Memorial Day...

On this solemn day of remembrance, may we be thankful to and be in prayer for all those who have served their country ... In honor and memory of those who have given "the last full measure of devotion" [Abraham Lincoln] that others might be free, I remind us all of the following words, penned by Katherine Lee Bates in 1904:

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine.

that "fire in my belly"...

"I think my problem is that I have that fire in my belly... I struggle with it every day."  ~Sarah Palin


Sarah, Sarah, there is no need for you to have to continue struggling with such pain ... there are medications available these days for that type of problem ... even over-the-counter ones.  But if the Rolaids, Tums, Pepto Bismol, or Milk of Magnesia don't help, and you continue to have that sensation of "fire in [your] belly" then I would suggest you seek the help of a Gastroenterologist [a tummy doctor].

He or she can suggest some medical tests ... for example a CT scan with contrast, or a barium swallow [I hear that the stuff doesn't really taste that bad], or a barium enema, or maybe even a colonoscopy, to name only a few possible tests, that might help to determine the cause of the "fire in [your] belly."  Your doctor might even decide that you need some type of surgery to relieve you of the "fire in [your] belly."

Of course, I do realize that these medicines and medical procedures, and the time you would spend in the hospital if you ended up needing surgery for the "fire in [your] belly" could run your medical bills pretty high ... and you might be one of the few thousand people who do not have good health insurance, and therefore struggle to have enough money to be able to pay your medical expenses ... in which case it might be difficult to get the problem of the "fire in [your] belly" quickly diagnosed and properly treated.

Oh, you're that Sarah Palin ... well, I guess you do have enough money and/or insurance to take care of the "fire in [your] belly".  Well, as I said at the outset, don't continue to struggle with such pain day in and day out ... see a doctor.  But please, don't pass the pain on to the American people by running for President of the United States in 2012.  No one in America has enough money or good enough insurance to help with the pain that would cause, in the very remote chance that you might win.  

no... he didn't really say that... did he?

Record flooding of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.  Killer tornadoes through Joplin Missouri, Tuscaloosa Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and numerous other states wreaking havoc and horrendous destruction, death, and financial loss to citizens of the United States.  Always, at least before today, in these situations, the federal government has done what it could to send aid, in the form of experienced disaster personnel and money, in order to augment state and local emergency personnel, secure damaged areas, save lives, and help in the rebuilding of what "Mother Nature" has destroyed.

But maybe, this will no longer be the case...  Eric Cantor, Republican Majority Leader in the United States House of Representatives, announced that emergency funding to help those devastated by the recent tornadoes and storms, should certainly be sent, but only as long as there is an equal corresponding reduction of monetary assets taken away from other federal programs...  in the interest of deficit reduction, of course.

When, oh when, will Republicans quit holding the American people hostage in the guise of deficit reduction?!!  And when will they quit trying to "reduce the deficit" on the backs of those who are least able to bear the burden - the poor, the needy and those who are "powerless" and have little voice in our society?!!

Shame!!!  Shame on you, Eric Cantor, for trying to use the sufferings and the hardships of thousands,  sufferings that have resulted from "Mother Nature's" destructive forces... shame on you for trying to use them for political ends!!!  In making a statement, you had a chance to give an encouraging word, to show some compassion for the people who will now be trying to pick up the pieces of their lives after the utter devastation they have been blessed enough to survive...  but no, you had to make it into a political point, at their expense....  Shame on you!!!   I have no doubt that your mother tried to teach you better, but you must not have listened to her lessons very well...  I will say it again... Shame on you!!!

the end of the world...today?

It was only recently that I became aware of a street sign on one of the major roads through my city.  It simply proclaimed, "The Lord is coming.  May 21, 2011".  Also seen on the sign was a website, which I confess that I have not looked up, and will not mention in this post.  I wondered at the sign, but didn't really think much about it until yesterday when my colleague at work mentioned that his pastor friends were posting on facebook that they were going ahead with their sermon preparation for Sunday just in case the world didn't end on Saturday, the 21st of May.

So, last night I watched some of the cable news shows, and was not disappointed to see that each of them had a short piece on this supposed momentous upcoming "end of the world" event...  granted, there were not any who were taking this apocalyptic prophesy seriously, but they covered enough of the story for me to learn what was behind the sign I had seen.

In short, an elderly Christian gentleman, through his study of the Holy Bible, believes that he found passages that enabled him to calculate the exact date that Jesus will return and take the faithful believers to heaven, and at the same time that the judgement of the world will commence... that day being sometime today, Saturday, May 21, 2011.    

A few thoughts about this:

I am Christian and do believe that at some time, Jesus will return, as He promised.  That being said, I do feel it is important to point out a couple of things about this event:

1.  When Jesus' disciples ask when the time will be that He [Jesus] will return, and what will be the sign of His coming, and of the end of the age, Jesus speaks of many events that must happen before His return [see Matthew 24].  He cautions that there will be many who will try to mislead believers [Jesus calls them false prophets], but in answer to His disciples' question of when He would return, He says, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."  [Matthew 24:36]

2.  The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, echoes this, as he tells the believers, "... the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night" [1 Thessalonians 5:2]... In other words, suddenly and without warning.

3.  When this event does happen, it won't be in secret... all will know and see it take place.  Jesus tells His disciples, "...they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." [Matthew 24:30]  We will not need to be told that He has come... when it happens for real, all will know... there will be no questions or doubt in anyone's mind.

I think that there are far too many people who focus on and worry about the exact date and time the Lord will return.  In the past, people have come to my house to tell me that they know when Jesus will return, and to ask if I wanted to know.  My answer to that type of question is, "No."  I would rather do my best to live as a faithful servant of my Lord, Jesus the Christ, so that when He does return, if it happens to be in my lifetime, He will find me living a life that brings honor to His name and doing the things that He has called me to do.

Do I believe that Jesus will return again?  Yes.

Do I think he will return today, May 21, 2011?  I don't know... it is always a possibility.

Am I ready for His return?  I believe this is actually the most important question that each person needs to ask themselves... However, I can only answer that question for myself...  You have to examine your own heart and relationship with the Lord, and answer it for yourself.

a little political humor...

I confess...   A friend sent this to me through email and I could not resist re-posting it to this blog site, although I do not know the original author, in order to give him or her credit...  so here goes with a little bit of political humor... one has to lighten up once in a while, right?  Anyway, here goes...  


A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am." 

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude." 

She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be an Obama Democrat." 

"I am,"replied the man. "How did you know?" 

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me." 

The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican." 

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?" 

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air.  You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."

birthers, republicans and political strategy

Last week the 112^th Congress took office…  new members were sworn in…  and the Constitution of the United States of America was read aloud.  That was most likely a good idea, as I am sure that no matter whether they are Republican, Democrat, Tea Party, Independent, or whatever fringe political party our congressional representatives may attach themselves to or consider themselves to be part of, there are not many of them who have the Constitution memorized.

Now, our Constitution is not worded exactly the same now, in 2011, as it was when it was originally written and adopted.  That is because there have been amendments made to it…  and rightfully so.  Our Founding Fathers were far-sighted enough to agree upon a constitution that would be able to be amended as time passed.  They knew that things would change within our country, and that our Constitution would need to change with it…  but so that the values upon which our country was founded, and which were embodied within the Constitution could not just be swept away arbitrarily by any individual or group in power on a whim or fancy, changing our Constitution, making amendments to it, was made a difficult process to achieve.  I give kudos to our Founding Fathers for this protection.

Now, one of the things included in our Constitution are the requirements that one must meet in order to serve as the President of the United States of America…  and among them is the requirement that any individual who serves as President must be a natural born citizen.  The man or woman who is President must have been born in the United States of America…  and of course most people know, I think, that this would include anyone who was born within any of the states that are considered to be part of the United States of America.

This is a simple enough concept, but apparently there are still those who do not understand it.  I say this because as I understand it, when our congressional leaders were reading the Constitution aloud last week, as they got to the part that mentioned the requirements to be the President, there was a woman who shouted out, “Except Obama!”

Now she did this for one of two reasons…  either she does not know that the State of Hawaii is a part of the United States of America… or she does not believe that President Obama was actually born in the State of Hawaii, as public records indicate.  While I know that it is not always wise to “assume” something, I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she does indeed know that Hawaii is one of the states that make up our fair country…   so that must mean that she still does not believe that President Obama was actually born in the State of Hawaii…  and I suspect that she is not alone…  they are called “the birthers”…

It has now been two years since President Obama took office, after winning the 2008 presidential election.  This notion, that he is not a natural born citizen, started sometime while he was running for president, and during the campaign, was used as political fodder for those who were campaigning for his opponents.  Official public records show this idea for the ridiculous lie that it is.

In my humble opinion, it is time that this lie be laid to rest, in favor of the truth, that President Obama is indeed a natural born citizen, and whether or not one likes the man or even agrees with him, he should have the respect that any President of the United States deserves, simply because he is the President.  I also believe that it would go a long way to help end this lie, if Republicans, and even Tea Party-ers, would refute it definitely, openly and publicly.

Do I think that Republicans or Tea Party-ers will do this?  No.  And the reason has nothing to do with their beliefs about President Obama’s citizenship status, but rather more to do with political strategy…  It is simply more politically expedient for Republicans and Tea Party-ers to have a fringe of society constantly stirring this idea up at any opportune moment… as it keeps people divided at a time when we really need to be working together to find solutions for the pressing economic problems that we, as a nation continue to face.  C’mon Republicans…  C’mon Tea Party-ers…  help take out one more thing that is used to divide citizens of the United States… help put to death this lie that continues to be believed and spread by “the birthers”…