn
that hardness of heart basically means "commitment to bad habits."

"And it makes sense when we think about it. Marriages fail when people are committed to bad habits that wreak havoc in relationships." (From the article)