Chamblee54

A great deal has been said recently about BHO and his choice of a player pray-er for the inauguration.
A bit of perspective is in order. BHO has been dogged by rumors that he is a Muslim. He claimed as his “spiritual mentor” a man who entertains his church by screaming rude things about the United States. When it was no longer to his advantage to associate with Jeremiah Wright, BHO dumped him.
BHO won the election. It is time for his inauguration. He chooses Rick Warren to offer a prayer.
Rick rhymes with slick. He has built a empire church, sold millions of books, and is frequently photographed without a tie. He condemned gay marriage, and told a few lies in the process. His choice as the First Pray-er is rather controversial.
Throughout the controversy, very few seem to think about Jesus. What sort of statement does Rick Warren praying for BHO make about Jesus?

The day after thanksgiving is the official start of the christmas season. The last few years, PG has been weary of the turf fighting of the Jesus worshipers The jws like to think that they are the only ones entitled to a holiday celebration. It gets nasty.
The truth is, as long as PG remembers, Christmas has been a secular holiday with a religious element. The parties and gift giving are a great way to wind up the year. The so called birth of Jesus really has very little to do with it.
In the early days of christianism, the pagan romans had a major celebration around the winter solstice. This is the longest night, and the end of the annual cycle of birth, death, and revival. The early Jesus worshipers decided to have a comparable celebration. It is uncertain when Jesus was technically born, and many scholars today believe that it was sometime in the spring.
For a long time, PG was able to ignore the religious hoopla, and focus on the joy of the season. In recent years, the Jesus Worshipers have made more of an issue out of the “War on Christmas”. Bill O’Reilly, with his instinct for a divisive issue, has been a ringleader. Where once the secular and religious people could celebrate a happy season together…and, truth be told, many still do… there is a now a conflict. The Jesus worshipers make an exclusive claim to the festivities, and those who don’t agree with them are out of luck. It has become a fighting issue whether to say happy holidays or merry christmas.
PG would like to get back to peace on earth, and good will towards men.

This being sunday, PG and Uzi went walking. Today the scene was the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve, near Decatur. The land is not a virgin forest. It looks like it was cultivated land until a few years ago. The most aggressive weeds took command at this time. Do not come here if privet makes you nervous.
PG and Uzi came to the end of a trail, and saw that the car was a hundred yards down a road. They went back into the forest, hoping to find a path running parallel to the road. Instead, they went back around a swamp, which was dried by the drought. There were a couple of observation overlooks, including a lifeguard chair. Finally, they made it back to the vehicle.
It was a bit after 4 at this point, which is too early for dinner, but not enough time to go home and then meet for dinner. PG took a variety of back roads, and came out by the S&S cafeteria. After dinner, the cashier was talking to a man about cremation. The lady started to talk to PG about cremation. ” I talked to Charles Stanley about it, I asked him if there was anything in the bible about it, it just doesn’t seem right”. PG thinks that cremation would be a good idea for Charles Stanley.

There is speculation that prop 8 was actually defeated by the voters. The only problem is, it is not what the voters think that counts, it is what the electronic voting machines say.
It seems like the companies behind these electronic voting machines are conservative Jesus worshipers. And they are not shy about cheating to get the results they want.
Some exit polls showed a majority of people voting no on prop 8. When these votes are tabulated by computers, it seems to change to a yes vote. There are other irregularities reported in this highly contentious vote.
There were numerous reports of irregularities in 2000, 2002, and 2004. The electronic touch screen voting machines used in many states have been shown to be vulnerable to monkey business.
The prop 8 result is likely to stand, although challenges are probable. What is puzzling to many is the outcome of the Presidential election. If the crooked voting machines are controlled by corrupt republicans,why was BHO allowed to win?
The answer may lie in the urban riots of the sixties. The rage of African America is well known, and to a large degree justified. In the sixties, it bubbled out of control in many cities. After the verdict in the trial of police accused of beating Rodney King, there was urban unrest in many cities. PG was in downtown Atlanta when the fury hit there, and remembers the soul searching that took place…and was quickly forgotten.
There was talk of mass rioting in the cities if BHO was cheated out of the election. Could this have influenced the powers that be to let the vote stand?
There have been riots in boxing arenas after an unpopular decision by the judges. Does the prospect of 20,000 crazies behind you tearing the house down influence a boxing judge?
If there had been a threat of rioting in 2004, would John Kerry have won? Of course, it is tough to imagine anyone caring enough about Mr. Kerry to toss a molotov cocktail.
BHO seems certain to take office on January 20. HT to jockohomo

Last friday night, The Justice House of Prayer went to Castro Street in San Francisco. They do this on a lot of friday nights. They will sing and play guitar, and sometimes they will preach. They are Jesus worshipers
Last friday night was not an ordinary friday night. Ten days earlier, the voters of California voted to pass Proposition 8, which bans same sex marriage. The people on Castro Street were angry. The message of JHOP was seen as a provocation. A mob developed, and the police had to escort the JHOP to their vehicles
There is plenty of blame to go around for this ugly incident. The video shows the police leading some people away from an angry mob. It makes the mob look ugly, and indeed there seems to be excessive reaction here.
But what about the JHOP? They knew what they were getting into. Were they looking to create Goodwill for Jesus, or were they looking to pick a fight? Why couldn’t they just take a couple of weeks off until the passions over Prop 8 cool off?
What does this say about Jesus?
Anyone can read from the bible. Anyone can talk about Jesus. There needs to be trust for the person listening to the message to believe what the preachers are saying. JHOP seems to have forgotten this essential first step. They seem to be looking for a confrontation.
Jesus worship is often seen…with a lot of justification… as preaching hatred against gay people. Many of the Castro residents have struggled with Jesus worship, and come to the painful decision that they simply don’t agree with it. Others agree with Jesus worship, but want to live the way G-d made them.
There are all sorts of ways to take this message, and many of them cause pain for the people being preached to. For a group of people to come into someones home and preach a painful religious message…without gaining the trust of these people…it just isn’t right. It does not speak well for Jesus.
When you preach to people without their trust, you speak in vain. When you do so out of lust for confrontation, you speak in vain. When your preaching causes pain to people , you speak in vain.
The third commandment speaks to this…”exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy G-d in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

One of the blogs PG reads almost everyday is Twenty Two Words.The idea is to say what needs to be said in 22 words or less. It is a good goal, even if it is frequently ignored. As a general rule, people talk too much, and could say a great deal with fewer words. In the telegram days, Western Union charged by the word, and short messages were prized. Much the same thing is going on today with text messaging, albeit with the added punch of abbreviations. RU Gr8 2day?
The plan for this weekend is to encourage his readers to put up a post of 50 words or less. On Saturday, PG began to peruse the list of posts<50 words. The problem was, most of them were Jesus Worship oriented, and those railroad tracks are a different gauge from PG’s rolling stock. His engine simply won’t go anywhere on that line. The tunnels don’t have enough headroom.
There were a few that caught his eye. There was the lady working in Columbia. The title was If I hear another story about a dismembered body, I’ll scream! “Forming close friendships in Colombia is harder than you might think, given that Colombians are such a friendly people. When people start to share their lives with me, instead of helping us find shared interests or points of contact, their stories of utter horror and anguish often leave me reeling.”
Another one…with links to a series of lectures, and a two hour youtube video…said “Our greatest problem is that we esteem self more than we esteem God.”
Some would say that G-d lives in man, and is in fact indivisible from Man. If this were true, then esteeming self is the same as esteeming G-d. The division of G-d and man is a problem with Jesus Worship.The answer is to see G-d and man as one, thou art that. PG leans toward this unified view of the world. He does not have all the details worked out.
G-d (or the Devil) is in the details. This saying is credited to Frank Lloyd Wright, among others. It is a cliché that PG sees as being more true the more he thinks about it. There is, for instance, the Moonie view of G-d. They teach that there is personality and body to anything, or body personality, or peanut butter. The moonies teach that G-d is the personality of the cosmos. The difference between a box with seven dollars worth of chemicals and a human being. Yes, you can gather the needed chemicals, but how can you assemble them into human form? You need G-d, and when you add G-d to these chemicals, you get a human being. Is it too much of a leap to say that G-d lives in the heart of all babies, young and old.? That G-d is the heart.
Which brings PG to the last post that he will quote tonight. The Daily Scroll calls itself “news and more from the Christian blogosphere”. The post is an invitation to answer some questions for publication. Here, the questions will be in gray, and the answer in blue.
What compelled you to start blogging? I had been thinking about having a blog, and had even collected material. It was more or less inevitable. Then, I saw something at a place called Fide-o. They were discussing something or another, and I had a comment to make. To make a comment, you needed to sign up for a blogspot account. In effect, that is when my blog, Chamblee 54, got started.
The comment was about the notion that the bible is “the word of G-d”. I am of the opinion that G-d does not write books. This concept (that the bible is “the word of G-d) elevates a book written by man into the position of being like G-d, to being “the word of G-d”. This is wrong on a number of levels. The first commandment says to have no other G-d before you, and you violate this common sense rule when you take a book written by man and proclaim it as the Word of G-d. Needless to say, the Fidomites did not agree.
After a few days of fun filled debate, I went in the back yard to take some auto timer self portraits. Noting that the neighbors were not looking, I dropped my pants before one of the shots. I posted a picture of my “Better side”. The Fidomites were outraged, and I was banned from commenting.
How would you describe the purpose of your blog(s)? To feel good after I have posted. Hopefully, I can do this by bringing some enjoyment to those who visit. My current motto is ” pretty pictures and ugly opinions” . Image manipulation is one of my hobbies, and the pictures are an essential part of the blog. Often, the text is just words to put between the pictures. The words are in colors. I use a medium sized font, which is easier to read. Black fonts are obsolete.
What unique responsibilities do you think Christian bloggers have? They don’t have any. A bit of humility is appropriate, and the realization that not everyone thinks they are so wonderful. Christians use a lot of arguments that sound good to each other, but do not appeal to those who disagree with them. You should remember that the blogosphere is not a church. If you go to a church, it is rude to argue with the message. If you have open comments, you should not be shocked to find that not everyone buys what you say.
What are your own favorite blogs or news sites? Twentytwowords, JoemyGod, Puntabulous, APWBWGTTD ( Atlanta people with blogs who get together to drink), Centurion, and whoever else has caught my eye that week. There are literally millions of blogs right now, and I can only really appreciate a handful. There are probably a lot that I might enjoy, that I don’t get around to. Oh, and there are those with mp3 downloads. I enjoy collecting free music.
How would you be spending your extra time, if you didn’t blog? Reading, photo taking and editing, making faux stained glass pictures, cleaning the house, riding my bike, walking, enjoying the privilege of being alive in 21st century America.

The night before, the Atlanta Bloggers had met at the Bone Yard Cantina. It was a bright space, in a new building. The area is called Midtown West. Those realtors have a way with words.
There were six present when PG arrived. He ordered coffee, which was good quality, plentiful, and had a tab of a dollar seventy five. Two of the others had food. The table kept the server busy with beer. Discussions included twitter, the greatest cd of all time, and something unintelligible (but funny) at the other end of the table.
It was team trivia night. After intense competition with Mrs. Paul’s home for battered fish, the Atlanta Bloggers had the most points. One of the bloggers…a work neighbor of the BYC… took possession of two certificates. The papers, complete with crimp stamp, were good for a twenty dollar bar tab.

There is a blogger named Scent. He writes a space called Centurion. PG is banned from commenting at this place, which might be a good thing. This does not stop PG from following the discourse , and sending appropriate emails. Today, the subject is abortion. It should be noted that Scent is a Jesus Worshiper, and does not like abortion.
Abortion was a big deal in the last election. BHO got tagged a baby killer, despite his loving relationship with his own daughters. Those girls will be teenagers while daddy is in the white house. At any rate, BHO did not condemn abortion in terms strong enough for the wingnuts, and this became a loud issue.
This also may have helped BHO get elected. While abortion is an emotional focus to the right wing, it is a source of …negativity…to the center and the left. Very few people are really happy about the fact that millions of babies are murdered. It is just that many see the shades of gray. Once you get past the shrill speeches, there is a lot of discordant emotions in play. While the right wing likes spout the rhetoric, the rest are just a touch uncomfortable. After all, this is human life.
Another thing that complicates the matter is denial and compensation. No one really knows what women have been to a clinic, and even fewer know the men that sent them. PG suspects that a lot of the more shrill “pro life” people have in fact been party to an abortion. This is one reason why these converts are so obnoxious.
Scent is having a discussion about abortion. In the comments, Scent says ”There is no question that all sorts and types of murder are illegal in our country — but two kinds of life-taking are not: capital punishment, and self-defense.”
PG see this, and sends an email with this commentary “I am following your discussion about abortion from a distance.
“There is no question that all sorts and types of murder are illegal in our country — but two kinds of life-taking are not: capital punishment, and self-defense.”
You forget a third form of life taking…war. As we speak, we are killing men, women, and children abroad. Maybe the war is justified…it might even be classified as self defense. But the fact remains we are killing G-d’s children in a foreign country, and losing our own people in the process.
How can we claim to be “pro life” when we support the killing of human beings in a foreign country?
I don’t have any answers to the issue of abortion. Believe it or not, I like it about as much as you do. However, I don’t think the politicization of abortion reduces the number of procedures.
And maybe, just maybe, if we have more respect for human life in a country eight time zones away, maybe we will have more respect for human life here.”
The candidate, who was hailed as pro life, once dropped napalm on women and children. Forty one years ago, America was involved in another war. It would soon get tired of this war…many never wanted it…and spend the next few years looking for “peace with honor”. At the time, abortion was illegal. Within a few weeks of the Paris accords, which ended one phase of the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court issued Roe vs. Wade. Abortion was now legal. The debate over Vietnam was never tainted by those who claimed to be pro life, and yet wanted to drop napalm on Asian women and children.

PG thinks about the three part advice…pray, vote, don’t worry. The second part is over. When PG walked out of the building at 7:42 am last Tuesday, the election was history. The wawuh is ovah. La Guerre est Fini, or whatever the title was of that movie at the Film Forum thirty seven years ago. That was about the time of the first election for PG, when Tricky Dick whipped George the dummy. Tuesday was the ninth time PG has cast a presidential ballot, and, if the polls are correct, will be the third time he voted for the winning candidate.
Don’t worry is phrased with a negative, and might work better with a positive verb. The first thought is Have Faith. Or maybe Think Well, or Think Good Thoughts. Alfred E. Neumann made a good career out of the phrase “What me Worry?”, even though he was just a cartoon character. It is easy for cartoon characters not to worry.
Having Faith for a living human being can be a bit tougher. PG has always tended to pessimism, and his default face look is sadness. This causes problems, especially with a certain former employer who would harp on PG’s “negative attitude”. When you tell a person often enough that he has a negative attitude, it is the lie that becomes the truth.
The truth is, the future has always looked bad, and turned out to be good. PG is 54 now, in good health below the neck, and has a few things going for him. Once this job thing is straightened out, PG can go back to working most of his waking hours for another ten years or so, and enjoying life as best he can along the way.
As for America and the world, they are more intertwined than ever before. BHO seems to understand this, while JSM is of the old America first school. The national debt is greater than ever, a war rages on eight time zones away, and we are no closer to energy independence than we were when Tricky Dick was the President. This was the time of the OPEC embargo, when America began to realize it’s addiction. We have done nothing since.
PG remains optimistic about the future health of the planet, but wonders what it is based on.
Which brings us to the third leg of the stool. Prayer is an essential part of many religions, and works for many people. PG has a problem with prayer. It is connected to Jesus Worship. PG does not get along with Jesus.
Prayer is talking to G-d. Meditation is listening. Prayer is active, meditation is passive. Prayer appeals to type A americans, who tend to do what they want, and fight those who get in the way. Most of these people are Jesus Worshipers. This is what PG sees of when he thinks of prayer. Not only are they loud and selfish, but they are proud of it. They are loud and selfish for Jesus.
The first commandment says to have no other G-d before thee. This does not make an exception for books about G-d, or for the so called son of G-d. When you get away from this common sense rule, you are going to have problems. Maybe if you pray to G-d, and leave Jesus and the bible out of it, you will be ok. As long as you shut up, and listen to what she has to say.

A feature of the digital era is something called a meme. It rhymes with dream, and no one is sure where it came from and what it means. In practice, a meme is a series of questions that are sent out chain letter style to different people. Since PG is not connected to people that would tag him, he is not required to answer memes. ( The spell check suggestions include mimes, mites, meres, and memos). The mothers of mighty memos.
PG sometimes does dim sum with a man named Xwinger. (The spell check suggestion is swinger) This person has a Live Journal, under an alternative identity, Sffilk. XW goes to festivals, sets up a table, and sells cds of folk music. Folk which was misspelled as filk. XW is the source of today’s meme. The question will be in gray. The answer from XW will be in purple. The answer from PG will be in blue.
1. Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey? Yes. Yes. I also have the toenails, eyebrows, and lumbar discs. Guts are overrated, and more plentiful as we move into middle age.
2. Would you do meth if it was legal? No. No. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean you need to join the crowd. Voting Republican is legal.
3. Abortion: for or against it? For Like the lady said to the Pope,if you don’t play the game,then you don’t make the rules.
4. Do you think the world would fail with a female president? There have been female presidents before, like Indira Gandhi. It might, but would pass again soon. Fail and pass are part of the cycle, and should be accepted and embraced.
5. Do you believe in the death penalty? Yes, As long as it is not too severe.
6. Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already? Yes. That should have happened a hundred years ago. Reefer was legal a hundred years ago, and should have remained that way.
7. Are you for or against premarital sex? For. I can’t get married, so any sex I have would be premarital. See answer to question 3.
8. Do you believe in G-d? Yes. This is not a believe kind of thing. PG suspects that G-d does exist, although the semantics of the issue are sticky.
9. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized? Yes. Yes. However, lawyers and Professional Jesus worshippers should not be allowed to reproduce.
10. Do you think it’s wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA? Yes. As the grandson of immigrants who came here legally, I don’t exactly tolerate the fact that so many people are coming here illegally. If they want to come, let them do so legally! This is a toughie. As a person whose families have been here hundreds of years, this is getting into question 3 territory. If PG was a poor mexican, and the barriers to legal immigration were steep, He might see things differently.
11. A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it? I don’t know. It depends on where she finds it.
12. Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen? I think it’s 18 here in Georgia. . It was 18 when PG was a kid, and he spent many a happy evening in bars. However, in the eighties, big brother federal government said to the states, if you want federal highway money, then you need to raise the drinking age to 21. In asphalt happy Georgia, that was a no brainer. To get back to the question, yes, the drinking age should be 18.
13. Should the war in Iraq be called off? I’m not sure “called off” is the proper term We have dug ourselves a deep hole in Babylon. Even if we were to start to withdraw today, it would take a year or so to get everyone out. There is reason to believe that forces would attack our troops during this withdrawal, and that we would have to fight our way out. There is also the matter of the sunni tribes that we are paying to help us fight foriegn fighters. What will happen when we introduce these guys to the American concept of the layoff? It is a lot easier to start a war than it is to finish one. This is one reason PG was opposed to the start of this one.
14. Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree? I’m not sure. It does seem to be illegal. As to whether it should be legalized…why does a person need help? Shouldn’t it be fairly simple to off yourself?
15. Do you believe in spanking your children? Yes, if they did wrong.? see answer to number 3.
16. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars? Considering the fact that the proper way to dispose of a worn flag is by burning it, Flag burning was a non issue until 1989. Somebody took a case to the Supreme Court, and there was a ruling made. At that point, flag burning became a “hot” issue. This is similar to what is happening with Gay Marriage now. There is little grass roots support for same sex marriage, but a court ruling has forced the public to decide. While the media account execs in California are getting big commissions now, the rest of the population has been dragged into a divisive battle that few wanted. Maybe we should burn the Supreme Court instead.
17. Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama? Honestly? Neither one. What does honesty have to do with presidential elections?
18. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers? Yes, but at least I’m being honest. What does honesty have to do with the internet?

The early voting started today at several locations. In my area, the choice was between a fire station and a former mental retardation center. There is a message in that somehow. I chose the former retardation center. First, there was a traffic jam trying to get in. There was no where to park, and a very long line. I did park ( someone left, and left a space), and asked someone how long they had waited. An hour! That is too long to wait, even for someone I am going to hate for eight years. I will come back later.
On the way back, I stopped at the First Baptist Church. The FBC is on the site of an Avon Warehouse, which is another ironic statement. The steeple from the old building is on a brick pedestal in the parking lot, and I saw a photo opportunity.
The first thought is to get up early some morning and make another shot at early voting. From now until then, I will have an open mind, and see this as an opportunity to change. If only JSM would quit talking wingnut trash, and not act like a befuddled old man. Maybe Saxby Chambliss will just go away and leave us alone. Jill Chambers and Chris Hardcore can go get a drink, and talk trash about Vernon Jones.
We can use the Jewish concept about race…If your mother is Jewish, then are you Jewish. By that reasoning, BHO is white. Try not to worry about his Muslim father, and nutcase preacher. Anyone who says I am racist, if I don’t support BHO, should take a good hard look in a mirror. And hope it doesn’t break, or you will get seven years of bad luck. To go along with the eight years we are voting on.

PG went for a bike ride, and saw two signs of note. The first was the basic McCain/Palin sign, with a message at the bottom. The addendum was “Obama=Socialism…Just ask a Russian”.
This line of reasoning is bizarre. This election will include voters who were born after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The idea that voters can still be swayed by implying that a candidate is a communist is amazing. The truth is, some voters do think that way.
As for the ask a Russian part…Russia is an energy rich country now. Moscow is one of the most expensive cities on earth. It is doubtful that anyone there is concerned about socialism. Maybe, seeing as how much better their economy is than ours, we should look to Russia for guidance.
The other sign involved another form of economics. In Georgia, the precious commodity is water. There was a two part sign involving an economic dispute over water. The first part was an anonymous note criticizing a man for watering his lawn. The reply to that was equally abrasive.
PG would not want to be a judge in this case. The first note was snide, and made a threat to “stop the flow coming out of the sprinkler head ourselves”. The second note was just as uppity.
It is true that the lawn owner followed the letter of the law in getting a permit. It is also true that we are in a severe drought. Having an emerald green lawn in October is the sort of luxury we have become addicted to. It would not hurt this man to put straw on his yard until more water is available to grow grass. There may come a time when we have to choose between water to wash food, and water to put on sod. There is a question of values. Maybe we should ask a Russian.
One thing that got PG’s attention was the way the notes were signed. The first Dear Neighbor was signed Thank You!, followed by a smiley face. The second Dear Neighbor was signed THANK YOU AND HAVE A BLESSED DAY! There is a commentary on our culture in those signoffs. The smiley face is secular, and punctuates a most unfriendly message. The Blessed Day nonsense…in all caps… is the Jesus Worship answer. Neither one speaks well for the messenger.