The Pill Hill Massacre
PG was looking through his archives, and found a post about abortion protests. He was driving to work one day, and suddenly there were hundreds of people wearing red tee shirts. Operation Rescue/Operation Save America was having a convention in Atlanta. As their website says. “Will you heed the call and allow God to move through you this summer as the Church once again stands for Truth at the very gates of hell?” Atlanta does get hot in July. However, “gates of hell” is not a very nice thing to call your host city.
Part of the economy here is based on meetings and conventions. This does bring a lot of money into our fair city. The flip side is, residents are the captive audience for a lot of loud people. Mostly, people just go on about their business, until the vulgar idiots take their credit cards back home.
During his years with Redo Blue, PG saw lots of abortion protests on the way to work. For some reason, abortion facilites were frequently located near blueprint companies. Seeing pictures of mutilated fetuses does not get your day off to a good start.
Does this vulgar spectacle save any babies? PG has severe doubts. The politicians who rant about abortion enjoy the distraction from their ethical challenges. The “faith” that these activities build, for the believers, should be balanced against the alienation they produce in the innocent passerby.
One motto of OR/OSA is “Jesus is the standard”. Few abortion protesters are the result of virgin birth.
While preparing this post, PG clicked on two links in the original article. One lady organized counter protests to the fetus wavers. In the past four years, she married her boyfriend, and had a baby.
The other link is a doozie. Within hours of the tragedy in Colorado, there was a video, Massacre in Colorado – The Reason Why. The devil made him do it, and Jesus can make him stop.
At the moment, little is known about the motivations for the shooting spree. It is possible that Jesus worshipers influenced the young man. Maybe he got grossed out by abortion protesters once too often.
There was another post from four years ago that is worth a second look. It is about the Olympics, and Afghanistan. This time sixteen years ago, the Atlanta Olympics were going on. Afghanistan was a forgotten country, except to heroin merchants. Today, the war there goes on, and on, and on. BHO apparently has not gotten enough revenge for 911. The drone warfare in Stan Land makes Colorado midnight movies look like a Sunday School picnic.
Afghanistan stays in the news. A major source of opiates, Afghanistan is one of the wildest places on earth. Guarding the historic trade routes between Europe and India, The Hindu Kush is home to some of the fiercest soldiers on the planet.
In 1979, the Soviet Union decided that it wanted a war with Afghanistan This conflict lasted ten years, and the Mighty Soviets lost. This was during the Cold War,and the United States wanted to do everything it could to hurt the Soviets The Afghani forces fighting the Soviets received much aid from the United States, which was very helpful in its ultimate success.
The defeat in Afghanistan was a factor in the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Soon, the rebel factions began to fight each other for the right to rule the country, using the weapons given them by the United States. Eventually the Taliban won, and set up shop. On September 11, 2001, The United States was attacked. Credit for the attack was given to Al Queda, which was based in Afghanistan To avenge this attack, Afghanistan was invaded by the United States. We are still there.
This feature is not about the wisdom of attacking a fierce people, for the purpose of revenge. It is not about the future of our occupation there, or in neighboring Iraq. It is about the Olympics. In 1996 Atlanta hosted the Olympics. On the last day of the games, the Men’s Marathon was run.
The Marathon course went out Peachtree from downtown, and turned around near the end of the 23 Oglethorpe busline. This was in front of the funeral home. It then turned right, and went down Lanier Drive beside Oglethorpe University. It went down the street a couple of blocks, turned around in front of Oglethorpe Presbyterian Church (a former employer of PG), and went back to Peachtree. The runners turned right, and ran to the Olympic Stadium.
Being a slack person, PG had not gotten tickets to an Olympic events. The Marathon was a free event, and was walking distance from his residence. When he got there, there was an instant community assembled along the course. A remarkable event was almost over, and this was all PG was going to see! The fact that it is more than many others saw was little comfort.
PG walked alongside the course, and crossed Lanier Drive. This is important to the rest of the story. The runners were a bit of an anticlimax. A pack of men in track uniforms, with the leaders in a bunch at the start. They ran past, went to the end of the course, down Lanier Drive, and hustled down Peachtree to the end of the race.
After the second appearance of the bulk of the runners, PG was ready to go. However, there was a glitch. One runner was way behind the rest of the pack, PG could not cross Lanier Drive until this runner had gone by, and the course was opened for pedestrian traffic.
The last runner was from Afghanistan After a few minutes, he appeared. He had a large bandage on one leg, which apparently had been injured. He finished the race.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Lisa Baron And Ralph Reed TMI
Lisa Baron is a big, cavernous piece of work. When she was married to Jimmy Baron , they lived in a McMansion on Osborne Road in Brookhaven. She is currently flogging a book, Life of the Party: A Political Press Tart Bares All. Ms. Baron has a podcast, a twitter account, a youtube account, and no shame. (The youtube account has one subscriber, jimmybaron. )
The Daily Beast has a review of the book, which is handy for copying the trademark quote. “When people find out that I worked for Ralph Reed during the 2000 Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, they always ask the same thing: Was it true Ralph told voters that Senator John McCain fathered a black child?” she writes. “And my answer is always the same, ‘How would I know? I was in a Greenville hotel room giving Ari Fleischer a blow job.”
This competes with the first line of the trashiest book PG ever read, Going Down With Janis, Janis Joplin’s Intimate Story. “I was stark naked, stoned out of my mind on heroin, and between my legs giving me head was Janis Joplin.”
Lisa Baron is the former spokeslady for Ralph Reed. The medium is the message. Mr. Reed is a professional christian politician, lending expertise to candidates who can afford his services. When the lady, known at the time as Lisa Gimbel, was giving a “Lewinsky” to the spokesman for George W. Bush, Mr. and Mrs. Reed were in the hotel room next door. Mr. Reed has been quoted “I now realize that politics is a noble calling to serve G-d and my fellow man,”…“We’re interested in outlawing all pornographic and indecent communication, which makes it harder for a site to entice children in.”… “What I want to do is to ensure that cyberspace is family friendly and children friendly.”
PG first heard of Lisa Baron when she was writing a weekly column for the SundayPaper. She became notorious on December 11, 2005, with the publication of My big cavernous pit of love. ( This link is for a cached version of this column. The Sunday Paper no longer has archives available. The column we are discussing today is sandwiched between “Sucking the fat out” and “Leaving Atlanta for a bisexual plumber”.) The intro to this seminal piece is “I swear I don’t have a big vagina, but over the Thanksgiving holiday, I told my father-in-law I did. That’s right, I told him right to his face that his daughter-in-law, the woman his beloved first born son chose for a wife comes with a big cavernous pit of love.”
This is a repost in two parts. The second half is about Ralph Reed. The concept of sexual harrassment in that office is too gruesome to contemplate.
Lisa Baron has had a quiet year. Her youtube channel still has a subscriber. Her last tweet: @lisabbaron The only thing better than coffee in bed…is wine in bed!
Uzi sent PG a video this morning. It is a satire on Alcoholics Anonymous. It is for unpleasant people…in this video they are all males, with ethnic diversity. The name describing these people is a body part used for elimination. Since this is a profanity light blog, so we will call it assbleep. (The video bleeped the H word) It is a rude thing to say about donkeys.
After viewing the video, and the inevitable youtube suggestions, PG visited JoemyG-d. He saw a post about someone who needs to go to one of these meetings. This would be Ralph Reed.
Mr. Reed was for several years the Chairman of something called the Christian Coalition. It was a political organization that supported candidates that passed the smell test. After a while, Ralph Reed left the Christian Coalition to start his own firm, Century Strategies.
This is where the story gets personal to PG. There is an office space on Presidential Drive, down the street from the round hotel. Redo blue had a facility in this space, which employed PG. After a merger, Redo left the space. This was when Ralph Reed was starting Century Strategies. He rented the space on Presidential Drive for his new company. It gives PG a warm feeling to think that Ralph Reed’s assbleep has contributed to the same commode as PG’s assbleep.
Apparently, the independent consulting business is not what it should be. Mr. Reed ( his full name is Ralph Eugene Reed Jr.) wants to have something called the Faith and Freedom Coalition. As the man says : “This is not going to be your daddy’s Christian Coalition. It has to be younger, hipper, less strident, more inclusive and it has to harness the 21st century that will enable us to win in the future.”
Something else that didn’t work for Mr. Reed is running for political office. In 2006, Mr. Reed ran for Lieutenant Governor in the Republican Primary. PG had to make a values decision. In the Democratic primary, Cynthia McKinney was running for re election. Here were two politicians who needed to retire, but PG could only vote against one. PG chose the Republican primary, and helped Ralph Reed spend more time with his family. In another act of electoral hygiene, the Democrats sent Cynthia McKinney to the Green Party.
While Lisa Baron is being mercifully low key, Ralph Reed is just as obnoxious as ever. Faith & Freesdom Coalition has a splashy web site, with an endorsment from Mitt Romney. FFC sponsors car #32 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Sign FFC’s Petition to Fight Back in Obamas War on Religion is another crowd pleaser. Pro-family and pro-freedom Americans will not sit idly by as government attempts to compel us to violate our own conscience. For three years, the Faith & Freedom Coalition has pointed out this Administration’s war on religion. This unconscionable edict is the final straw. Have you had enough of Obama’s war on religion? Send a powerful message to President Obama by signing the petition and making a contribution to the Faith & Freedom Coalition today. … This decision by the Administration displays a total insensitivity if not outright hostility to religious faith in our country. It will force millions of Americans to choose between having health insurance or their conscience and faith. The Faith & Freedom Coalition stands with Catholic Americans and all people of faith in this fight. It is imperative that we join forces to stop Obama’s war on religion. If you share our concern for religious liberty, please sign the petition and consider an on-line gift today of $25, $50, $75 or even $100. Thank you, Ralph Reed Chairman
The Church Of The Big Chicken
PG was listening to a podcast about atheists and religion. There was a comment about how prayer … the concept of talking to G-d … is often self aggrandizing. Duh. Why should the creator of the universe care about the budget problems at your church? One thought led to another, and soon PG remembered a series of brief conversations.
For those who are new to this blog, perhaps a bit of explanation is in order. PG is a recovering Baptist. He suspects that G-d does exist, even though the world would probably be a happier place without her. Whatever her status, G-d does not write books, or engage in real estate transactions. Jesus was killed because he was a troublemaker. The reputed exit from the grave has nothing to do with what happens to people when they die. And, last, but probably most important, PG is under no obligation to discuss any of these items.
At the time of these conversations, PG was in his last round of working for Redo Blue. He was based in Cobb County, making pickups and deliveries. As a mobile person operating in Cobb County, PG had frequent encounters with the Big Chicken. There is speculation that future civilizations will consider the Big Chicken to be an object of religious significance. PG decided to give this hypothesis a test run.
When this story took place, PG enjoyed the “privilege” of making comments at PyroManiacs. One of the Pyros, Scent, was mean to PG. One day, while waiting at a red light on the Cobb Parkway, next to the Big Chicken, PG looked over at the sheet metal bird and said “G-d, what should I do about Scent?” “You should forgive him.”
A week or so later, PG was waiting at the same red light. Across the street from the Big Chicken was an “adult fantasy store” named Tantra. This combination of extra crispy poultry, and eastern sex magick, led to the next question. “Why does Jesus hate me?” “I don’t know.”
By and by on the four lane, the light turned red. PG turned down the radio. A traffic report was underway. “Hey G-d, whats happening?” “Don’t worry about me, listen to the traffic report”.
All parties must come to an end. One day PG asked a more serious question. “Are mom and dad ok?” There was no answer. PG began to feel sad, until he realized that this whole thing was becoming too serious. Even if Jesus worshipers obsess over the lifestyles of the dead, you do not need to imitate them. Just keep you seat belt fastened, and watch out for the nut behind the wheel.
Another Motivational Poster
PG was looking at facebook, and saw a motivational poster. Instead of a sunset, or a kitten, the background was a person in a hospital bed, breathing oxygen through a little plastic tube. The foreground text said: “When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn’t they matter most now? – Max Lucado.” PG made a comment. “I would want to not hear other people’s ideas about religion.”
We live in a Jesus happy culture. The version of Jesus that is forced upon us is a scheme for life after death. Those who believe in this scheme have no respect for those who do not agree with it. (There are exceptions to this generalization. Unfortunately, the jerks are louder and more persistent.)
When you are about to die is one of the weakest times of life. Your defenses are down. You do not have the strength to argue. To force your beliefs on a person in this state is the act of an emotional bully.
PG has heard about the Jesus plan for life after death literally all his life. He has decided, after much thought and, yes, prayer, that he simply does not agree with it. To PG, the answer is to trust G-d to take care of you when you die, and not to worry about it when you live. It is not an easy choice, but it is the one he came to. To confront a dying person about this sensitive issue is repulsive.
The text that prompted this post was embedded in a picture. PG had two choices… to manually type the text, or to find a source that could be copied. The phrase “when you are in the final days of your life max lucado” was submitted to Mr. Google. In .31 seconds, the answer was on the screen.
The top result… possibly paid for … was 22 Great Max Lucado Quotes. The site was What Christians Want To Know, owned by Telling Ministries LLC. The page advertises Liberty University, life insurance quotes, language lessons, and the chance to study the bible online.
Apparently Max Lucado is a professional Jesus worshiper. His site is advertising an Alaska cruise with the preacher. His Youtube channel is MaxLucado316. Does Mr. Lucado harass dying people because of their opinions about Jesus?
The comments to 22 Great Max Lucado Quotes have an amusing story.
Cindy December 30, 2011 at 1:03 pm Hey Josh. Do you have permission to use these?? We called Max’s church and they would not give us permission to add some of his quotes in the bulletin. We are a small small church and I found this odd.
Josh December 30, 2011 at 1:11 pm Thanks for the comment Cindy. I found these quotes all over the web so I think they are okay to use. That is strange that you were not able to use them on a Church bulletin.
Christof February 7, 2012 at 5:13 pm Cindy, I’m sure no-one is going to take you to court for using this – its like giving the beggar a bread and expecting money in return.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library” .
Collateral Damage
This post was originally published four years ago. In the intervening forty eight months, many women and children have been killed in crossfire. The United States will send a roboplane to bomb a village, and then send another roboplane to kill the rescuers, and a third roboplane to attack the funeral. Isreal killed hundreds of children in Gaza, most of whom were too young to fire missiles. Closer to home, people who choose not to denounce a drag queen are labelled racists. It is a funny world. Pictures are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Back a war or two ago, a phrase entered the vocabulary. The expression was collateral damage. This referred to civilians killed in a combat action. It sounds a lot nicer than dead women and children. To hear the war supporters tell it, the enemy was causing this. The terrorists would move women and children into areas they knew were going to be attacked, so they could be killed. To the war supporters, it was a cost of doing business.
The past few days, there has been discussion at this facility about speaking out when you hear something you don’t like. People say it is bigotry and hate, which sounds a lot worse than something you don’t like. Just like collateral damage sounds nicer than dead children.
When people put on their warpaint about to fight bigotry, there is frequently collateral damage. There was an incident that illustrates my point. This was when I was at Redo Blue, working with the Bully for Jesus. I will use the initials BFJ. One day BFJ heard someone make a comment using the phrase “your daddy said”. This comment was made by a white person, referring to another white person. BFJ is a black person, and the comment offended him.
BFJ decided to vent his feelings about this comment. This happened all the time, BFJ had a nasty mouth, which would run off at the slightest provocation. Since he was working on a rush job across the room from the white person, he made his comments in a loud voice. This way the white person across the room could hear what he said, and BFJ could work on his rush job.
Towards the end of his speech, BFJ made the comment “when your mother and your father forsake you, you still have your father in heaven” This is supposed to be in the Bible. BFJ was staring at me and shouting when he said this. Later, he said he had not been talking to me. This was very common at redo blue. People would stand in front of you screaming offensive things. If you looked at them, they would go off, screaming “I’m not talking to you”.
There is a bit of backstory here. Three weeks after my mother died, I went to the bathroom. I started to realize how much I missed her, and felt very sad. When I came out of the bathroom, a woman was praying for entertainment on the BFJ’s radio. I was offended. When I asked the BFJ to turn down his radio, he declared war. This poisoned our working relationship the entire time I was at redo blue.
This comment pushed me past my limits. BFJ conducted a ministry on company time, and had a nasty temper. I had to say something. Sometimes, you need to stand up to a bully. And you best be prepared for a fight, which is exactly what the bully wants. You should never wrestle with a pig. You will only get dirty, and the pig will enjoy it.
I left a note on his desk saying that ”My mother and father have not forsaken me.” We had a closed door meeting. He argued with everything I said, admitted no wrongdoing, and chewed me out repeatedly for what the other white person had said. When I was at the point where I thought he was the lowest scum on the planet, BFJ said “Jesus made me what I am today”.
We continued to work closely together for another three years or so. I witnessed a few hundred more hours of his ministry. One day the manager called me into the office, and told me not to come back.
The point of this story is, when you “Stand Up” against “bigoted comments”, you might need to be prepared to mud wrestle with someone who thinks he is building his faith. You should learn the difference between bigotry and being too sensitive. It is best to keep things between you and the person who offended you, and not cause collateral damage.
Desktop Cleanup
There are a few documents cluttering the desktop at chamblee54. One way to deal with this is to combine a few into one post. Most of these, one way or another, are connected to religion, or the processed G-dproduct we have in our culture. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
Three years ago, PG recycled a chain mail message about G-d. If you must read it, go here. The essence is this quote:”Isn’t it funny how you can send a thousand jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord,people think twice about sharing?~Isn’t it funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them ~Isn’t it funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what G-d thinks of me”
Last week, this was on facebook: “When someone like Madonna or the Scissor sisters come out with a new Album or goes on tour everyone rushes to buy tickets and buy the album. When a healer learns some new way of helping someone heal…well, the healer doesn’t get a rush of clients in. We put more emphasis on entertainment and frivolity than we do for actual health. I guess we have all been brainwashed into thinking that external garbage is more important than our health.”
chamblee54 I got a religious chain mail message once. There was a comment…”Isn’t it funny how you can send a thousand jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord,people think twice about sharing?”. This sounds a lot like the message here…that people will pay big bucks to enjoy Madonna and the Scissor Sisters (who?), but will not pay the same money for healing. I am sympathetic to what Michael is doing. I think healing outside of industrial medicine can be of great value. However, when you toss out a nonsense argument, in support of marketing this healing, then I lose a bit of that sympathy. The message is great. It is the medium that angers me.
Peach Pundit had a feature about Georgia Republicans honoring Karen Handel for, um, making noise about abortion. This is a great topic for people with more spare time than common sense. The comment section was fun.
chamblee54 May 29, 2012 at 2:04 pm How many “pro life” people support wars?
Lawton Sack May 29, 2012 at 2:09 pm How many “pro-choice” people don’t support wars because people die?
TheEiger May 29, 2012 at 2:45 pm Charlie – isn’t chamblee54 posts SPAM? If I had a junk box for PP all of chamblee54 postings would go there right next to the folks that have a million dollars in a British bank account and all they need is you account number to transfer it to you.
Rick Day May 29, 2012 at 6:13 pm This is actually going to be pretty cool. When the Atlanta City Council wrote legislation to tighten illegal alcohol consumption on unlicensed premises, it technically made all tail gating illegal. Be careful what you wish for, Oh Godly Engineers of Morality.
The Last Democrat in Georgia May 29, 2012 at 7:18 pm Pro-life social conservatives want to ban abortion. Republicans do NOT want to ban abortion. Republicans want to keep abortion legal so that they keep it around as an ongoing campaign issue, a deep political well that they can always turn to in times of political need, especially in election years, not-to-mention create some work opportunities for their cronies in the legal field. Hence the reason why the Georgia Legislature passed an anti-abortion bill that seems an open invitation for legal challenges.
The Last Democrat in Georgia May 29, 2012 at 7:27 pm The Georgia Legislature’s official response to concerns about ethics (or their noticeable lack of): LOOK! Over there! ABORTION!!!! ….Now can you possibly imagine how hard that would have been to pull off if abortion had already been banned? I can’t even imagine as the actual thought is completely horrifying.
chamblee54 May 29, 2012 at 10:23 pm My posts AREN’T spam. I don’t like to eat it either. I do enjoy this vision of spam. The “life issues” have many shades of gray. Probably more than fifty, but without the controversy. Here is one of the times I have written about it. As for Karen Handel, isn’t it time for her fifteen minutes to be over? Anybody who can get Sarah Palin to make an appearance for her, and lost to a notoriously corrupt congressman, does not need to be in politics.
seenbetrdayz May 30, 2012 at 10:22 am Truth to your comments. If the abortion debate was ever settled once-and-for all, the GOP would lose a giant issue it keeps using as a carrot to dangle over the heads of its Christian base to gain votes every election. It’s like a form job security for the GOP, so it’s in the GOP’s best interest to make sure that they don’t pursue the issue too vigorously. I’m surprised that the christian right hasn’t realized it’s being used yet.
Jesus worship blogger Phil Johnson announced his retirement from blogging today. His doctor ordered him to remove stress from his life. Telling people how to get into heaven might be troubling his soul.
PG and Mr. Johnson have butted heads a few times. PG seemed to enjoy it, while Mr. Johnson got dirty. Wrestling with a hog will do that. After a while, PG was banned from commenting, and might be better off for it.
One curious exchange involved gambling. Discomfort with gaming for money is one part of Baptistry that PG carries with him. Mr. Johnson wrote a post about gambling. (The post is no longer available. The comments are here..) PG wrote to express support, and still got in trouble.
chamblee54 I was going to post this to the original site, but that site requires a registration. This is regarding the series on gambling. Thank you for your commentary. An aversion to gambling is one part of my baptist upbringing that I have held onto. I look forward to reading the particulars of your moral objection to gaming. While I sense that gambling is wrong, I know few arguments that this is the case. Also, gambling is becoming more and more fashionable and acceptable. The gaming industry has a powerful p.r. machine, and they are good at confusing people.I also look forward to the guest commentary by Bill Bennett. One sentence in your initial post caught my attention…”In other words, one person’s gain always comes at the price of hurt caused to others.” This reminded me of a situation at a job I used to have. I was working closely with an abusive jesus worshiper, who simply would not shut up. While his “faith” may have grown, I became bitterly alienated from jesus. My pain paid the price for his jesus party.
chamblee54 I enjoyed the second post of the gambling series. It is interesting to see the 10th commandment cited. The admonition against coveting is one of the less popular commandments, especially by the proponents of “prosperity doctrine”. And why would anyone want to post the 10th commandment at a courthouse where they collect taxes and hear lawsuits? I also appreciate your use of non-bible based arguments. Not everyone agrees that the bible is the word of god. Those who disagree with you on this point still need some direction, especially on an issue like gambling, with the well financed p.r. machines of the casinos making so much noise.
Phil Johnson Thanks, Chamblee54. For the record, though, logical arguments showing how biblical principles apply to ethical and moral questions are not “non-bible based arguments.” The subject ultimately matters to me only because I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and I’m accountable to its Author. If I didn’t believe that, I’d be in the same boat as the hordes of self-destructive teenagers who simply want to have as much fun as possible while they can enjoy it, and beyond that, their goal is to end this life ASAP. Without any belief that God is sovereign and his Word is true, I wonder what you’d tell one of your own kids if he or she had that perspective? I can’t see how you could possibly come up with any rational argument against such a suicidal worldview.
chamblee54 “The subject ultimately matters to me only because I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and I’m accountable to its Author. If I didn’t believe that, I’d be in the same boat as the hordes of self-destructive teenagers who simply want to have as much fun as possible while they can enjoy it, and beyond that, their goal is to end this life ASAP. Without any belief that God is sovereign and his Word is true, I wonder what you’d tell one of your own kids if he or she had that perspective? I can’t see how you could possibly come up with any rational argument against such a suicidal worldview.” How do we get from gambling to self-destructive teenagers? And are these the only two choices? To believe in “god in a book” (in violation of the first commandment) or a life of total depravity? I would hope there is another path, because neither of those work for me.
Two current local stories are the retirement of Neal Boortz, and the parental issues of Creflo Dollar. Many talkers and typers will discuss this, and they are welcome to it. Both subjects are toxic. Slightly more uplifting is Death In The Time Of Facebook.
That is a story at Thought Catalog. TC is another good use of spare time. The current offerings on the home page include 6 Things 20-Somethings Want, What Game Of Thrones Characters Would Tweet, If They Had Twitter, 4 Grooming Habits That Men Are Not Exempt From (by Chelsea Fagan), Pretending You’re Oppressed: The New Internet Fad, and An Open Letter Of Apology From The State Of Florida. (The Sunshine state is the leading content contributor to Hot and Busted.)
Getting back to the matter at hand, the sort of boss at Thought Catalog is Ryan O’Connell. He is a 25 yo gay man, who wrote Death In The Time Of Facebook. “I believe that, in many ways, Facebook has changed the way we grieve. I’ve never had anyone close to me pass away before but I’m not sure how I would feel about posting memories of the two of us on their Facebook wall.”
Chamblee54 ” I’ve never had anyone close to me pass away before” This is a 25yo gay man speaking. If this had been written twenty years ago, he would have known dozens. The bug drugs are a miracle.
alisonwisneski Woah. Out of line.
scsh I don’t know if this is a social justice issue. Twenty years ago, yeah, that was a thing, and it was huge. It totally really happened, and I don’t think this comment was offered as a slur but a history. An ugly one.
Anonymous why are u bringing up aids tho
scsh I’m mostly blown that a 25 year old anyone hasn’t. It’s a game changer. You are never the same.
Cita And if it had been forty years ago, I doubt any 25 year old would be able to say the same. Wars happen, technology advances, life expectancy increases. It’s not that complicated, and it certainly has nothing to do with being gay.
Kill Them All
The BHO war machine combines modern murder technology with low tech sophistry. Anyone within splatter range of a hellfire missile is assumed to be a terrorist. The problem of civilian casualties has been solved … they are all militants.
Unqualified Offerings has a feature on this subject. The source is Glenn Greenwald, tossing out ten thousand words as casually as Sarah Palin says lamestream media. There is a comment quoted. (It might be noted that the comment below was an “Update” to the original post. No one is his right mind has read all 481 comments to the post.)
“Isn’t the presumption that everyone in the so-called strike zone is a “militant” particularly egregious given past accusations that our enemies intentionally embed themselves in civilian populations? Haven’t we condemned our enemies in the past precisely because they’ve surrounded themselves with civilians? And now we’re justifying our crowd-killing strikes on the grounds that anyone close to a militant must himself be a militant?”
The old argument went that the other side used “human shields”. The armies were embedded in civilian populations, so that any attack would cause what was once called collateral damage. What was never mentioned was the fact that it was our forces that did the killing. If it were white Americans, much more care would be taken. This line of reasoning is now obsolete.
There was a fun comment at Unqualified Offerings. The text is courtesy of Gene Dannen. It is from a speech made by Harry Truman, on July 9, 1945. When this speech was given, Nagasaki had been destroyed.
“The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. That was because we wished in this first attack to avoid, insofar as possible, the killing of civilians. But that attack is only a warning of things to come. If Japan does not surrender, bombs will have to be dropped on her war industries and, unfortunately, thousands of civilian lives will be lost. I urge Japanese civilians to leave industrial cities immediately, and save themselves from destruction.”.
Group punishment is not restricted to war. In Mustang OK, a business owner led his employees in prayer, and then announced that 25 production people would be fired. The reason for the bloodbath: someone sent an email that the boss did not like. HT the fishwrapper. The speech is embedded above. Do not listen if you are in a good mood. This speech will ruin your day. Here is the email.
Ryan Tate , In 2009, Tate Publishing LLC was named one of the best places to work in the state of Oklahoma. In a post published on your blog in April 2, 2009, you say ”most publishers outsource and farm out their work because it is cheaper” and went on to say “we handle every element of production in house” and also “if you want to lead an industry and succeed you need to make the extra investment in the staff”. Three short years later, you have opened an office in the Philippines to do just that – outsource and farm out the work that has been done by loyal, hard-working Oklahoma employees. What has changed in that time that has caused you to come to the conclusion that “a staff that never quits” as you referred to them, are no longer worth the investment?”
Pictures, from the War Between the States, are from The Library of Congress.
Jesus And Responsibility
It was a cloudy tuesday morning, and there was nothing good to say. Rather than not saying anything at all, PG decided to go into his archives. This post is from May of 2007. It is about responsible behavior, and a religion that does not encourage it. This might be hypocritical, but no one forced you to read it. The pictures need text between them.
It all started when a girl went to a back room with a former boyfriend. Her current bf stormed out of the party, and flipped his car when it went off the road. Being a star quarterback did not prevent the fatal consequences. The local radio whiner had a few things to say. Since alcohol was a suspected factor, the question became, “how do we teach teenagers to drink responsibly?”
PG is a retired drunk, and has a few dozen opinions on this issue. His wandering mind settled on a related subject…Jesus. G-d’s love baby is similar to alcohol. Both are legal, both have potential for good and ill, and neither works for PG. The thought occurred “How do we teach Teenagers to Worship Jesus Responsibly?” Now, this may be the first time those two concepts have been paired like that…Jesus and Responsibility…but it should not be the last.
A central concept in the world of Jesus Worship is the avoidance of responsibility…”Jesus paid the price for my sins on the cross”. While you may feel better to think you are forgiven, that does not help the person who was hurt by your actions. If star the quarterback had run into someone, G-d might forgive him, but this does not help with the medical bills.
No, today’s seminar is about the Worshiping Responsibly. It is about having respect for your neighbors who do not agree with you, and do not want to hear about your “salvation”. It is about not creating ill will for Jesus with obnoxious behavior in his name. It is about not dragging Jesus into your personal quarrels, using his name in anger to hurt your neighbor. It is about Responsibility. Your actions have consequences, and just because you are doing it for Jesus does not eliminate that reality.
There are two big reasons why PG is not a Jesus Worshiper. The first one is, he simply doesn’t agree with the teachings. The Bible is not the word of G-d, Jesus was killed because he was a troublemaker. The death, and reputed resurrection, of Jesus has nothing to do with what happens to people when they die. If you don’t agree with the dogma regarding life after death, the Jesus worship church has little to offer you.
The Second reason is the sorry behavior of Jesus Worshipers. This prevents PG from having a cosmetic, social oriented membership in a church. He does not want to pretend to worship a spirit which causes him misery.
Responsibility is not valued in the Jesus Worship community. Respect for non believers is seen as a sign of weakness. And, while not all Jesus Worshipers are fanatics, many admire and support the loudmouths who give their faith a bad name.
When it comes to belief, moderation is not valued. Fanaticism is admired. There is little responsibility taken. It is just the Jesus talking.
Christopher Isherwood once said, in a magazine interview, that the doctrine of a religion is not as important as the person who tells you that doctrine. (If anyone can find this quote on the internet, please leave a comment with a link.) It is a common belief that religions are about beliefs, but many find that it is the person who draws you into the community. A corollary of this is when you have a bad experience with a person who represents a religion. This person can drive you far away from wanting to have any participation in a religion. The idea that G-d would send a person to hell because he knew an offensive Jesus worshiper is tough to believe.
National Day Of Prayer
Today is the National Day of Prayer This is a repost double feature. Pictures are from the ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
So much for world affairs. It is time to tell a story, with no moral and no redeeming social value.
In 1980, I was staying at a place called the Sea Haven Hostel, affectionately known as Sleaze Haven. This was in Seattle WA, as far as you can get from Atlanta, and still be in the lower 48. I was working through Manpower, and staying in a semi private room for $68 a month.
There was a Christian group that met in the basement on Sunday Night. Now, as some of you may know, I am a recovering baptist, who hasn’t been to church since 1971. However, the lure of a free meal was hard to resist, so I went to a few meetings.
One night, after doing quality control work on the local beer supply, I cheerfully joined in the discussion. This was the night when I realized that the Bible is not the Word of G-d. This concept that has been handy in dealing with our Jesus-mad culture, as it seeks to convert me.
They seemed to like me, and welcomed me back. Maybe it was the southern accent.
One Sunday, after the dinner was finished , it was time to have a prayer to begin the meeting. I raised my hand. Now, Jesus Worshipers enjoy prayer as entertainment. When they bow their heads, you see them stretching and deep breathing, in anticipation of a good, lengthy, message to G-d.
My message was a bit of a disappointment. Instead of a long winded lecture about Jesus and the magic book, I said what was on my mind. Lord, thank you for letting us be here today.
Good Morning G-d. Please give me the slack I need to make it through this busy life. I have a birthday soon, and am getting older. Please give me less pain, both above and below the neck. Thank you for letting me get this far. Thank you for the gift of sobriety, and the memory of inebrience. The gift of moderation would have been appreciated. Help me to overcome body chemistry telling me to be unhappy. If this doesn’t work, help me hide it better.
Please tell the Jesus Worshipers to shut up. They make too much noise. Help me to forgive them. Give Jesus Worshipers a bit more humility. Help Jesus Worshipers to get over their confusion, and quit hating Gay People. Let people know that G-d does not write books. Let men know that A REAL MAN KEEPS CONTROL OF HIS TEMPER. Please tell the proud people praying today that it is better to listen than to talk.
Please find a happy medium for Atlanta water. Let us have neither drought nor flood. It would help if the developers would move to North Carolina, and the politicians would grow a conscience.
G-d, Please try to get along better with Allah. This is important. Maybe if you and her got along better, then all those religious crazies would hate each other less. Help white people and black people get along better. Please be good to the people who have already lived, and are now deceased. Please understand that I am not in a hurry to join them.
Help Mr. Obama with the mess this country is in. Help Israel get along with her neighbors, and live within her borders. Help the world solve the carbon dioxide problem.
Thank you for the birds that sing. Thank you for dogs, and dog owners who clean up. Thank you for earth, air, fire, and water. Thank you for the people who enjoy this prayer. Help those who are offended to get over it. Namaste, amen, all my relations, Good Bye.
Tit For Tat Savagery
If you have a life, you may have missed the Dan Savage splatterfest. It seems like the sex advice columnist gone awry got more of the attention that he craves. Facebook comment threads broke out in righteous digitosity. The fun continues this morning, and it seems like a good excuse to facilitate text. The pictures, on both sides of this text, are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library” .
Here are a few comments from the thread that got the Georgia part of the ball rolling. Names and smily faces have been deleted.When PG feels the need to weigh in, it will be in green letters.
Dan has made a career of writing and saying “shocking” and outrageous things. He seems to thrive on provoking others and bringing their rejection on himself. A lot of us have been hurt by people using the Bible as a weapon against us, but you don’t see us bashing the beliefs of others or bullying those who disagree with us.
That sounds really accurate …I have done the same thing in my life…attracting victimhood and projecting it onto others. Finally, I want to say, Mr Savage has allowed the feelings of fear of rejection in his life to distort the interpretation of the bible too.
The interpretation of the bible is distorted by definition. If you declare this text to be the inerrant word of G-d, then you are distorting the meaning. Perhaps a better solution for this conundrum is to say that the bible was written, translated, and compiled by fallible men. (And perhaps a woman or two, but considering the patriarchy implicit in having one G-d, who is the male father, then this is unlikely. This more macho than thou meme causes great havoc in this episode. When Mr. Savage said pansy assed, that was not a compliment, nor was it supportive of the masculinity of those involved.)
The first commandment says to have no other G-d before you. (A G-ddess is out of luck.) When you take a book, and call it the word of G-d, you are violating this commandment. This is going to cause problems. When you use this text to validate your prejudice and privilege, you bring shame to the book.
It’s funny… the status update just below this one in my feed has the same link and another friend says: “Dan Savage always has the balls to tell it like it is.”
That’s not funny, it’s sad. You can “tell it like it is” without being profane and disrespectful of other peoples’ beliefs, and without resorting to name-calling and bullying. I have NO tolerance for bullies, even when the bully is a fellow queer like Dan Savage, and I have no tolerance for those who tolerate bullies.
Here we go again. The celebration of masculinity as the standard of perfection for Homo sapiens. Oh Boy, Mr. Savage has the balls to call people pansy ass.
Weird video. Those kids obviously weren’t just offended in the moment. They seemed to be smirking as if their march out was some sort of pre-planned event.
This thought occurred to PG. The walkout began before the comment about BS. A lot of the people in the audience cheered Mr. Savage. BTW, maybe Mr. Savage did not specifically call the kids, who walked out, pansy assed. Maybe he was talking about those who use the bible to condemn, and then get offended when people disagree with them. If you use the bible as a weapon against your neighbor, you should not be surprised when someone uses it as a weapon against you.
I saw this video earlier on a separate website. Having seen and heard blatant homophobia — well, it wasn’t homophobia, there was no fear, it was hate, absolute hate, vile vicious and without restraint —- I understand the frustration and marginalization that many in the gay community feel, but I take the bible very seriously, including the shellfish abstention, and was quite shocked to hear this. My initial reaction was anger at his comments, and then I realized that this is the external toughness that is exhibited by a man undergoing extreme pain, or who has endured extreme viciousness, by his bellicose statement he drowns his previous suffering, much like an alcoholic. I am guilty of this, although for different reasons, and we are all susceptible to it, it seems to be a general tendency in society today, tit for tat savagery, rather than moderate discussion. So I have room to forgive him, as long as he recognizes his wrong, which I pray he will. Although I have great reverence for the Bible, the Torah to be precise, I am a Jew in progress, I hold no animosity towards homosexuals, and I don’t believe G-d is the business of holding grudges either. His ways are mysterious, why did He prohibit homosexuality back then?The Greeks didn’t mind it, it hardly mattered to the Romans? We have no clue, but I am assured that if his ways are mysterious, his forgiveness and understanding is vast and uncompromising. He will judge people on their positive acts of goodness and kindness, not on failings, whether they be in regards to 3000 year old dictum’s, or modern displays of rage and anger, He loves those who try, and sanctifies those who love.
Thank you for the title to this post. Are you a JIP? Many people feel that the prohibitions in Leviticus were specifically about a specific act between two men. This does not concern lesbians, or men dressing like Lady Gaga. When you take carefully selected passages out of the magic book to denounce your neighbor, you give people one more reason to make fun of you.
It is also dangerous for anyone to apply levitical customs into today’s culture. Those laws were written in that appointed time because of the gross situations of idol worship, which included fertility worship. I firmly believe if we are required to follow all 613 laws, none of us will ever be reconciled to God. I have yet to see one human being who follows Leviticus to the T.
The Guardian had a really good article on how atheists can open a dialogue with believers, and avoid being provocative. We don’t need any more polarisation on this planet, we have far better things to devote our attention to. I think if atheists followed this, they might find it’s a better path. “Strength of belief is not the same as rigidity of dogma.”
Bridges trump walls, any day.
Thinking trumps cliches. Bad hair trumps Donald.
There’s a serious risk of becoming as bad as some of the most rigid “religious” people, if your “religion/dogma” becomes a NON-belief in God.
There are fundamentalists in all religions, including evangelical atheism (i.e., atheism that tries to convert others). You’re absolutely right, bridges trump walls. I have quite a few friends who are atheists and we respect each others’ beliefs (or lack thereof) so they have never been an issue in our friendships.
This has been a wonderful dialogue to follow. Thank you all for your insight and grace. It reminds me to keep being tolerant, forgiving and compassionate at all cost.
In some ways, atheism is a branch of Christianity. The concept that you have the right to evangelize to others is not universally accepted. Even if you entitled to proselytize, many people wind up saying things that impress themselves, without any thought as to the impact it will have on their neighbor. If what you say creates ill will for G-d (and his pesky son), then you are speaking in vain. The third commandment has something to say about this.
This is a lovely spring sunday afternoon. Hopefully you will spend it doing something more productive that worrying about a high school journalism conference. Before you go, here is a story. When PG was a kid, his family went to First Baptist Church. It was a grand building on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, about a mile north of downtown. It has been replaced by an office building. In 1959, the pastor was a man named Roy McClain. He greased his hair and shouted at the audience. PG was afraid of Roy McClain. One day, Mr. McClain waved the bible over his head, shouted “this is the word of G-d”, and slammed the book down onto the pulpit. PG thought to himself, if that is the word of G-d, shouldn’t he treat it a bit nicer?”
The Dan Savage Show
Dan Savage is no stranger to controversy. A lot of people don’t like him. A few more wonder when his fifteen minutes will be up. Sometimes a controversy flares up, and PG feels the urge to defend an unpopular person. This is a dangerous activity.
There was a conference of high school journalists in Seattle recently. Mr.Savage spoke, as the embedded video shows. It was a weird image, where what we see is a giant, flat image towering over the audience. There was a comment made about the Bible, and people in the audience started to leave. Many of those who walked were in the front of the auditorium, where the cameras could see them. A substantial part of the audience stayed, and cheered Mr. Savage in his remarks.
There was some unfortunate language used. Mr. Savage said something about “bullshit ” in the Bible. When he was through talking about the bible, Mr. Savage said, regarding the misuse of the Bible, that is funny how “pansy assed” folks were when you pushed back.
Pansies are rugged flowers, which thrive in winter weather. Use of this flower to question the masculinity of queers is highly ironic. For Mr. Savage to use this slur to criticize people, who use the Bible improperly, was in poor taste.
PG ordinarily would not be interested in this matter. It was brought to his attention on facebook. The initial comment was “Sorry, Dan Savage. I know you’ve been hurt by people in churches using the Bible as a weapon against you (just as I and most other gay people have). But when you call high school students “pansy-assed” for getting up and leaving your profanity-filled lecture, you have crossed the line and become a bully yourself.”
PG looked at the video, and began to wonder what the fuss was about. He made a comment… Thank you for showing a link, so I can *judge* for myself. I didn’t think that what Mr. Savage said was all that bad. It might have been better if he didn’t say bullshit or pansy assed. To use an anti gay slur like pansy assed was inappropriate. If people are going to use the Bible as a weapon, they should not be surprised when people fight back. The remaining students seemed to agree with Mr. Savage.
This comment was recreated from memory. The original was deleted. “Just deleted two comments and I have a feeling I’ll be deleting more, and possibly defriending some folks. It’s amazing how so many people are willing to “cut some slack” to bullies. Not here, not on MY Facebook Wall.”
The person making this deletion is someone that PG has respect for, and enjoys a”virtual” friendship with. Dan Savage is not worth losing friends over. But at the same time, when people are denouncing other people, sometimes it is necessary to look at the source material, and make up your own mind. The spectacle of George Zimmerman being tried in the court of high octane public opinion comes to mind.
PG is reluctant to use Jesus stories to make a point. The Bible, as Mr. Savage notes in his remarks, is not inerrant. The legends we have about Jesus should be taken with a bit of skepticism. Even if they are not literally true, these stories sometimes have a valuable lesson. With that caveat, here is a story from the book of John.
1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him;
and he sat down, and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery;
and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down,
and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them,
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one,
beginning at the eldest, even unto the last:
and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her,
Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Defending unpopular people can be a risky business. Jesus was left standing by himself this day. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. UPDATE Here is part two.
Racism Is Obsolete
01– The title of this feature is strictly about language. It is the R word that is obsolete. The modest proposal here is to replace it with a series of acronyms. ABR is anti black racism. AWR is anti white racism. AHR is anti hispanic racism. And so on and so forth. This will not affect the overall concept of racism, but might add a touch of clarity to discussions.
02– Talk about ABR is the national pastime. People LOVE to talk about ABR, usually in a very loud voice. The only problem is, very few are listening.
03– If you don’t like me, then I don’t like you. I don’t care what your reasons are. I don’t how many protected categories are involved, be they race, religion, language spoken, sexual life history, intelligence, food preferences, musical taste, hair color, national origin, political opinions, favorite sports team, criminal background, degree of recovery, clothing choice, halitosis, or anything else.
04– Am I a AB/AW racist? It depends of who is doing the judging.
05– This feature partially a reaction to A Complete Guide to ‘Hipster Racism’. Here is a sample: “Modern racism lives in entrenched de facto inequalities, in coded language about “work ethic” and “states’ rights,” in silent negative spaces like absence and invisibility, and in Newt Gingrich’s hair.” So “work ethic” is a coded ABR insult. How interesting.
06– Many people don’t think AWR exists. This might be a function of ABR/AWR manifesting in different ways.
07– Chamblee54 has posted on The N Word before.
08– I am not a policeman. I do not drive a taxi. I do not carry a purse, and therefore cannot hold it tighter. Look somewhere else to get your revenge.
09– I never thought that having a half white man elected POTUS would end ABR/AWR. There is going to be resistance. There are going to be people looking for revenge. I thought that ABR/AWR was going to get worse.
10– There is a difference between not liking “black music” and ABR.
11– The race card = black privilege.
12– The most obnoxious form of privilege in America is christian privilege.
13- We will have ABR/AWR in America as long as people find it to their advantage to promote it.
14- A lot of the old cliches apply to ABR/AWR. What goes around comes around. To every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction. Two wrongs don’t make a right. If you can’t say anything nice about a person, don’t say anything at all. When you point a finger, three fingers point back at you. He who excuses himself accuses himself. We are all G-d’s children.
15- There is a difference between having respect for a person and not using forbidden words.
16- A visit to Google city was made for the phrase “racism is obsolete”. The first usuable result was on yahoo, Will racism ever be obsolete? This was at the bottom of the page: Discover Questions in Other – Cultures & Groups Why do black men LOVE drinking gatorade before going to the beach? is it to be cool for us ladies? Why do people waste time worrying what black people do? Why do people take me so serious sometime,don’t you know im a blockhead?
17- A well meaning Christian website presents The Pollution of Racism: What White People Can Do About Racism. There were other people talking, in the Google results, about what white people can do about racism. You seldom hear anyone talking about what black people can do about racism.
18- There was a comment about Joseph Kony that should be repeated here. “(It) is not about justice. It is about having a big emotional experience that validates privilege.” This applies to much of the overheated rhetoric about ABR/AWR.
19- When talking about ABR/AWR, it is very common to be a hypocrite. This feature is included.
20- Someone started Racismobsoleteweaponofwar’s Blog. This person only wrote three posts. Someone in England has a blog, Obsolete. Dyspeptic, incredulous leftist fashion blogging from someone somewhere. || “Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means of going backwards.” — Aldous Huxley || “I take a particularly strong pride in the fact that we have never pushed our commercial interests in our newspapers.” — Rupert Murdoch
21- If you want to see a society without ABR/AWR, worry about yourself. Don’t point fingers at what other people are doing. Worry about what you are doing. It all starts with you.
22- Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
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