Is this right or wrong?

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The background: As president of the Music Boosters at the high school, I have talked the other parents into setting up a Shoot the Fire Ant booth at the Fire Ant Festival in March. We have paintball equipment. Need some masks and paintballs and we're good ta go.

Plunk down your money, shoot a student in the band of chorus program. I suspect we'll make some good money.

This year the Music Program is looking to go to Orlando for a Band/Chorus trip. Kids are gonna need money for this.

Here's where I look for your feedback:

My idea is the students who participate, i.e. the ones who get shot, will get part of the money for their Orlando trip expenses.

Students who do not participate do not get to share in the money.

Is this fair?

Will provide an update with feedback later this week.

I like Butt Rub and I cannot lie...

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OhmiGawd
Fred! Look at that Rub
It’s so good
It’s like the stuff the pros use
You can’t buy that stuff normally
It’s just so good they don’t want the secret out
I mean it’s rub
It’s just so good
I can’t believe it’s sold
Right there, on the shelf
I mean, it’s just WOW
Look, it’s so good.


I like BUTT RUB and I can not lie
You other brothers can’t deny
When I walk in with a big old jug
and big ol slab of ribs
You get slobberin’
This ain’t gonna be tough
Cause you know that butt be Rubbed
Deep in the meat, make it good
I’m hooked and I can’t stop drooling
Oh Rub, I’m gonna get with ya
and pour you in a pitcher
Yanno them amateurs tried to warn me
but that Rub you got
make me so HONGRY
Ooo rump of hog so fat
Say you wanna get in my grill
Well pour it on, roll it on cause you ain’t that average rub

I’ve seen them trying
To hell with frying
It’s fine, all mine, it gonna blow your mind

I’m tired of magazines
saying you don’t need no rub
Take the average redneck and ask him that
He tell you, you gotta Rub that fat.

So fellas (YO!) Fellas (YO!)
Did you woman buy you some rub (Damn right!)
Well Rub it, Rub it, Rub it, Rub it, Rub that slab of hog
Butt got Rubbed

(Boston Butt with the real Butt Rub)

I like'em round and big
And when I'm throwin a gig
I just can't help myself
I'm actin like an animal
Now here's my scandal

I wanna take you you home
And UH, Rub it up UH UH
I aint talkin bout no pepper
Cuz that just ain’t gonna help her

I want it real thick and juicy
I ain’t gonna be real choosey
This redneck’s in trouble
Beggin’ for a sammich of that bubble

So I’m looking youtube videos
Bustin’ them grillers cookin like bozos
You can have them no shows
I got my bottle of MoJo

A word to the grilling bros
I got the stuff right here
Rub it on and bring your beer
I gotta be straight when I say we gonna
Cook it till the break of dawn
We got some smokin’ goin on

A lot of posers won’t like this song
Cause them idiots ain’t got none goin' on
But I’m stay and grill
Cause I got the rub and beer
Ain’t gonna move from right here

So ladies (What now?!) Ladies (What now?!)
You wanna roll in my rub (Are you insane?)
Then get over here
Pour it out
Everybody gonna shout
We done got the Rub

(Boston Butt with the real Butt Rub)

Yeah baby
When it comes to rubs
Them TV chefs ain’t got nothing to do with my choice
Salt, pepper, basil
Only if you’re cooking spaghetti

So if your buds throw a Q
And they invited you
But they ain’t got the Rub on their Q
My choppers don’t want none unless it’s got the Rub hun
You can use a marinade or a brine, but please use that Rub
Some bros say they also wanna hard roll
They tell you it makes a sammich whole
Then they can’t eat it
I grab that meat and retrieve it

So the Doc says Rub for me ain’t good
Well I ain’t cooking just with wood
Cause that Rub is righteous and the meat is kickin'
And I’m definitely gonna be stickin'

To them TV chefs on the idiot box
You go boil your ham hocks
Rub me a big slab of meat I can’t resist her
My red beans and rice go right next to her

Some damnyankee tried to dis
Cause Butt Rub ain’t on his list
He can’t cook without the Rub
I seze get outta my face Bub

Yanno if that butt is meaty
and you wanna get greedy
Dial 1-900-BUTT RUB and kick them tasty thoughts
Got Butt Rub
Got Butt Rub
Thick all the way around, pack it with Butt Rub

Baptist youth visit a Mosque to learn

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No. I ain't kidding. It happened right here in my community.

Steve Laughman, who has risen considerably in my estimations, is the youth & family minister at the Ashburn First Baptist Church. He led a youth group in a 4-hour a week comparative study of world religions.

Four hours a week. Two hours on Sunday night after church. Two hours on Wednesday.

Steve spoke to Kiwanis today about this class he taught. As he opened his talk, I was impressed. Comparative religions? Coming from an extended family well-steeped in Southern Baptist traditions and with many family members convinced anyone not a Baptist is going to hell, I was more than intrigued.

Russian Orthodox ministers.

Steve said he started the class off with Judaism.

"Ah," I thought. "A comparative study of the various branches of Christianity" and I prepared to tune him out.

Then, he said they studied Eastern orthodox Christianity and my eyes opened a bit. When he said they went to a Catholic church in Macon, I sat up and paid attention. I have relatives who believe that since I was baptized a Catholic (I am an American now), I'm on the express train to hell.

When he said they visited the Mormon church in Tifton and a prayer service at a mosque in Albany, I wanted to stand up and applaud loudly.

The class studied a variety of religions and, where possible, paid a visit to adherents of those religions.

redneck unorthodox minister

Wow. A youth pastor at the first Baptist Church in South Georgia took a group of teenagers to a mosque, not to preach at 'em but to learn about them.

I'm still in a bit of shock over this. I'm certain as word of this spreads, Steve is going to catch some of the hell some people will say he's destined for.

Steve pointed out something which bears mentioning. He and the kids he took on the field trips are secure in their beliefs. By understanding other beliefs, they will be able to more intelligently articulate their own, especially if confronted by others of a differing belief.

Imagine that. A pastor who is so secure in his own beliefs that he can study another belief and become even more secure in his own. Wow.

He said he and the students were welcomed in the other congregations, especially when the other congregants found out the Baptists were there to learn, not proselytization.

Even more impressive, adults at the church have asked for the same class. Steve plans to oblige 'em. I Wish my schedule would allow me to go.

I am reminded of John Lennon's classic song "Imagine."

You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine.

I once read that if you fully understand the "enemy" you can no longer consider him an enemy.

Imagine understanding. Imagine accepting people and in turn being accepted.

Imagine learning the truth instead of blindly accepting prejudice.

Dunno about you, but that's what Christianity means to me.

Because right does not mean pleasant

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We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.  

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston

Betcha.

With that in mind, I bring you this news.  I suspect a lot of people are gonna be quite stunned over this. The ACLU, the bastion of liberals (and liarberals) in the United States has taken up the case of a hate group?

Yeah. It's what they do.

As much as I personally do not like the ACLU, I adhere to the viscount's statement and I will take allies wherever I can get them.

I also strongly admire the ACLU for their defense of the KKK here.


I suspect some card-toting members of the ACLU are now tearing up their memberships, resigning and firing off letters to the ACLU, letters which are rather hate-filled too.


So tell me. Why is one person's hate speech acceptable and another person's hate speech is not?

"No hate speech is acceptable," you say.

Oh really? So you can't be hatin' on politicians any more. You can't be hatin' on the churches, the agnostics, the atheists. You can't be hatin' on the people who hate America. 

It's almost OK to hate this.

In fact, if you can't be hatin', I suspect we've just about  halved your ability to have any emotion.

In other words, if you are a typical person, a sizeable percentage of your emotion content is hate.

In other words, if you can't hate then what are you gonna do?

Yep. You CAN'T be hatin' on the KKK and that means letting the KKK have their say and adopt a highway, if you believe hate speech cannot be allowed.

G'head, hate me cause I'm correct and I'm poking  universe-sized holes in your cherished theories of the way the world should work. I'm just asking you to be fair to everyone and make sure the rules you apply to everyone else also apply to you.

Oops. You can't be hatin' on me.

Unless of course you are willing to allow hate speech. Then, fire it up. Gimme those incoherent rants and rip my head off. Call me names. Hate my world baby.  Convince me I'm right with every invective hurled my way.

FEED ME SEYMOUR! FEED ME!

Me? I'm all for hate speech, obviously, especially hate speech directed at armadillos, which is a whole 'nother subject.

I'm not going to hate you. There are a whole bunch of you I don't like, but I'm not gonna hate. I don't have time for that.

Back to the hate speech at hand. I do support the Georgia DOT decision to not give this group an "Adopt A Mile" highway, but not for the reasons you think.

I oppose it cause the KKK group ain't gonna do the litter pickup. They may once or twice when the media shows up. After that, nope. They won't. Most every KKK group in the nation which did the adopt a mile thing had it revoked after they would not do a litter pickup, unless goaded into it or the media was present.

Annnnnd the newspaper photog was willing to snap this pix.

Until the adopt a mile is revoked, this hate group will have a nice sign, at taxpayer expense, to announce their presence to the world.

Mebbe I'm wrong. Maybe they will do a trash pickup every six months. If so, more power to 'em and may they live long and prosper in their efforts to make their community look at little better.

If you object to that, then I ask you, when am I gonna see your "elbow and ass" on the the side of the road picking up trash?

If the KKK does the litter pickup and you continue to object, then I say with no hate at all intended, put up or shut up.

The dominos fall

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An online chum recently said that AK47s and similar guns "designed for killing" should be banned.

The BA-K 47!

For the record - I own an AK47. To the best of my knowledge it has never killed anything. It has fired bullets at a herd of wild hogs, all of which escaped.

That being said, what my online compadre was actually saying is that guns designed for the express purpose of killing another human being should be banned.

Being me, I thought for all of a milisecond and fired back a reply.

I personally own a number of guns which were manufactured for the express purpose of injuring and killing human beings. Yes. They were constructed for the sole purpose of bring down another person.

I ask you, should these guns be banned?

Before you answer, let me share this info with you. I also own a rifle manufactured for the express purpose of hunting - deer, bear, elk and so forth.  Millions of this rifle and ones similar to it have been created, all for the express purpose of putting meat on the table and trophies on the wall.

Should this gun be banned? If you say yes, then we have nothing further to discuss. Go away.

If you say no, my deer rifle should not be banned, but guns designed specifically to kill people should be banned, the consider the two pictures below. One rifle was manufactured with the intention to kill human beings. One rifle was manufactured with the intention to kill deer.

Which rifle is the human killer?

Lemme further obfuscate this for you. Both rifles shoot almost the exact same bullet. There is a .002 difference in optimal bullet size. In terms of firepower, they are so close to being identical as make no practical difference.

Each rifle holds 5 rounds and one in the chamber. Each is a bolt action. Owing to the manufacturing process, one of these rifles shoots much better out of the box than the other. But with 30 minutes, some sandpaper and stick, they will shoot equally well.

According to my chum's definition, one of these rifles is a human "killing" firearm and so should be banned while the other is a hunting firearm and is perfectly acceptable. Which one is which?

I own several rifles of the above human-killer type. It is a 100 percent probability that three of those rifles were fired at another human being with intent to wound and kill. I'd say chances are in the 70 percent range that one of those rifles actually fired a projectile that hit a human.

I own a different kind of rifle which was also made with the express purpose of killing another human being and it like was used to kill humans. It is incredibly similar to the above two examples.

Which one you wanna ban?

The original "assault" rifle. About 3 shots a minute maybe, useless in the rain and dangerous to the shooter too.

I do not own one of the above-type rifles, a slow-fuse black powder muzzleloader. Frankly, I cannot afford one of these rifles which was manufactured for the express purpose of killing someone. I could probably buy a replica, designed to be shot at paper, critters or simply hung on the wall.

What's the difference, aside from the original is a few hundreds years old?

It is not the gun which is dangerous. It is not even the hand wielding the firearm which is dangerous. The danger rests solely in the mind operating the hand which operates the firearm.

So, if you seek to ban "human killing" guns, then where do you stop? The very first firearms were manufactured for the express purpose of killing people and destroying castles and boats. Which domino do you push first?

While the AK47 may appear "scary" to some people, others marvel at the engineering which makes this one of the most durable firearms on the planet. Today it may be a human killer. 100 years from now, it may be wall hanger while the real "human killers" are things we cannot even envision today.

A blog by request

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One of my regular readers (yes, pray for him), asked me to blog on this subject: Egyptian god Horus and the similarities to Jesus.

He provided these links:

Horus

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa5.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horus

http://www.egyptartsite.com/hormyth.html

He suggested I look into some additional information.

I start my commentary with these thoughts:

1) Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

2) Humans have a very well-defined ability to take a simple story and twist it into something has no bearing on the original story.

3) Corollary: Humans screw stuff up.

4) Ancient Hebrew is a language no one alive today completely understands. Our translations are educated guesswork and some words remain undefined. Further, translations are always inexact.

When a lesser evil just won't do.

So, are there similarities between Horus and Jesus? Of course there are. At least there are similarities in what we are able to understand through the ancient records we have of both.

For that matter, the Judeo-Christian religion has a WHOLE LOTTA similarities with other ancient religions from the same time period and earlier. My very close friend and atheist Merle can wax poetic on this subject for hours.

Many Christians will deny these similarities. They are welcome to be self-deluded. Me? I prefer reality no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

I think the similarities come because we are all human and we all start with the same basic reference point: A human outlook. I forget which S.F. writer said it, but he said if an alien race came to Earth and viewed all the major religions, the alien wouldn’t see enough difference in them to matter.

To get and understand that, you REALLY have to step outside a comfort zone and have a mind so wide open it has practically has no borders.

It’s also true. All religions of, by and for humans are based around one fundamental and inescapable fact. We are humans. It all starts there.

Of course there are gonna be similarities.

The question at the heart of this discussion is: Was Jesus real and was He really the son of the being who created the universe? Was Horus real and everything the ancient Egyptians said he was?

I remind you of this oxymoronic fact: You can’t prove a negative. A strict application of the scientific method states a fact is something which fits the available evidence. When new evidence comes along, that fact must be re-evaluated.

With that in mind, no one has absolute proof that God exists nor proof He does not.

It is all guesswork, albeit sometime educated guesswork and sometime hide-bound guesswork. You pick which group to assign the opposition to.

I have some great friends who are atheist. They cannot prove Jesus is not real. They cannot prove the God I believe in is not real. At the same time, I cannot offer them absolute empirical evidence that God and Jesus exist.

Neither can I prove Horus is a myth.

You can’t either.

I can only tell you what I believe and that it works for me. That too is true for all humans. Anyone who tells you they have absolute proof should be viewed with skepticism, preferably at a great distance. My Bible even supports this notion when it states: Faith is a belief in the unseen.

So, for my reader who requested this blog, yep, there sure are similarities between Jesus and Horus and a whole bunch of other historical figures to whom divine powers are ascribed. The religion I have shares tenets of faith with a whole lotta other religions extant and extinct. Does it bother me? Nope.

I have read the Koran, the Book of Mormon, the Apocrypha and would like to read works of other religions. None  of these other books I have read have harmed me. Rather, they have taught me and by learning, I grow as a human.

As for my beliefs, I’m secure in who I am and what I believe. Because I cannot prove them to anyone else’s satisfaction makes them no less valid for me. I can tell you how my beliefs have changed me, hopefully made me a better person, and invite you to journey with me.

Well, that one is shot to...

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Chances are very good you've never hear of the country I write of today. If you have, you probably know very little about it.

Fight the power!

I am now a revolutionary leader in this country. I am not kidding either. Yes. I am serious.

[sigh] There's goes my decade-long winning streak on keeping my New Year's Resolution.

For everyone I just lost: For more than 10 years now I have made the same New Year's Resolution: I resolve to not overthrow the government of any Third World Nation unless I get paid a lot of money.

Yep. Solid record.

Until now.

Yes, I am not kidding. I am a revolutionary leader on the other side of the globe, a fact which probably now has me bumped WAY up on the US list of terrorists and so forth.

I started this piece out telling you the country. Then I realized that might not be a good idea. The leader over there could find out about this and decide to do something about me. So, you'll just have to wonder. Of course, being vague might result in a whole bunch of dictators deciding I'm more trouble than I'm worth...

No idea what this says, but he's got a book!

How did this happen, especially since I have not left South Georgia since February of this year and have not left the South in more than 20 years? Glad you asked.

A gent who is one of the on-ground revolutionary leaders over there (and I shall not give you his name) somehow found out I am a writer who enjoys inflammatory politics and bashing established oligarchies. Said gent has enlisted me, with pay, to write diatribes about the present dictator and why he should step down, resign, quit and otherwise pack his bags.

The work has been picked up by media outlets all over the world. Fortunately, without my name attached. Whew.

So, I have written articles for this gent and the movement he's a part of. The pay ain't much, but then  I suspect he had to take up a collection to meet my meager fee.

And I am now involved in the overthrow of a Third World Country and the pay so far won't cover a a steak dinner for two. And so, come late December, I gotta come up with another New Year's Resolution ... unless the revolution DOES succeed and they handsomely reward me,

That ain't gonna happen. Anyone have an idea for a new resolution for me?

The irrational racist

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Was recently accused of being racist for my views on the current president. So, I asked about presidential views.

Here's a pretty close outline to what took place in that conversation. Pretty close, because I expand it to go beyond my short discussion to include the nation as a whole.

Some 92 percent of a certain group of the American populace express support for the current president.

Ask specifics:

Do you support the $15 trillion deficit, largely owed to China?

No.

Do you support the expansion of the wars?

No.

Do you support the targeting of unarmed civilians?

No.

Do you support his positions on same gender marriage?

No.

Do you support the failure to pass a federal budget?

No.

Do you support the increased divisiveness in Washington after he promised to build bridges of support? (Witness statements made while campaigning)

(Consternation and an attempt to say it's not his fault)

Reiterating the same question engenders the same reply. Relying on statements made in the first campaign that he would not engage in partisan bickering and infight, I assign a "No" to this question.

Do you support the federal health care mandate?

Split decision. Majority yes.

Do you support everything in the mandate?

Yes.

Even government paid abortions?

No.

Then how can you support everything in the mandate?
(Evasive answer.)

Do you support the Wall Street bailout which resulted in untold bonuses for Wall Street execs?

No.

Do you support his continuation of the War on Drugs?

Split, but a majority no. (Age factors into this)

Name a major executive or approved-legislative accomplishment, except for the federal health care mandate, which the current president has enacted or created.

Silence.

Why do you support the president?

He's doing a good job.

Where? 
Everywhere!

How can he be doing a good job everywhere if you object to the above items?

You're a racist.

Ah. I'm racist because I look at what a person does as opposed to their outward appearance.

And I don't mean lawyers

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When most people think of parasites, the words disgusting, revolting and similar descriptive phrases come to mind.

Tell these same people they are presently infested with parasites and you'll be met with incredulity, hostility or outright denial.

S'true tho. You, reading this, likely have somewhat under 1 million parasites inhabiting your body. Possibly more. I don't know that anyone has ever done a comprehensive study.

You have eyelashes? You have microscopic parasites living at the base of your eyelashes.

Your skin is pretty much a parasite paradise. One square inch of skin can support hundreds, possibly thousands of the buggers.

And, you can't get rid of 'em completely.

Lemme ask you, what is a parasite?

Before you answer that, think carefully. I'll give you my answer in a bit.

Any guesses?

Having now made you thoroughly uncomfortable in your own skin, I turn your attention to the parasites which are a bit larger, which we can see with the naked eye ... sometimes.

The largest parasitic creature I'm aware of is one few people have ever seen in person but many have seen in pictures. It's a good bit larger than an African elephant and reported to be the largest creature to ever live on earth.

I'ma let you wonder about that one for a bit as well.

Turn your attention to one of my favorite radio shows, RadioLab. This episode discusses parasites. One part of the show in particular discusses the hookworm.

In the segment one man claims a hookworm infestation in his gut cured his asthma and allergies. Really?

Check this out.

a major parasite vector.

And when you're done, cast a parasite-surrounded eyeball on this report. Yup. The study is underway.

Since we have already established that you are pretty much nothing more than a giant parasite factory, what would you think of the idea of having a few hookworms in your intestines if it could make you feel better?

If you said no, I bet you do not suffer from crippling allergies or immune system disorders that can kill you extremely painfully.

 Anyway, back to my question. What is a parasite?

Would you say a parasite is a living thing which must feed on other living things to survive? Does the food source HAVE to be alive?

Is a 2-month old fetus a parasite?

So I ask you again, what is a parasite? If a parasite is a living entity which feeds off other life, then the largest parasite I am aware of is the blue whale. It consumes living critters, plankton and small fish, to survive.

Every human I've ever met above the age of two is also a parasite by that definition Disagree? Every eaten raw vegetables? Fruit? Consumed seeds of any kind.

Unless you are capable of photosynthesis of thermalsynthesis, you are a parasite. Life is a circle after all.

Divided we beat each other up

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I am not long returned from the annual School Prayer breakfast. Among the speakers this year was a man who said the main problem is with the church. Jesus, as he said, wants the church to be unified, yet churches insist on being divided.

Need more fissures...

11 a.m. Sunday morning in America is the most segregated hour in the United States.

As this local preacher spoke, I restrained myself.

I wanted to jump up and point fingers across the room.

"YOU! YOU! YOU!" I wanted to yell. "YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN UNITY!"

I'm right too. Those very preachers at whom I wanted to hurl my accusation have told me - Told. Me. - they are not interested in unity. They are interested in segregation, separation, division and keeping people apart.

They are not going to admit that, in those words. Rather, their exact words are "I am not interested in hearing from (INSERT PERSON) unless he believes (INSERT TINY FRACTION OF THE BIBLE WHICH MINISTER BELIEVES IS THE SUM TOTAL OF THE BOOK)."

I don't want a slave. Nope nope nope.

The semantic comment is prezackly the same in the two quotes above.

And my blood pressure rises...

I have been told point blank and to my face that my interpretation of the Bible is not going to be allowed in many churches in Turner County. I reckon their Bible does not command us to love one another, accept each other and work together to build better individuals, families, communities and world. I reckon their Bible doesn't include the part about Jesus saying we're all sinners and His blood covers us all equally.

Then again, maybe their Bible does, but they reject those parts because it doesn't fit with what they wanna believe.

I reckon their Bible says they are better than I am. I'm good with that. I'm willing to let people like that be better than me. If being like them means I have to exclude certain people who just want to be included, then yeah, paint me purple-striped and kick me out of the community. I'll go hang out with the other people who've also been painted and kicked.

BTW, there's a lot more of them running around than people in churches today.

So I listened to the preacher tell us how the problem is the church is divided. Until the church unifies, things will only get worse.

Gotta say, I agree.

I note he was speaking about Christian unity. While the idea of a Muslim imam, a Sikh leader or a Buddhist also speaking crossed my mind, I quickly dismissed those. Stay on topic, I reminded myself.

I wanted to ask the preacher speaking to us: "So. Unity eh? Willing to let a Catholic Priest come conduct a service at your church."

I can only imagine his horrified expression.

"So, what about a lesbian Episcopal minister?" I wanted to ask.

Of course, had I asked THAT question, I'da been ushered right out of the school gym and invited to never return. Well, not really. No one would have the guts to act on what they were thinking.

They would only THINK it. Thinking it, Jesus says, is the same thing as doing it.

So, what are you thinking right now?

I reckon only perfect people - no. That's hyperbole. Better - I reckon only people with pre-approved sins are allowed in those churches.

And since my sins are not pre-approved, sanctioned and fit their model of a sinner saved by Grace, I'm on the outside looking away.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit I am in favor of separation, division and splits. People who want to bring harm to me and mine because of my belief structure, yep. They ought to be shipped to another planet without a space ship. People who'll let me conduct myself as I choose, I can get along with them.

Yassee, I do not say my choice is the ONLY choice. It's not. My choice works for me. I will gladly explain it to you if you ask, but I will not force it on you. You may believe as you wish as long as you are not going to force me to your belief system, or try to harm and kill me if I refuse.

Jesus wanted (wants) us all to get along. I'm willing to. Are you?

Looking for the moral high ground

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In Israel, when a single person launches an attack on the people of that nation, Israel responds by leveling that person's house if they can determine who did it. In some cases Israel has leveled entire neighborhoods in retaliation for attacks.

Urban renewal Israeli style.

Some folks are gonna say that is too extreme.

Before you get too high and mighty, I point out William T. Sherman did the exact same thing to  the South on his March to the Sea in the War of Northern Aggression.

The US has a history of doing this. But then, so does pretty much every other nation on the planet.

We're also doing the exact same thing in other countries right now.

In feudal Japan, honor was an ideal. Violating honor often meant death. I never understood why a person was allowed to commit suicide. My thought was, why didn't the person just run away?

A longtime bud and feudal Japan historian explained it to. Suicide allowed the person to take their own way out. Had the person run, the entire extended family would have been killed.

But, no lawyers!

I have seen videos from Saddam Hussein's Iraq in which people were pushed off two story buildings. I understand why.

They sacrificed themselves to save their family.

If there is a moral high ground in here anyway, it's the people who sacrificed themselves to save their family.

Is revenge moral high ground? That's a question I'm not qualified to answer. You gotta get well above my pay grade for that one.

Regardless, what does occupying the moral high ground really mean?

Perhaps a better question is: Is being on the moral high ground worth it?

Before you answer that, I remind you of one simple fact: Occupying the moral high ground may make you feel good for a while, but good feelings do not translate into groceries at the store.

When your children are looking to you to put shoes on their feet, food in their stomachs and keep the roof over their head, you have have the moral high ground.

Me? I'm gonna take care of my kids. If that makes people mad, I'll be glad to deal with them.

Left unsaid

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Somewhere I read or heard that when you dream of someone no longer around it means you have unfinished business with them. Be that as it may...

Last night I dreamed of Dad. It was not good.

It was not good because I knew he was dead and I had a question for him which I never got to ask when he was alive.  That hurt. A lot.

My question?

Why?


Why what? you may ask me.

Why everything I wanted to ask him. Why did he decide to become a farmer? Why did he turn down the job in 1966 with IBM? Pick a subject. Anything. I wanted (and still want in many cases) to know why he did what he did.

 I don't know the reasons behind some of the choices he made. Some of the choices he made I can guess at the reasons. Some I know 'cause he told me.

Over the years, I've come to understand many of the things he told me about his choices. Now, I am older than he was when he died. I am more experienced and certainly more widely educated than he was. This has given me insight.

You should know here that some of the reasons he gave me for his choices, I reject. Did when he told me. Over the years I've seen no reasons to change my mind.

But Dad was Dad and he had to make the best of the choices he was presented with. I do the same. Under the exact same circumstances, he and you might decide differently. You may decide the same. That's what makes life interesting; we all make different choices.

I note Dad's dying still hurts ...

There's more to say and maybe, some day, it will be said.

One more thing to say about Dad's death. Thanks to the internet I have found a group of people who surrounded me when Dad died. They took me the same day I got back to college and made sure I got very drunk. I needed it. They saw I needed it and they gave me the support I needed.

Them's friends.

Considering my earlier FB post today about being Christian, you may wonder why I say that. I say it because it is true, I was not a Christian at the time and if it happened to me today, I'd get drunk again. When you get finished ripping into me, I'll show you  the Biblical command which directs a person to get drunk under such circumstances.

Tolerating the intolerant

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No, this is not another Chick Fil A piece.

Betcha

It's a great deal more broad than that. It is a piece on why I'm right and you (not necessarily you, but that guy looking over your shoulder - oops, he's gone now) are wrong.

With a few exceptions I can manage to get along with everyone. Note. I did not say like, enjoy the company of or willingly associate with. I said get along.

The exceptions are those people who can't get along with me.

"WTH Baker! That's 3/4s of the planet!" you tell me.

Not really. More like 3./5ths but I digress.

To get along means to agree that the other can exist. May not like how they exist. But they can exist.

Example: Some Middle Eastern countries do not believe Israel has the right to exist. Ergo, those countries and Israel don't get along. Israel is quite willing for  those countries to

Example: Some people would kill me because of my religious beliefs. Ergo, we can't get along. If you are one of these people who'd like to kill me because of my religious beliefs, please stand up, smile and wait for the flash.

Public service = jail time. WTH?

Example: Child molesters. What part of I'm gonna shoot you to pieces with a snub nosed .22 with shorts is hard for you to understand?

But I'm willing to get along with anyone who'll extend the same courtesy. This includes but is not limited to: Idiots, morons, the actively stupid, racists, bigots, fools, lawyers, politicians, Muslims, Jews, liarberals, cantservatives, liberalterians of the Capital L and lowercase l stripe, damnocrats, reboobicans. Ah heck. Pick a category.

I can even get along with people who do little else but espouse hate speech. Betcha. Run your mouth all you wanna and I'm good with that.

The problem comes when you try to FORCE me to accept your thinking. Then, Houston! We gotta problem!

I can even accept the folks at Westboro Baptist Church. Yep. I can. I do not agree with what they say. When they start trying to force people into the same belief mode, that is not getting along. It's time to draw a line.

My kind of line.

I can get along with the people who say homosexuality is wrong. I can. I cannot get along with the people who try to make this illegal. Gimme dat line!

For that matter, if the conjugal relations are between  two consenting adults, it ain't none of your business or my business who they are or what they are doing. If you don't like it, don't look, watch, discuss, examine, participate or otherwise let stay in your mind for any length of time.

If your religion, belief structure, ass-hatted outlook REQUIRES you to have an opinion, then have it. If your whatever requires you to share that opinion, lemme hand you a microphone.

If your whatever requires you to force others into the same belief structure, please stand, smile and wait for the flash.


This is what separates me from the cantservatives and liarberals. Both sides want the other side shut down. Differences of opinion becomes a matter of trying to get said opinion into the law and forced on other people.

Reciprocity also gets thrown out the window again.

Because if you are going to be TOTALLY fair, when you try to shut down another person, then they have the right to try and shut you down.

Doesn't matter if you agree with them or not. Fair's fair. What's good for the idiot is good for the moron.

That's a concept neither side of Can't Get Along Crowd is willing to accept and embrace. Of course, that's also why they are the Can't Get Along Crowd.

So I'm right, you're wrong. I just want to get along.

Yer Friday Funny

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I've never had much use for tact.

You can say I come by it honestly. My grandfather was a man who did not know the definition of tact. He thought diplomacy meant you had to stand around in uncomfortable suits meeting very important people, like the Queen of England, while other people took pictures.

Aspect, according to Grandpa's unwritten Rules of Living, was what happened when you walked into the chicken coop and turned your back on the head bantam rooster.

Grandpa never beat around the bush unless he was quail hunting or had a fishing lure hung in tree.

If you needed to know something, Grandpa was of the considered opinion you needed to know it, you needed to know it right away and you needed to know it in very clear terms. I well remember him delivering a a few short sentences that could blast a 250 year old oak tree to toothpicks or turn an acorn into a 10-foot circumference oak tree in seconds.

At the same time if you didn't need to know, like as not he would not bother to say much of anything. He figured you could work your own way through it and if you needed his help, you'd ask.

When I was in high school, considering colleges, I was over at his house one day doing something. The door of my truck was open and there was a fifth of something visible.

"You don't need to think you're going to go off to college and stay drunk all the time," he said and that was ALL he said. Whatever reply I offered is lost to history, but definitely included something along the lines of "Yes, sir."

He was right too. I was sober when I ran out of money.

When I came home from college for some reason I was over to see Grandma and went to get a towel out of the closet. I spied a bottle in the back - Bourbon. No question it belonged to Grandpa, who had gone on his Permanent Fishing Trip by that time. I took it back to college with me and used it to get me past a brief period of financial embarrassment.

I can tell this story since Grandma has relocated to be with Grandpa now.

Dad told me to knock off early one day and run by Grandpa's house to see if he wanted to go fishing. It didn't take telling me twice.

I pulled up in the yard and walked in the house. Never bothered knocking. Grandpa couldn't hear it anyway.

I walked into the den. He was sitting in his recliner with an adult magazine, the kind sold with brown wrappers covering most of the cover.

"You wanna go fishing?" I said loudly enough for him to clearly hear me.

The magazine literally sailed over his head to land somewhere behind his chair.

Before he got done saying "Yep." he was out the front door. I did not believe my Grandpa could move that fast until that day.

GO CHICK FIL A

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S. Truett Cathy, in case you don't know, is the founder of the Chick Fil A fast food joint chain.

Now you should be connected. If case you're living under a rock, go google the news for Chick Fil A and come back to finish reading.

In the meantime

GO TRUETT GO! and GO CHICK FIL A GO!

I have not lost my mind. I have not changed my opinions regarding same-gender marriage and people attracted to members of the same sex.

It took a post from my longtime friend Pakrat, on FB, to remind me of something very important in this none-news item (which I am further putting in the public eye).

GO TRUETT GO! and GO CHICK FIL A GO!

Mr. Cathy has a taken a stand for his beliefs and principles and is weathering the storm for this.

All the better to step on you with.

Gotta say it again.  GO TRUETT GO! and GO CHICK FIL A GO!

That I do not agree with Mr. Cathy's statements, opinions and personal stance on this issue is entire irrelevant.

The simple fact is, Mr. Cathy is demonstrating a piece of anatomy which far too many people are lacking. Mr. Cathy is proving he is part of the Chordate phylum.

In other words, Mr. Cathy has a spine.

Spines are  lacking far too often in this world. To give the current president credit for having a spine, he personally orders drone attacks on suspected terrorists. He does not delegate this responsibility as his predecessor did. That takes a modicum of backbone. Unfortunately on far too many other matters, he and most of those in Washington have the approximate bone mass of a fleet of cannonball jellyfish.

Mr. Cathy, in espousing his belief on homosexuality, is embodying one of the major principles of this nation.

Their version of free speech.

The right to have and express an opinion.

More power to him!

Those who are angered at him and seek to shut down his free speech are, frankly, the kind of idiots who need to put up against the wall. They seek to silence a free flow of information. They see to usurp the bastion of a free world. They are the Thought Police of the Orwellian nightmares who would have us all forced into one mold, one pattern, one way of everything.

In short, they do not want freedom.

I do not agree with Mr. Cathy's opinion and position. I say so publicly. Those who would seek to shut Mr. Cathy's mouth also seek to close mine.

I will not accept that.

At the same time, Mr. Cathy's business may suffer. Those who disagree with him and his views may take their dining business elsewhere. To you who intend to do this, I say.

GO BABY GO! I'm right behind you all the way!

You see, I support Mr. Cathy's freedom to have and express his opinions. I support the freedom of other people to not do business with Mr. Cathy's chain if they do not support him.

Freedom.

True freedom means the right to choose, not have decisions forced on you.