Chamblee54

Many people are telling their 911 stories. Mine is not that dramatic. I was at work, and someone called out that someone had run a plane into the World Trade Center. I didn’t think much of it, until I heard that the second tower had been hit, then the pentagon, then the towers collapsed, then a plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
I focused on my job most of the day. There was always melodrama at that facility, and concentrating on my duties helped to keep me sane. 091101 was roughly the halfway point of my seven year tenure at this place. There was an unfortunate association with a professional Jesus worshipper. After the extent of the damage became known, he shouted “ They are doing this for Allah”. He then prayed at his desk. After learning what a hateful loudmouth this man was, the spectacle of him praying was repulsive.

I became alienated from Jesus during these years. Once I had once been tolerant of Christians and Jesus, as one would be with an eccentric relative. I  came to loath the entire affair.I do not make excuses for Jesus. I hear of others who found comfort in religion during this difficult time, but that option was  not available for me.

Football season is here. While the games are fun to watch, the players are paying the price. Your health insurance premiums just might be affected.
Football is a contact sport. On every play, the linemen block other lineman to keep them from tackling a back. Someone gets hit on every play. Most of these hits are “clean” and cause only bruises. Some are “dirty”, and cause injuries. Even the clean hits can hurt someone.
It is estimated that 187,000 emergency room visits every year are due to football. What if an illegal drug sent 187k to the er annually? There would be a hue and cry to kill the pushers. However, football is different.
Knee injuries are especially prevalent. An estimated 45,000 knee operations are performed each year due to football injuries.
With all those helmets slamming into each other, head injuries occur. “The researchers found that there is approximately one catastrophic head injury per every 150,000 athletes playing, or 7 catastrophic injuries yearly. There were 0.67 injuries per 100,000 players at the high school level and 0.21 injuries per 100,000 for college level football players.” Often, the coaches get caught up in the do or die spirit of a big game, and don’t get the player the medical attention that he needs. “Football is a very macho sport. Athletes are taught to play through pain,” …“But concussions range in severity and symptoms, so all a player may experience is a headache several hours after impact. High school players need to be educated in these symptoms and encouraged to self report.”
Even cheerleading squads are reporting more injuries, due to botched stunts.
When you see the players in their youthful glory, you don’t think what they will look like after they quit playing. Many players know this, but the lure of today’s glory justifies the pain of tomorrow.
It has been said that if you saw sausage being made, you would never eat it. A football is said to be made out of pigskin. Maybe the same rule is true here.

Jack Thomas Chick is someone you know, but have never heard of. He created the gospel tract.
Go to his site, and you can read his story. Born in California in 1924, he seemed an unlikely candidate for religious superstardom. After a turn in the Army, he became a Jesus Worshiper. In 1948 he married Lola Lynn Riddle, who he describes as being ” instrumental in his salvation”. He hit on the idea for the palm sized comic book for Jesus, and an artform was formed.
The tracts sell for fifteen cents each, or a 25 pack for $3.75.
The tracts are the result of a rather narrow view of Jesus. The King James Bible is the perfect word of G-d. The tracts have a last page, with instructions on how to be “saved”. Anyone who disagrees is going to go to hell.
Many of the tracts tell a story. A kid trusts a drug dealer, only to be disappointed. The Titanic is going to the bottom of the sea, and what will happen to the passengers. A man is about to commit suicide, and Jesus comes to the rescue.
Mr. Chick has a special distaste for the Catholic Church. He had an associate named Alberto Rivera. Mr. Rivera claimed to be an ex bishop of the church, who had been privy to some unsavory secrets. Many of his tracts proclaim conspiracy theories about the Church. Other targets of his scorn include Mormons, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and almost anyone who does not fit his definition of being saved.
Jack Chick is his real name. Any drag queen using that name is probably not the same person. He is reclusive, is rarely photographed and does not give interviews. He drew his early tracts, until he hired a man named Fred Carter in 1972. Mr. Carter is a much, much better artist than Mr. Chick.
Mr. Chick has sold hundreds of millions of his tracts, translated into over 100 languages. Arguably he has sold more copies than any author working today.

I have heard about the Rasmussen Report. It seems like the Gallup of the new age.
Recently, the reports show JSM pulling ahead of BHO. While it is a bit early, the candidates are fighting for momentum to carry them into November. America loves a winner. If a candidate is perceived to be winning, then more people will jump on the bandwagon. This applies to the war in babylon as well. Happy talk in the press is part of the surge strategy.
Peach Pundit had a story about another Rasmussen poll. I follow the link to the website. On the home page are two paid ads for JSM. HMMM.

In my unpaid role as resident non Jesus Worshiper, I left the following comment at TwentyTwoWords yesterday. ” I sometimes feel that I am the only non believer that comments here.
You might consider that not everyone is impressed by your religion.
Many shortcomings…selfishness, meanness, lack of respect for others…can be found in thoughtless, inappropriate preaching. Just because you are doing it for Jesus does not make it any less offensive. It also reflects poorly on Jesus”
To which another reader replied: “@Chamblee: You’re right, preachers can taint their own message. Can you expand on what you mean by thoughtless, inappropriate preaching?” Oh my. This is going to take more than twenty two words. I wonder if twenty two volumes could cover it all.
There are many, many examples of inappropriate preaching. I am just going to scratch the surface here. I would like to get out and ride my bike before it gets dark outside.
There are two quotes that help. One is from a motivational speaker: “You need to sell yourself first, your company second, and your product third.” The second is the third commandment: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy G-d in Vain…”
Anyone can read to you from the Bible. Not everyone that does this has worthy motives. Some are crooks and thieves. For a person to preach to another, there needs to be TRUST. If you do not trust the person who is preaching to you, then that person is speaking in vain.
Trust has a brother named RESPECT. When you preach to a person who does not care for your message, you are showing disrespect to that person. When you preach without mutual respect you are speaking in vain.
This is not just the person you are talking to. It is everyone who comes in contact with your message. This is not just the words you speak, but your actions, the chrome fish on your car, the catchy phrase on your t shirt, and the Bible you make a show of carrying around. When you preach without trust and respect, you are speaking in vain.
We are all G-d’s children. When you disrespect the children of G-d, you disrespect G-d. And when you speak without trust and respect, you are speaking in vain.

I was coming down Peachtree Dunwoody, towards the soccer fields, when the voice on the radio began to describe the storm damage. It seems as though “The Perfect Church” had taken a lightening hit on its steeple, setting off a spectacular fire. The concept of something called “The Perfect Church” being hit by lightening was just too amazing.
Before I wrote about it, I needed a bit more information. Google chose this time to let me know it would no longer work for me, at least through the front door. MSN search showed a few results for TPC, but nothing that helped.
The various news websites were no help. It was as if no one wanted to say the obvious…that a place boastful enough to call itself “The Perfect Church” had been hit by lightening. The closest I saw was a reference at venerable WSB that “the Atlanta Fire Department is battling a steeple fire on a church believed caused by lightening at McDaniel St. and Ralph David Abernathy.”
Then, an unlikely source came to my aid. WGST is the home of Rush Limbaugh, and is known for its far right agenda. It has a google powered search option, which worked for me…unlike the main google page. It also has a music player, with a David Bowie concert from 1972. I doubt Rush Limbaugh was at that show, although he might have gotten some good pills there.
The google search did provide a link to “The Perfect Church” at 670 McDaniel Street. A visit to their site shows the words “Christians are Perfect!”. Maybe that lightening strike was intentional.
As I typed that last line, Mr. Bowie was performing “Space Oddity”. The line he sang as I leaned back after typing the last line was “ May G-d’s love be with you”.

I was a southern baptist all my life. Arguably, I became a baptist when my mother converted in 1938, but really didn’t get with the program until I was born in 1954. The story is that Daddy called the choir director at six in the morning to sign me up.
First Baptist in Atlanta was a big church on Peachtree street ,about a mile north of downtown. (A few years ago, they sold the land to a developer and moved to the suburbs. I was working a block away when they tore down the building, and got some chips of brick as a souvenir.) I sang in the “cherub” choir. This was quite an experience when we performed in front of a full house. I have good memories of Sunday school, vacation bible school, and the choir program.
One thing I did not like, even at that young age, was the preacher. He was a greasy haired man who shouted a lot and had a mean streak. (Sounds like some of these bloggers). Years later, I heard persistent rumors that he was gay. ( I should note that this is not Charles Stanley. It is the man who preceded him)
There is one thing I will always remember. We were watching him preach, and he shouted, “this is the word of G-d” . He then waved a Bible in the air and slammed it into the pulpit. I thought, if that is the word of G-d, maybe he shouldn’t slam it down like that.
Around 1962, mom&dad decided to move to a church closer to home. I liked Briarcliff Baptist. About this time, I first heard about being “saved from sin”, and thought it was a pretty cool idea.
I also was in cub scouts, and since their meetings were the same day as choir practice, I quit the choir.
I attended church regularly the next few years, but never did join the church and get baptized. The custom of pressuring children to make a “commitment of faith”, and get baptized, reflects poorly on Jesus.
There are some other family issues that came up about this time. They are too personal to get into here, but they affected my attitude towards the church
After a while I was 17 years old, and working in a restaurant that was open until 1am on Saturday night. I decided one Sunday that I didn’t want to get up for church. I have only been back to that building once in the intervening 36 years.

We know a bit more about Jim D. Adkisson. Allegedly, he put a shotgun in a guitar case, and went to a performance of “Annie” at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Three shots later, two people are dead and a few more are in bad shape.
Knox News is a source for much of this feature.
It seems like Mr. Adkisson left a note behind about his hatred of “the liberal movement”. He is apparently a follower of Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage and Sean Hannity, all of whom preach hatred of liberals on a daily basis. In an ironic touch, Mr. Adkisson owned a book by Mr. Savage, “Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder“.
Some say that the evil triumphs is when good men do nothing. The same could be said when a bad man does something.
In the inevitable “He was a nice guy” article, a neighbor recalls Mr. Adkisson talking about his parents forcing him to go to church. Mr. Adkisson seemed to have a lot of anger regarding religion.
Some say that a person with a weapon could have prevented the slaughter. Lets review this step by step.
Mr. Adkisson entered the auditorium from the back and started shooting. Many in the crowd thought the first shot was a part of the play.
Lets say that someone in the crowd did have a pistol. Lets also assume he was watching the play and not the door. The first this person would have known, about a gunman, was when he heard the shots. By the time he retrieved his weapon and aimed, Mr. Adkisson would have had time for a second shot. Mr. Adkisson fired three times. In a best case scenario, the armed audience member could have prevented the third shot.
Spell check suggestions for this feature:
adkisson-dissonance, caisson, admission
Hannity- hannie, hannibal, humanity

I was enjoying monday morning, until I went up pill hill and saw the red tee shirts. The people in the shirts were anti abortion protesters. The slick signs had the “standard” slogans and pictures of mutilated fetii. This did not make me feel good about the rest of the day.
One lady was fashionably dressed, as she struck a pose beside her sign that begged to be photographed. Alas, I left my camera at home that day.
It seems as though Operation Save America...formerly known as Operation Rescue…is having a National Event in Atlanta this week. 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?” Hey, it does get hot here in July. Still, that is not a very nice thing to say about 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, we are the captive audience for a lot of loud people with a message. Mostly, we just go on about our business until the vulgar idiots take their credit cards back home.
Many of these folk wear red tee shirts. They have a cross, and the slogan “Jesus is the Standard”. I dare say that very few of these people are the result of virgin birth. They do not meet the standard.
Another source of amusement for OSA is picketing gay pride events. Could it be that those sign wavers are saying more about themselves than about others? For that matter, how many of those women in these protests have had abortions?
Abortion is an issue I am concerned about. I wrote a post last year called ” Is Life Sacred”. Here is the money quote: Abortion and War are similar issues. Both are horrible, ghastly events. I have never participated in either, except as a sponsoring taxpayer. In the case of War, there are side effects to a society that wages war, no matter how just. It takes resources away from better uses, is damaging to the economy (except for a handful of profiteers), and is generally bad karma. The same can be said about abortion.
However, I stop short of saying we should never do either. Sometimes War is needed. (Often though, by the time a decision has been made to fight a war, the country has been railroaded into this action.) Sometimes Abortion is an appropriate measure. We need to keep the option open. However horrified I may be by abortion, I do not like the power happy politicians and ministers who exploit this issue for their own benefit. The same could be said for those who enlist Jesus in this process. Of course, as many times as Jesus and his believers have hurt me, the sign wavers can have him.
There is also a counter protest to this nonsense. Go here for more information.
Next week, another convention will be in town. And unwanted pregnancy will continue.

Prayer is not always a good idea.
That is up there with G-d and Motherhood, but somebody has to say it.
Many of my objections are in the phrase, ” Prayer is talking to G-d, and Meditation is Listening.”.
In our culture, we love to talk and don’t have time to listen. Talking is yang, active, power. Listening is ying,receptive, passive, and indicates respect for the person you are paying attention to. This is difficult for many.
Of course, no one ever says ” I am going to meditate for you”. Although maybe you should.
Prayer is used as an aggressive weapon. “I am going to pray for you” is the condescending conclusion of many a religious argument. I have had it shouted at me like a curse.
There is the matter of prayer as entertainment. While this may be cool to those who are on the program, it can be repulsive to others. Once I volunteered to lead the prayer before a dinner. Here is the story, with some more cool pictures.
Now, prayer is not a completely bad thing. One of the cherished memories of my father is the brief, commonsense blessings he would give before meals. In the context of a church service, prayer plays a useful function. Some famous prayers are beautiful poetry. In Islam, the daily prayers are an important part of the observance. Who am I to say it is wrong? ( A note to the Muslim haters…We are all G-d’s children)
When someone is in a bad way, people want to think they can help. Arguably it does not hurt to pray for someone, but it is nothing to boast about.
My problem is when people are proud of their prayers. There are few as prideful as a “humble servant”. While it may mean something to you, not everyone is impressed. And in a religion obsessed with converting others, you should care what man thinks. .

Ordinarily, I enjoy comments. Except when it starts out “Gay pride? Proud of what…a bottled up inner conflict”
The product didn’t get any better. There were over 4600 words of this nonsense. Comment moderation is a wonderful invention.
I only glanced over the output. There is no point in absorbing that poison for the sake of writing a reply. A few of the paragraph openers, like “Homosexuality is a destructive, suicidal behavior. As a note, pedophilia also has similar origins as homosexuality.” tell the general nature of this type of writing. The fact that the Bible was liberally quoted brings shame to that book. The idea that this book is considered the “Word of G-d” is appalling.
I did a word replacement for “Jesus” and only found one reference to him. It is a very good bet that the author of this work is a Jesus Worshiper There are those who find quotes from Jesus, in the same Bible, where Jesus criticizes this sort of human bashing.
I see Jesus in the words and deeds of his believers. The author of this comment uses stronger rhetoric than most, but his basic ideas about Gay life are not that far from the mainstream. Is this the true Jesus, or the warped product of industrial religion?
There is also the matter of the misuse of technology. This rant was not written from scratch. It was pasted from a database somewhere. There are probably instant rants available for a number of issues. While databases and word processing are great inventions, they have potential for abuse.
On that note, the Bible was one of the first books to be published when the printing press was invented. The concept of a written cannon in one volume is one of the reasons why Jesus Worship has become as popular as it is. This “Word of God” concept is quite different from how many other religions operate. Here again, not all change is progress.
The medium is the message.

PG was happily wasting the fourth in his neighborhood chatroom when the word came in about “Jesse”. At first, PG thought they meant a resident of Portland, who used to live here, and was affectionately known as “HO”. Further comments used the name Helms, and PG went to CNN.Com to investigate. There was a black and white picture of Jesse Helms in the corner reserved for portraits of the recently deceased.
PG prefers not to trash talk the current inductees into the afterlife. There are plenty to do that for him, and some do a better job. The passing of Mr. H does bring back memories of a September morning in 1990.
Jesse Helms was scheduled to speak at a conference at the First Baptist Church. The conference was some kind of Protect the Family nonsense. The First Baptist Church was a huge thing with columns on Peachtree Street in Midtown. PG had attended this church as a child.
ACT UP decided to have a greeting for Mr. Helms. PG was working a mile south of the church, and took MARTA to have a look. The rally was a small, festive affair. A stage was set up to one side. Atone point a man with a guitar sang a Van Morrison song, “Domino”.
There was a line of people carrying signs. Many were in costume. A local art college was offended by Mr. Helms, and showed up in force. There was a young man of Asian descent, wearing a t shirt. The shirt had the slogan ” Homo Eroticism Lives in My Soul”
PG did not carry a sign, or wear a costume, other than his everyday workwear. He was content to wander around the crowd, greeting people he knew. A van came down from Short Mountain, and PG visited before going back to work.
Jesse Helms did not show up. The First Baptist Church was sold to a developer and demolished in 1999.

Patriotism is one of the games that almost everyone plays. The rules seem to vary.
In 1967, JSM was flying planes in Nam, I was in the eighth grade, and BHO was in the first grade. He was in Hawaii, which might have been where JSM went for R&R if Hanoi did not have other ideas.
America was about to hit a turning point about the Vietnam War. At first people were supportive, albeit without much enthusiasm. Opposition started to arise, and was frequently confused with treason. As the war dragged on, the homefront began to see things differently.
To this reporter, many of the patriots of 1967 were the ones who opposed the war. The conflict in Indochina was to cause many problems for the United States. Eventually, Richard Nixon got a fig leaf treaty that he called Peace with Honor. The early opposition was heard, but not after losing more than fifty eight thousand fine men.

That is the first way to be a patriot…to keep an eye on the government, and speak out in opposition when it is needed.
Another way is to keep the United States strong and healthy. One way to do this is work hard and pay taxes.
Now, the conservative windbags whine loudly about paying taxes. They want to pay for the current war by cutting taxes to make the economy grow. If we had no taxes at all the economy would grow even more.
The war in Babylon was an experiment in war without sacrifice. There was a tax cut when it was apparent we were planning an invasion. The national debt has gone out of control, and the federal reserve bank has cut the interest rates. The result is that the dollar is not worth as much as it once was. The oil market is based on the dollar. Oil is just as valuable as ever. The dollar is not, and it takes more dollars to buy a barrel of oil. This is an important factor in the rise of gas prices.
The way to keep America strong is to follow the three basic rules of the workplace: show up, stay awake, don’t kill anyone
The citizens of the United States are a remarkable group of people. One way to be a patriot is to show respect for these people, and for yourself.
Another way to help America is to quit consuming so much. If we drove smarter, we would not need as much gasoline. We would not be so big if we didn’t eat as much. Maybe you can put a sweater on in the winter instead of turning up the thermostat. We are heading in this direction, but have a way to go.
Much of what you hear and read is not true. The so called conservatives are just as guilty as the so called mainstream media. Think for yourself. The freedom to think is a part of America that you are sometimes discouraged from exercising, but it is important.
This is a dangerous world, and we have a military to keep them away from our borders. We are also involved in a tough war of our own choosing. It is to be hoped that our next President will find an acceptable conclusion to this conflict.
Meanwhile, this is the fourth of july. It is a day to enjoy the good life we have here. America is a fine country. It has given me a good life. While I am not blind to the problems, there is no where else I would rather be.