It irks me so much when people use terms like these towards Christians just because they don't like what they say or disagree with them. What's funny and sad about this is that those that say such things are doing exactly what they criticize Christians of doing.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
defines Narrow-Minded this way "Lacking tolerance, breadth of view, or sympathy; petty." To put it another way, it is a lack of acceptance or tolerance of another view because it disagrees with one's personal view.
I don't doubt that Christians are that way. What i am stating is that when a person criticises someone else and calls them intolerant, narrow-minded, & biased they are often doing exactly that themselves. To say that someone else does this then ignore this entirely in oneself makes the fool of the one labeling the fool.
Every person is intollerant, narrow-minded, and biased. Would you be tolerant of someone coming into your house day after day and taking something of yours? Would you accept the viewpoint of a 28 year old man wanting to have sex with your 13 year old daughter? If someone came into your work and said that all teachers / engineers / therapists / doctors / whatever you happen to be were fools and a plague on society do you really think that you would be unbiased? Absolutely not. Some of these are extreme examples but they are set up to prove a point.
Every person in the world is intolerant, narrow-minded, & biased! Some are willing to admit it and some criticise others because of it. I know and fully acknowledge that i am intolerant, narrow-minded, & biased. I have never pretended not to be. In school i was taught that therapists need to be as unbiased with their clients as possible. However, i was also taught that this is a continual process and will never be fully achieved.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Friday, September 23, 2005
Birthday Survey
LIFE: INSPIRATIONS
Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
Some of my client's parents... It's no wonder they have the problems they do. A lawyer or politician i can handle... a parent who is messing up their kids life and all they can think about is themselves... that makes me insane.
Who would you want to go to lunch with? Hmm. That's an interesting question. Are you asking about the living or anyone in history?
In present times: probably a recent Christian author such as James Dobson (i know dbackdad is going to give me a hard time for that). I would like to talk to some of these authors about book ideas and such.
In History: the easy answer would have to be Jesus as number 1. Next would probably be the apostle John. His writings really have a lot to say and i know for a fact that there's so much more there that i'm missing.
Are you a leader or a follower? I can do both, although i tend to follow more than lead. Actually i tend to like to be my own person not really following or leading, and i tend to get nervous when other people follow me.
You receive (in the mail, of course) a one-hour pass to the Throne Room and a sitting with Jesus. You are allowed two questions. What do you ask? -- I don't know. At this point i don't think that there is any real questions that i need answers to. Recently my relationship with Christ has really felt strained and distant and it has been difficult for me to spend the quality time with Him that i really need to. So i think that it would be good to be able to spend that one hour just sitting in His presence spending time with him.
What characteristic do you despise? I'd have to say selfishness & pride - after working with kids and seeing how selfish parents can mess them up it really infuriates me
What conditions make you feel closest to God? – When i'm at the end of my rope and am dead tired. When i have nothing left to give and it's not enough. When i'm at my worst and i cry out to God and just spend time in His presence praising and worshiping or just resting. That's when i feel closest to God.
What was the most recent compliment you received and savored?
Actually, my little sister and i both realized that we aren't very good at giving or receiving compliments. So as for savoring i can't say that i've done that in a while. The most recent compliment was when the doctor here said to one of my clients during a treatment team meeting that i may be one of the best therapists in the facility.
What was your favorite subject in school?
That depends on the school. In highschool it was my pottery and sculpting classes.
At *IT it was probably cermics.
At the Bible college it was any Bro. Fount class or Marriage and Family.
In my masters program it was usually most classes led by the three primary Counseling professors although my cultural perspectives class with a person that they flew in from South Africa was really, really good as well.
Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
Some of my client's parents... It's no wonder they have the problems they do. A lawyer or politician i can handle... a parent who is messing up their kids life and all they can think about is themselves... that makes me insane.
Who would you want to go to lunch with? Hmm. That's an interesting question. Are you asking about the living or anyone in history?
In present times: probably a recent Christian author such as James Dobson (i know dbackdad is going to give me a hard time for that). I would like to talk to some of these authors about book ideas and such.
In History: the easy answer would have to be Jesus as number 1. Next would probably be the apostle John. His writings really have a lot to say and i know for a fact that there's so much more there that i'm missing.
Are you a leader or a follower? I can do both, although i tend to follow more than lead. Actually i tend to like to be my own person not really following or leading, and i tend to get nervous when other people follow me.
You receive (in the mail, of course) a one-hour pass to the Throne Room and a sitting with Jesus. You are allowed two questions. What do you ask? -- I don't know. At this point i don't think that there is any real questions that i need answers to. Recently my relationship with Christ has really felt strained and distant and it has been difficult for me to spend the quality time with Him that i really need to. So i think that it would be good to be able to spend that one hour just sitting in His presence spending time with him.
What characteristic do you despise? I'd have to say selfishness & pride - after working with kids and seeing how selfish parents can mess them up it really infuriates me
What conditions make you feel closest to God? – When i'm at the end of my rope and am dead tired. When i have nothing left to give and it's not enough. When i'm at my worst and i cry out to God and just spend time in His presence praising and worshiping or just resting. That's when i feel closest to God.
What was the most recent compliment you received and savored?
Actually, my little sister and i both realized that we aren't very good at giving or receiving compliments. So as for savoring i can't say that i've done that in a while. The most recent compliment was when the doctor here said to one of my clients during a treatment team meeting that i may be one of the best therapists in the facility.
What was your favorite subject in school?
That depends on the school. In highschool it was my pottery and sculpting classes.
At *IT it was probably cermics.
At the Bible college it was any Bro. Fount class or Marriage and Family.
In my masters program it was usually most classes led by the three primary Counseling professors although my cultural perspectives class with a person that they flew in from South Africa was really, really good as well.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Happy Birthday (Tomorrow) Survey
Well, tomorrow is my birthday so i decided to do a post/survey on... me! I was just going to do the whole survey tomorrow, but as much as i tried to shorten it it's still too long. Big surprise there considering how long winded i tend to be.
BASIC LIFE
Name/Nicknames: JCMasterpiece of course / JC & JCM
DOB: September 23, a day that will live in infamy... or not.
What is your middle name? Believe it or not, Joseph
What do you have for breakfast? Cereal during the week, and usually i make something fun on Saturdays. Sunday could be just about anything.
Favorite ice cream? No real overwhelming favorite. I usually like fruit flavors, but it all depends on what i'm in the mood for.
Butter, plain or salted popcorn? Extra Buttered.
What kind of car do you drive? I really enjoy my 2001 Ford Focus. I just wish it was a standard instead of an automatic.
Favorite sandwich? Something Philly Cheese Steak style
If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Italy...easily.
Where would you retire to? Somewhere in Italy or Sicily preferably, but i think Lori would have other ideas
What did you do on your last date? We went and got ice-cream. Then we went for a walk in the park.
Your favorite color(s)? Black, Burgundy, and Hunter Green
What's your favorite item to cook?
Hmm, my favorite would probably have to be omelets. They're fun to cook and eat, and recently i've gotten much better at flipping them
On a scale of 1 to 10 how computer savvy are you?
Probably a 7 to 8. Everyone comes to me with problems or questions and i can usually help them, but i'm definitely no hacker
Beach, City or Country? Hmmm.... this one is a toughie. Probably in a suburb or town close to a city. Preferably near extended family and close friends... Top preference would be somewhere in western NY. Needless to say Lori and i are really ansy being out here in the middle of nowhere
ENTERTAINMENT
What video game system?
Of the current generation i would have to go with Nintendo Game Cube, then PlayStation 2, but not X-Box (Bill Gates has too much of my money already and i don't like the idea of his company trying to take over and monopolize another area of my life).
For the coming generation i would have to go with Nintendo Revolution, then when the prices drop the PlayStation 3.
What current games?
Video games: I've been on an RPG kick lately and currently i'm playing Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. I almost have the main part of the game beat with all areas at 100%. I'm currently in the last level.
Card games: A homebrew 2 player version of Euchre that combines some aspects of Spades into the gameplay.
Board games: I've gotten my wife into Risk lately.
Recent Reads?
Non-Fiction: The Bible, Wild at Heart, online news sites, & blogs.
Fiction: Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, online news sites, & blogs.
Favorite Reads? Non-Fiction: The Bible. Fiction: Shogun.
Recent Movies/Television? Sahara (pretty good) / Rides
Favorite Movies/Television? Lord of the Rings trilogy, the origional Star Wars trilogy, Fiddler on the Roof / Firefly & the new Battlestar Galactica series.
What movies have you watched over and over? The (original) Star Wars trilogy and Fiddler on the Roof
Favorite sport to watch? Professional and World Cup Soccer.
BASIC LIFE
Name/Nicknames: JCMasterpiece of course / JC & JCM
DOB: September 23, a day that will live in infamy... or not.
What is your middle name? Believe it or not, Joseph
What do you have for breakfast? Cereal during the week, and usually i make something fun on Saturdays. Sunday could be just about anything.
Favorite ice cream? No real overwhelming favorite. I usually like fruit flavors, but it all depends on what i'm in the mood for.
Butter, plain or salted popcorn? Extra Buttered.
What kind of car do you drive? I really enjoy my 2001 Ford Focus. I just wish it was a standard instead of an automatic.
Favorite sandwich? Something Philly Cheese Steak style
If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Italy...easily.
Where would you retire to? Somewhere in Italy or Sicily preferably, but i think Lori would have other ideas
What did you do on your last date? We went and got ice-cream. Then we went for a walk in the park.
Your favorite color(s)? Black, Burgundy, and Hunter Green
What's your favorite item to cook?
Hmm, my favorite would probably have to be omelets. They're fun to cook and eat, and recently i've gotten much better at flipping them
On a scale of 1 to 10 how computer savvy are you?
Probably a 7 to 8. Everyone comes to me with problems or questions and i can usually help them, but i'm definitely no hacker
Beach, City or Country? Hmmm.... this one is a toughie. Probably in a suburb or town close to a city. Preferably near extended family and close friends... Top preference would be somewhere in western NY. Needless to say Lori and i are really ansy being out here in the middle of nowhere
ENTERTAINMENT
What video game system?
Of the current generation i would have to go with Nintendo Game Cube, then PlayStation 2, but not X-Box (Bill Gates has too much of my money already and i don't like the idea of his company trying to take over and monopolize another area of my life).
For the coming generation i would have to go with Nintendo Revolution, then when the prices drop the PlayStation 3.
What current games?
Video games: I've been on an RPG kick lately and currently i'm playing Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. I almost have the main part of the game beat with all areas at 100%. I'm currently in the last level.
Card games: A homebrew 2 player version of Euchre that combines some aspects of Spades into the gameplay.
Board games: I've gotten my wife into Risk lately.
Recent Reads?
Non-Fiction: The Bible, Wild at Heart, online news sites, & blogs.
Fiction: Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, online news sites, & blogs.
Favorite Reads? Non-Fiction: The Bible. Fiction: Shogun.
Recent Movies/Television? Sahara (pretty good) / Rides
Favorite Movies/Television? Lord of the Rings trilogy, the origional Star Wars trilogy, Fiddler on the Roof / Firefly & the new Battlestar Galactica series.
What movies have you watched over and over? The (original) Star Wars trilogy and Fiddler on the Roof
Favorite sport to watch? Professional and World Cup Soccer.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Coincidence? I think not!
I've said it before; I stopped believing in coincidence a long time ago. It's one thing to believe in something unexplainable (not the right word), but when it plays out right in front of my eyes/ears it just doesn't cease to amaze me.
Just over a year ago my wife and i had a long talk with someone that we don't usually get to spend a lot of time with. It was funny because in one conversation my wife said something completely out of character for her. When she said it, it totally blew me away. I couldn't believe that those words were coming out of her mouth. Doing what she wanted would be almost totally selfless and would mean basically giving up a year of her life for people that she hardly knew. (Needless to say i have had a great deal more respect for her since that conversation.)
I was more than a little concerned with the way that the conversation was going. It's not that i didn't like the idea, or that there was anything wrong with it. Actually, i thought the idea was great. I was concerned that she was saying it to other people before she really had a chance to process what she was thinking. What i expected to happen was that as we talked about it more over the coming weeks (in private) that she would decide that she didn't want to do this after all (which was what did end up ahappening eventually). In the process we would have spoken about it to someone else and not doing what we mentioned might cause difficulties especially if somehow what we were talking about somehow got out. That's not to say that i expected one of the three of us to talk about it with a bunch of people, but you know how it goes when something that is said in private somehow ends up very public. In this case it could have very serious repercussions no matter what.
Well, this past weekend i got a call from this third person. The point of this call was that they wanted our permission to take my wife's idea and run with it themself. Circumstances have drastically changed and they were currently in the position to make it happen while we were not. We gave this person our blessing and they were going to do some more praying about it before they brought the plan to the people it was for. This person is planning on using the exact same stipulations that we had all talked about and it's pretty much pre-planned.
It's just so amazing how one conversation over a year ago, and the plans invoved in it, can affect things over a year later. When we had had the conversation at the time the other person had stated that they so wished that they could do this but that they were in no position to. Just over a year later and after some major (unplanned) personal loss what had been talked about looks like it will happen. Just not the way we expected. (It's still not fully decided though)
Just over a year ago my wife and i had a long talk with someone that we don't usually get to spend a lot of time with. It was funny because in one conversation my wife said something completely out of character for her. When she said it, it totally blew me away. I couldn't believe that those words were coming out of her mouth. Doing what she wanted would be almost totally selfless and would mean basically giving up a year of her life for people that she hardly knew. (Needless to say i have had a great deal more respect for her since that conversation.)
I was more than a little concerned with the way that the conversation was going. It's not that i didn't like the idea, or that there was anything wrong with it. Actually, i thought the idea was great. I was concerned that she was saying it to other people before she really had a chance to process what she was thinking. What i expected to happen was that as we talked about it more over the coming weeks (in private) that she would decide that she didn't want to do this after all (which was what did end up ahappening eventually). In the process we would have spoken about it to someone else and not doing what we mentioned might cause difficulties especially if somehow what we were talking about somehow got out. That's not to say that i expected one of the three of us to talk about it with a bunch of people, but you know how it goes when something that is said in private somehow ends up very public. In this case it could have very serious repercussions no matter what.
Well, this past weekend i got a call from this third person. The point of this call was that they wanted our permission to take my wife's idea and run with it themself. Circumstances have drastically changed and they were currently in the position to make it happen while we were not. We gave this person our blessing and they were going to do some more praying about it before they brought the plan to the people it was for. This person is planning on using the exact same stipulations that we had all talked about and it's pretty much pre-planned.
It's just so amazing how one conversation over a year ago, and the plans invoved in it, can affect things over a year later. When we had had the conversation at the time the other person had stated that they so wished that they could do this but that they were in no position to. Just over a year later and after some major (unplanned) personal loss what had been talked about looks like it will happen. Just not the way we expected. (It's still not fully decided though)
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Life is Good!
This post has been inspired by a comment by Jewish Atheist. and subsequent comments to his post about relative truth.
How has life improved over the last 200 years...
200 years ago - Marriages are arranged and people do not choose who they want to marry...
Now - Divorce, divided homes, and single mothers having to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet only to have their kids addicted to drugs because they weren't able to be there to raise them as needed.
200 years ago - Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in families...
Now - Physical, emotional, and sexual abouse in families
200 years ago - A sixth grade education would practically guarantee you a good job and success in life
Now - Someone with a Master's degree works as a manager at McDonalds by day and a bartender by night just to make ends meet, not to mention the student loans they have to pay off.
200 years ago - Up at daybreak to begin the day working in the fields, in the family business, in the home, etc.
Sons of a working age helping their fathers learning to be men, take care of a family and a home, and preparing for adulthood.
Girls helping their mothers in the homes, learning to be a good mother and wife, from their mother, and preparing for marriage one day. God to bed at sundown or maybe a little later if they stay up by candle light.
Now - Most moms and dads work all day. Kids get dropped off at daycare or school for the day so that someone else (in most cases the government) can raise them. Not having any real idea what it means to be a man or woman because mom and dad spend what little free time they have golfing, watching tv, talking on the telephone instead of spending time with them. Even then they get pushed off to the TV, videogames, homework, etc.
200 years ago - People often died relatively young due to sickness & disease or accident. The rich could afford a good doctor to help them. Those that did live to see old age were revered by their society and helped to raise future generations.
Now - Most people live to ripe old ages only to be stuffed into nursing homes and at times abused by overworked and underpaid orderlies while their children wish that they will just die so that they can get what's left of their money after the nursing homes suck away what's there. Meanwhile, healthcare costs rise ever higher and higher so that there becomes a gap between those who can afford good healthcare because they are either rich enough to afford it or poor enough to be able to accept a mediocre coverage by the government Medicare/Medicaid system.
200 years ago - When a boy turned anywhere from 13-16 or 17 he goes through a rite of passage. He is no longer considered a child and is now considered a man. He has been trained and raised to know how to take care of a family and work the family job and it is time for him to live that out. At about 16 or 17 years old he reached puberty at which time he chooses or is chosen for him a young lady to be his wife. When a girl hits puberty at around 15 or 16 she gets married. She has been given in marriage or has chosen who she will marry. She has been trained all of her life how to be a good wife and mother and now she is prepared to do it.
Now - At 11-14 a girl or boy are still in school getting an "education" so that they can be "trained" and "prepared" for life. They live their teenage years knowing that they are adults, wanting to live that out, trying to make that happen, only to be pushed back by a socety that tells the "oh, your not ready" when the reason that they're not ready is because that society has not prepared them. They are sexually frustrated because their bodies have gone through a sexual metamorphasis but they have no outlet for it. So they either bury those sexual frustrations or act out on them. In the process of acting out on them, it messes them up sexually. Sex becomes a "fun thing to do" with no serious thought given to the implications of what their acting out will mean for them in the future (an inability to remain faithful to one spouse, a lower sex drive and sexual satisfaction, STD's, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,.....
Believe you me, i could and probably will go on, and on, and on, and on this way. But due to time sake i have to finish up here. Yeah, life is good all right!
How has life improved over the last 200 years...
200 years ago - Marriages are arranged and people do not choose who they want to marry...
Now - Divorce, divided homes, and single mothers having to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet only to have their kids addicted to drugs because they weren't able to be there to raise them as needed.
200 years ago - Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in families...
Now - Physical, emotional, and sexual abouse in families
200 years ago - A sixth grade education would practically guarantee you a good job and success in life
Now - Someone with a Master's degree works as a manager at McDonalds by day and a bartender by night just to make ends meet, not to mention the student loans they have to pay off.
200 years ago - Up at daybreak to begin the day working in the fields, in the family business, in the home, etc.
Sons of a working age helping their fathers learning to be men, take care of a family and a home, and preparing for adulthood.
Girls helping their mothers in the homes, learning to be a good mother and wife, from their mother, and preparing for marriage one day. God to bed at sundown or maybe a little later if they stay up by candle light.
Now - Most moms and dads work all day. Kids get dropped off at daycare or school for the day so that someone else (in most cases the government) can raise them. Not having any real idea what it means to be a man or woman because mom and dad spend what little free time they have golfing, watching tv, talking on the telephone instead of spending time with them. Even then they get pushed off to the TV, videogames, homework, etc.
200 years ago - People often died relatively young due to sickness & disease or accident. The rich could afford a good doctor to help them. Those that did live to see old age were revered by their society and helped to raise future generations.
Now - Most people live to ripe old ages only to be stuffed into nursing homes and at times abused by overworked and underpaid orderlies while their children wish that they will just die so that they can get what's left of their money after the nursing homes suck away what's there. Meanwhile, healthcare costs rise ever higher and higher so that there becomes a gap between those who can afford good healthcare because they are either rich enough to afford it or poor enough to be able to accept a mediocre coverage by the government Medicare/Medicaid system.
200 years ago - When a boy turned anywhere from 13-16 or 17 he goes through a rite of passage. He is no longer considered a child and is now considered a man. He has been trained and raised to know how to take care of a family and work the family job and it is time for him to live that out. At about 16 or 17 years old he reached puberty at which time he chooses or is chosen for him a young lady to be his wife. When a girl hits puberty at around 15 or 16 she gets married. She has been given in marriage or has chosen who she will marry. She has been trained all of her life how to be a good wife and mother and now she is prepared to do it.
Now - At 11-14 a girl or boy are still in school getting an "education" so that they can be "trained" and "prepared" for life. They live their teenage years knowing that they are adults, wanting to live that out, trying to make that happen, only to be pushed back by a socety that tells the "oh, your not ready" when the reason that they're not ready is because that society has not prepared them. They are sexually frustrated because their bodies have gone through a sexual metamorphasis but they have no outlet for it. So they either bury those sexual frustrations or act out on them. In the process of acting out on them, it messes them up sexually. Sex becomes a "fun thing to do" with no serious thought given to the implications of what their acting out will mean for them in the future (an inability to remain faithful to one spouse, a lower sex drive and sexual satisfaction, STD's, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,.....
Believe you me, i could and probably will go on, and on, and on, and on this way. But due to time sake i have to finish up here. Yeah, life is good all right!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Evolution & Racism
There has been something that has been bothering me lately about the concept of evolution. How can a person who is a serious evolutionist not be a racist. If you believed that all people are simply evolved animals and different species evolve in different ways to adapt to their environment, than each race must (by the theory of evolution) be genetically different, and thus some better than others for our current society.
It's like the evolution theory of the different species of dog or horse. Some dogs are good with children but poor at being guard dogs (golden retreivers come to mind), others are good at protecting/fighting but poor with people (doberman pincers as one example). Obvioulsy these are stereotypes but you get the point. Some horse species are better pack horses and others are better racers. Then there are some that are just mediocre at most things. According to evoltion each species has "evolved" to a different set of circumstances and has different characteristics. Thus according to evolution, some races must be "better" or "worth more" to certain situations. Their value comes in their ability and genetic makeup not in their being or origin.
According to creation, on the other hand, man is formed in the image of God, and He breathed the breath of life into us. He created us for a purpose, thus we have value. It doesn't matter what race you are, you are valued by God and thus should be valued by others. When God did choose a people to call His own, it was because of what they did (or the father of the people did). When God rejected a nation/people it is because of what they chose to do or not do, not what color or genetic makeup they were.
Now obviously, all of those who have called themselves "Christian" in the past have not always acted this way. Even now there are those who call themselves "Christian" and seek to justify racism. That doesn't change the fact that God created man (thereby all races) in His image and likeness, thus all of His children are of value to Him.
It's like the evolution theory of the different species of dog or horse. Some dogs are good with children but poor at being guard dogs (golden retreivers come to mind), others are good at protecting/fighting but poor with people (doberman pincers as one example). Obvioulsy these are stereotypes but you get the point. Some horse species are better pack horses and others are better racers. Then there are some that are just mediocre at most things. According to evoltion each species has "evolved" to a different set of circumstances and has different characteristics. Thus according to evolution, some races must be "better" or "worth more" to certain situations. Their value comes in their ability and genetic makeup not in their being or origin.
According to creation, on the other hand, man is formed in the image of God, and He breathed the breath of life into us. He created us for a purpose, thus we have value. It doesn't matter what race you are, you are valued by God and thus should be valued by others. When God did choose a people to call His own, it was because of what they did (or the father of the people did). When God rejected a nation/people it is because of what they chose to do or not do, not what color or genetic makeup they were.
Now obviously, all of those who have called themselves "Christian" in the past have not always acted this way. Even now there are those who call themselves "Christian" and seek to justify racism. That doesn't change the fact that God created man (thereby all races) in His image and likeness, thus all of His children are of value to Him.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Explosive Questions to Disastrous News
A friend of mine at work found this article and pointed it out to me.
If this is really the case, than it helps bring some clarity to some of the questions that i have had about the post-Katrina flooding. "The levee ruptures in New Orleans did not take place during Hurricane Katrina, but rather a day after the hurricane struck"
Unfortunately this also raises a whole lot of other questions.
I do not know the sources of all of this information well and have not confirmed its accuracy.
edit 09-13-2005: I took a few minutes to look at the source of the article and was quite shocked at how racist the author is. When i pointed it out to the friend of mine who had pointed me to the article origionally it shocked him as well (he had reached the article through a link from another site). Needless to say, neither i nor this friend of mine support the racist notions stated by the author in his other posts. I would hope that those who have been reading my blog for a while would know that already, but for newcomers and those that don't know it i am stating it outright.
"Divers inspecting the ruptured levee walls surrounding New Orleans found
something that piqued their interest: Burn marks on underwater debris
chunks from the broken levee wall"
"When he surfaced and showed the evidence to his superior, the on-site
Coordinator for FEMA stepped-in and said 'You are not here to conduct an
investigation as to why this rupture occurred, but only to determine how best to
close it.' The FEMA coordinator then threw the evidence back into the
water and said 'You will tell no one about this.'"
"a military forensic specialist determined the burn marks on the cement chunks
did, in fact, come from high explosives""military-grade UNDERWATER high explosives"
If this is really the case, than it helps bring some clarity to some of the questions that i have had about the post-Katrina flooding. "The levee ruptures in New Orleans did not take place during Hurricane Katrina, but rather a day after the hurricane struck"
Unfortunately this also raises a whole lot of other questions.
I do not know the sources of all of this information well and have not confirmed its accuracy.
edit 09-13-2005: I took a few minutes to look at the source of the article and was quite shocked at how racist the author is. When i pointed it out to the friend of mine who had pointed me to the article origionally it shocked him as well (he had reached the article through a link from another site). Needless to say, neither i nor this friend of mine support the racist notions stated by the author in his other posts. I would hope that those who have been reading my blog for a while would know that already, but for newcomers and those that don't know it i am stating it outright.
Our New Computer!
Well now, this is my first post with our new computer. Our old e-machines (*cough*CRAP*cough*) was dying a slow, painful (espcially for us) death. We bought our new one from Dell online. We probably never would have bought a computer direct from the manufacture but friends of ours had a really nice online coupon that greatly reduced the price for us. Otherwise i would have just bought one from BestBuy or built it myself (it's been awhile since i've gone that route).
I'm rather enjoying having what i want opened up, open when i ask it to, and not having to worry about the computer crashing randomly on us because of problems with the memory. It's also nice to have a flat panel monitor on our desk instead of the old HUGE emachines monitor with the broken lighted e button. It's still not all the way set up (the speakers aren't installed), but it's up, running, and in the process of be customized to my liking. Talk about fun. I may try messing around with some things i've wanted to do for a while like getting openoffice and a few other interesting programs.
Hopefully, next we will be getting broadband access. It's something we've wanted to do for a while now, but where we are living it the options are so limited and the prices just don't make it very feasible. But with the monopoly that our phone company has in the area and it costing up $50 just for local and basic long distance service (before the 10 cent per minute charge) VOIP is so very tempting.
I'm rather enjoying having what i want opened up, open when i ask it to, and not having to worry about the computer crashing randomly on us because of problems with the memory. It's also nice to have a flat panel monitor on our desk instead of the old HUGE emachines monitor with the broken lighted e button. It's still not all the way set up (the speakers aren't installed), but it's up, running, and in the process of be customized to my liking. Talk about fun. I may try messing around with some things i've wanted to do for a while like getting openoffice and a few other interesting programs.
Hopefully, next we will be getting broadband access. It's something we've wanted to do for a while now, but where we are living it the options are so limited and the prices just don't make it very feasible. But with the monopoly that our phone company has in the area and it costing up $50 just for local and basic long distance service (before the 10 cent per minute charge) VOIP is so very tempting.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Fun with "H"
When our second daughter H was born back in April it really changed the dynamics in our house. Before L (who will be 2 in October) had been our sole child and had had mommy and daddy's full attention. We tried to prepare L for H's arrival so it wouldn't be such a shock to her system, but even we weren't fully ready for all the changes. It's interesting how we have changed and adapted. When H was born i started spending focused time with L trying to help prevent her from being jealous of her sister and trying to get her involved in her sister's life. My wife had to spend a good deal of time taking care of H, so i took over more with L. It's funny because as of a month or two ago i began to realize that maybe i was spending too much time with L and not enough with H. This was further brought to light when, about 3 or 4 weeks ago, both my wife and my sister commentied that i don't really spend very much time with H. (To my defense, it's quite a bit harder to be actively involved with an infant than a 1 1/2 year old) So i have tried to spend more time with H lately.
Well, something happened on Saturday (i think it was Saturday morning) that has stuck with me all weekend. I was playing with L just tickling her, throwing her up in the air, and just having a good time playing with her, when i looked up to see H watching me. When she realized that i was looking at her she got this huge excited look on her face and started kicking excitedly. So i said, "Hi 'H'", and went back to playing with L. A couple of minutes later i made it a point to see what H was doing. When she realized that i was looking at/watching her she got all excited again. So i said "Hi 'H'. Are you having fun kicking in there?", and went back to playing with L. A couple of minutes later i looked up again to see what H was doing and as soon as she realized i was looking at her she got really excited again and began kicking furiously. So i said, "alright, i get the point". I grabbed her out of the swing and began playing with her as well. She had such a blast.
That image of H getting all excited when she realized that i was looking at her, wanting me to play with her, and how all of this played out has stuck with me and imbedded itself into my head all weekend. Needless to say, H has been getting great deal more attention from me this past weekend.
Well, something happened on Saturday (i think it was Saturday morning) that has stuck with me all weekend. I was playing with L just tickling her, throwing her up in the air, and just having a good time playing with her, when i looked up to see H watching me. When she realized that i was looking at her she got this huge excited look on her face and started kicking excitedly. So i said, "Hi 'H'", and went back to playing with L. A couple of minutes later i made it a point to see what H was doing. When she realized that i was looking at/watching her she got all excited again. So i said "Hi 'H'. Are you having fun kicking in there?", and went back to playing with L. A couple of minutes later i looked up again to see what H was doing and as soon as she realized i was looking at her she got really excited again and began kicking furiously. So i said, "alright, i get the point". I grabbed her out of the swing and began playing with her as well. She had such a blast.
That image of H getting all excited when she realized that i was looking at her, wanting me to play with her, and how all of this played out has stuck with me and imbedded itself into my head all weekend. Needless to say, H has been getting great deal more attention from me this past weekend.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
10, Now 11, Major U.S. Disasters Possibly Connected to U.S/Israel Relations?
My wife brought this to my attention. I had heard about it previously but had forgotten about it. I have believed for a long time that the U.S.'s prosperity has been connected to it's relationship with Israel. Well, aparently many of the U.S.'s major disasters are related to our foreign policy with Israel as well (no big surprise to me).
Truth-or-Fiction has an article on Ten Major U.S. Disasters on Dates Significant to Treatment of Israel - Truth! The article is, "A list of ten dates on which there (were) important events related to Israel along with natural disasters affecting the United States. The implication is that the U.S. had better pay attention to decisions about Israel...or else" As the critics say "going through all the events in a particular span of years and finding apparent correlations doesn't mean they were connected." I don't know if i would fully agree with the critics about this under normal circumstances, but it also looks like we're living out number 11 right now.
Hurricane Katrina developed during or directly following the recent evacuation of Gaza Strip which was supported by the U.S. government. As a result of hurricane Katrina all of New Orleans is being evacuated and cleanup is going to take months to years with the costs into the billions.
A coincidence? Maybe, but i learned a long time ago that more often than not, coincidences rarely ever are. Just something to ponder for the day.
Truth-or-Fiction has an article on Ten Major U.S. Disasters on Dates Significant to Treatment of Israel - Truth! The article is, "A list of ten dates on which there (were) important events related to Israel along with natural disasters affecting the United States. The implication is that the U.S. had better pay attention to decisions about Israel...or else" As the critics say "going through all the events in a particular span of years and finding apparent correlations doesn't mean they were connected." I don't know if i would fully agree with the critics about this under normal circumstances, but it also looks like we're living out number 11 right now.
Hurricane Katrina developed during or directly following the recent evacuation of Gaza Strip which was supported by the U.S. government. As a result of hurricane Katrina all of New Orleans is being evacuated and cleanup is going to take months to years with the costs into the billions.
A coincidence? Maybe, but i learned a long time ago that more often than not, coincidences rarely ever are. Just something to ponder for the day.
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