Blogger vs. WordPress

Back when I went to start this site on [Blogger/Blogspot], I also started one on [WordPress].  For I could remember reading that WordPress is a lot more flexible, and one the earliest invitees to become a member/contributing author here got plumb insulting about how stupid it was to even consider having a site on Blogger.

Thankfully, she refused the invitation.  For in hindsight, a female version of [Lavender Darwin] would be just too much to take.

Anyway, since I was already fairly familiar with what one can do with the Blogger platform, I let the WordPress version languish.  For this is one old dog who really does have a hard time learning new tricks—especially when it comes to technological things.

Ah, but the powers that be at Google just had to force the issue.  Subsequently, what had become relatively easy for me to do became much more difficult.

Link: [On BlogDumps]

Case in point: that video.  For the way it used to work before Google started making all sorts of a “improvements” to its Blogger platform was that one could just paste (or manually type in) the embed code to a video right in with the regular text on the Compose page, and the video would display as it should when the piece was published.

It no longer works like that.  For one has to now enter the embed code on the Edit HTML page, which really isn’t all that big of deal after you get used to it if the video shows up on the Compose page, but when it doesn’t, as with the video here, getting everything to look just right can be a royal pain.

Another “improvement” has forced me to switch from a Georgia font to Vendana.  For Verdana is almost a third again larger, and with normal text on published articles now becoming very tiny, one needs to employ the largest font available if they want their readers to be able to read what they have wrote.

Yes, I have experimented with making all of the text large, but this freaks me out when it becomes at least twice the size on the Compose page than it will be after publishing.  More importantly, the text also displays that big through the RSS feed, which looks awful (at least to me).

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am well aware of browsers having a zoom feature, but having to do this or that may discourage many from wanting to actually read what is contained in an article.  Besides, images are also enlarged when the zoom feature is engaged, and the thought of a super-sized picture of Lavender Darwin chills me to the bone.

Hence, some of the reasons why I started looking into switching to the WordPress platform, and I quickly discovered that what I had read before about how flexible WordPress is was written by an idiot.  For you can’t even change font colors without changing the HTML code!

Oh, and the troubles I have been having with including non-YouTube videos with Blogger, WordPress can’t even read the embed code to the video above!  Needless to say, neither does it show up on the Compose page.

Yes, if I was a cranked-up coder, I might feel differently about the WordPress platform.  For with it being open-sourced, I can see where one MIGHT be able to do some things that they couldn’t with Blogger.

Furthermore, WordPress does allow for links to open in a different window, which is something that I wish Blogger would enable.  Should I sic Lavender on them?

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

Trying To Walk On Both Sides

Both of those clips serve as good examples of what happens when superficial Christians try to walk on both sides of the secular/Godly divide.  For they were both given a wonderful opportunity to express what He would have them say, and they ducked.

In all fairness, Rep. Bachmann did do a fairly good job.  For having respect for your spouse is certainly part of the kind of relationship that our Heavenly Father wants between a husband and his wife.

Nonetheless, she failed to help clear-up much of the confusion that now exists concerning just exactly what a Christian marriage is supposed to be like.  For it is written: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body.  “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”  This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. [Ephesians 5:22-33 NAS]

Be assured that our Heavenly Father looking upon a husband and wife as being as one is only a profound mystery to those who have not had it explained to them by our Heavenly Father.  For in the same way as all of the members of His church are considered to be parts of one body in Christ Jesus, so is a wife considered to be part of her husband’s body.

No, that is not something that women-libbers should take issue with.  For Adam was charged with committing the first sin [Romans 5:12-14] when it was actually Eve who first ate of the forbidden fruit [Genesis 3:1-6]!

Oh, but wait, there’s more!!!  For the way our Heavenly Father wants a marriage to work is for the husband caring for his wife in the same way as he is being cared for by Him, which doesn’t leave much time for being the king of his castle.

No, there is absolutely no reason for a wife in a truly Christian marriage to shy away from being submissive.  In fact, it should be a pleasure to take care of their husband as he takes care of her, with both of them being taken care of (in accordance to His will, of course) by the One who is in full control of all that happens.

Yes, I suppose something should be said about the lovely Ms. O’Donnell’s embarrassing interview, and that would be that she (nor anyone else) should oppose the official recognition of gay marriage.  For doing so will not encourage anyone in their right-mind to think that there is nothing wrong with being gay, and they should have the same right to experience the miseries of marriage as the rest of us do.  (Since that last part doesn’t quite go along with what our Heavenly Father has personally revealed to me about how wonderful marriage is supposed to be, I may have gotten it from the other side.  However, He does have a delightful sense-of-humor…)

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

1 % Bank Tax Email

Read it and weep!

1% tax on all bank transactions

Watch for this AFTER November elections; remember this BEFORE you VOTE……in case yo think Obama’s looking out for your best interest.

1% tax on all bank transactions HR 4646

This government just cannot think of enough ways to hurt the American people!

This Bill must die!!—FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!

1% tax on all bank transactions HR 4646

ANOTHER NEW OBAMA TAX SLIPPED IN WHILE WE WERE ASLEEP.

Checked this on Snopes, it’s true!  Check out HR 4646.

(see below copied from Snopes)

President Obama’s finance team is recommending a one percent (1%) transaction fee (TAX).  Obama’s plan is to sneak it in after the November elections to keep it under the radar.

This is a 1% tax on all transactions at any financial institution—banks, credit unions, savings and loans, etc.  Any deposit you make, or even a transfer within your account, will have a 1% tax charged.

~If your paycheck or your social security or whatever is direct deposit, it will get a 1% tax charged for the transaction.

~If your paycheck is $1,000, then you will pay Obama $10 just for the privilege of depositing your paycheck in your bank.  Even if you hand carry your paycheck or any check into you bank for a deposit, 1% tax will be charged.

~You receive a $5,000 stock dividend from your broker, Obama takes $50 just to allow you to deposit that check in the bank.

~If you take $1,000 cash to deposit at your bank, 1% tax will be charged.  Mind you, this is from the man who promised that, if you make under $250,000 per year, you will not see one penny of new tax.  Keep your eyes and ears open, you will be amazed at what you learn about this guy’s under-the-table moves to increase the number of ways you are taxed.

~Oh, and by the way, you receive a refund from the IRS next year and you have it direct deposited or you walk in to deposit that check, you guessed it.  You will pay a 1% charge of that money just for putting it in your bank.  Remember, any money, cash, check or whatever, no matter where it came from, you will pay a 1% fee if you put it in the bank.

Some will say, oh well, it’s just 1%.  Are you kidding me?  It’s a 1% tax increase across the board.  Remember, once the tax is there, they can also raise it at will.  And if anyone protest, they will just say, “Oh, that’s not really a tax, it’s a user fee!”  Think this is no big deal?  Go back and look at the transactions you made from last year’s banking statements.  Then add the total of all those transactions and deduct 1%.

Still think it’s no big deal???

1.  snopes.com: Debt Free America Act

Is the U.S. government proposing a 1% tax on debit card usage and/or banking transactions?

……It is true.  The bill is HR-4646 introduced by US Rep Peter DeFazio D-Oregon and US Senator Tom Harkin D-Iowa.  Their plan is to sneak it in after the……moved beyond proposed studies and submitted the Debt Free America Act (H.R. 4646), a bill calling for the implementation of a scheme to pay down the……..[2010] by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.).  His “debt Free America Act” (H.R. 4646) would impose a 1 percent “transaction tax” on every financial transaction…

http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/debtfree.asp

From the way it is worded, it should not be very hard to deduce that an earlier version of this email originated sometime last year, but I do not recall ever hearing about it before the current(?) version made it into my inbox last week.  Alas, perhaps the behind-the-scenes movers and shakers of American politics do not value my support all that much?

Much to my chagrin, the email got my full attention almost immediately.  I don’t know if was on account of the atrocious formatting, which I have tried to clean-up some, but it may have been.

Anyway, I started looking for further confirmation, and it did not take long before I found that H.R. 4646 does indeed exist.  Well, at least it did, but it was never sponsored by [DeFazio and Harkin].  Neither did it ever have a hope of even getting out of committee—let alone become law.  Could it be that this is the reason why they included a broken link to the [Snopes article about it], which considers the email as being a hoax?

No, I do not believe that it was meant to be a hoax.  For it is based upon half-truths and patented innuendo that is deployed by both sides of the political divide in this country, and whoever started it was counting on most not taking the time to check if it was true (despite all of the urges to do so).  Oh yeah, we are indeed the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

She Didn't Do Enough

Close to a month ago, I published an article [here] about the Republic (MO) R-III School Board voting to remove a couple of books from the high school library in the hope of protecting the innocence of the attending children, but it would seem that they feel quite differently about protecting innocent girls from being raped on campus by predatory boys.  In fact, they appear to be quite indignant about it, which should become clear after watching the following video of a local newscast.

Link: [On KSPR]

Did you catch that next to the last part?  “School board members and school officials have refused comment about the incident, but did file a response to the suit, calling it, ‘Frivolous,’ and saying, ‘The special needs student didn't do enough to protect herself.’”

No, that report did not go into previously alleged details, which makes the Republic School Board’s response even more callous.  For the [FIRST TIME] she reported being raped to school officials, not only didn’t they believe her, they forced her to write a letter of apology to the boy before suspending her for the rest of her seventh grade year.

The next time (allegedly) it happened, DNA was obtained, and I hope the stuff is just starting to hit proverbial fan.  Granted, there may very well be another side to this story, but the way it has been handled so far is beyond shocking to me.

Alas, I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised.  For back when my first wife and I were going home after treating ourselves to a night out at the movies in Springfield on New Year’s Eve (1977), we were stopped by a couple of Republic Police cars as we travelled through town.  Evidently, 25 MPH was too slow to be going in a 35 MPH zone at around 2 AM with no other cars on the road, and after determining that I had not been drinking (this was before that started), one of cops told me that I needed to pay more attention to my driving than I was to my girlfriend.  Oh, there is not a doubt in my mind that this was another time when our Heavenly Father stepped in to keep me out of getting into some serious trouble.  For I wanted so badly to smart back to that officer about her being my wife, and that trying to pay as much attention to her as she would let me had resulted in her being around 5 months pregnant (with Vicki, our first child) at the time, which would have probably gotten me thrown in jail for a number of sundry charges.

No, it is not good to judge a town on a few bad incidents.  Besides, Republic actually looks like one of those fairly small towns that many dream about living in, but when self-righteousness and pride mix, there will be much more to be brought out into the light.

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

 

ESPN's Blueprint For Change

With news breaking about all of the “support” [Nevin Shapiro] gave the [University of Miami Hurricanes], cries for dramatic changes to the rules that forbid college athletes from receiving any compensation, other than in the form of scholarships, will undoubtedly get louder.  For it is a mess as is.

No, I don’t know what would be best.  For as some of the panelists participating in the [ESPN discussion] said, it would be pure chaos if players could hire agents to negotiate contracts, but the way it now is ain’t good.

Yes, this article originally included an embedded segment of the show, but I couldn't get the auto-play shut-off.  Therefore, since I do not want to subject others to something that I absolutely hate, the video had to go.  Besides, it didn't include the things that really caught my attention, anyway.  You can watch/listen to that part [here].

One was made by [Jay Bilas] about there not being any rules prohibiting a student on a full music scholarship from signing a recording contract, nor any of the other things that go along with such.  Of course, the other side of that coin may be that they would no longer receive a scholarship, but that wouldn’t prevent them from still playing in the various university bands, choirs or whatever.  Whereas, once an NCAA athlete gets paid, they can no longer participate in that sport.

Another was made by [Nick Sabin] about college athletics not being a business, and that no one is making a profit and putting it their pocket.  Alas, good ol’ not-so-saintly Nick often comes off as a real jerk, and this is no exception.  For as the head football coach at the University of Alabama, he is making a total of [$5,997,349.00 per year], with an annual salary of $5,166,666.00 and $830,683.00 in non-university compensation.

The last one I would like to mention irked me almost as much as what Nick Sabin said.  For it was made by [Joan Cronan], who is now in charge of all of the University of Tennessee athletic programs, about playing college athletics being a privilege, and that if an athlete wants to go market themselves, they can turn pro.  The revenues generated from just the football program at Tennessee was reportedly [$29,326,709.00] for the 2009 season, and the combined football PROFITS from all of the schools was reportedly over [$1 billion] last year!

Yes, I am well aware of the fact that tuition costs (amongst many other things) would sky-rocket if college athletics adopted a pro-style compensation package.  In fact, some schools would probably have to drop most of their athletic programs, but it sounds awfully hypocritical to me to hear about an athlete being run off of the field (or court) in disgrace for accepting a few bucks from a booster after the university has helped them understand just how much they have been making for it.

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

Bath Salts?

Link: [On YouTube]

When I first heard about this on a local newscast yesterday evening, I thought that maybe I really had heard of everything now.  Fat chance—huh?  For it is probably just a matter of time before it is discovered that catnip can get more than cats high.

Quickly on the heels of that first thought was one about there may be some distinct advantages to this newest craze.  For one of things that makes more conventional dope-fiends so deplorable is that they can get plumb funky when going weeks at a time without a bath.

Ah, but what hope that could be found in that second thought was crushed just as quickly as the first one was.  For with these bath salts not actually being for bathing, it is highly unlikely that any bathing is involved in their abuse—right?

Please forgive me if you find my twisted sense-of-humor offensive.  For when my mind gets blown by news like this, joking helps to ease me back to more stable ground, and I mean no disrespect towards anyone who is having to endure the effects of drug abuse all too up-close and personally.

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

TSA Porn Will Soon Be Very Lame

Link: [On YouTube]

Nope, stick figures don’t do a thing for me.  You can see a better report [here].

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

Philadelphia Flash Mobs

Link: [ABC News/Nightline]

Well, maybe I really have been living under a much bigger rock than I thought.  For according to this report, destructive flash mobs have been popping up in several places around the country, and I can’t recall ever hearing about it happening anywhere else but in England before now.

No, I don’t think something like that would be purposely kept out of the news, but it does make me wonder.  Maybe I should have been listening to FOX News more often?  For with their policy of fair and balanced reporting, surely they wouldn't miss an opportunity to show how President Obama’s continued mismanagement of the economy is causing rioting in the streets—would they?

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

And

[FishHawk Droppings]

Some More On Prayer

Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. [1 Corinthians 10:32-33 NIV]

It has been for that reason that I have been quite reluctant to speak openly about what our Heavenly Father has taught me about prayer.  For the last thing I want to do is to cause someone to stumble along their way to truly having a very close and personal relationship with Him.

Nonetheless, there are times when He pushes me to dive into some very uncomfortable waters.  Hence, [Expository Prayers].

If you will check-out the comments, you will see where [Lavender Darwin] called me out on a statement that I went too far with in an earlier comment.  He also made a couple of points in defense of public prayers.

One of those points was in reference to Matthew 6:6, which helps to support what I have been given to say.  For it is written: But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. [Matthew 6:6 NIV]

Oh, but I have been brought much closer.  For I have been allowed and enabled to be in almost constant communication with our Heavenly Father, which is what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he encouraged the members of the church in Thessalonica to [pray without ceasing].  Be assured that this applies to anywhere at all times.

Please, do not think that I am bragging about this.  For what I have been given is a very special gift from our Heavenly Father, which I have done absolutely nothing to deserve.

Moreover, it is a gift that is available to all who will but want to accept it.  For it is written: “If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.  On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.  Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”  Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”  Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.  “All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” [John 14:15-26 NIV]

Yes, there is another point that Lavender made.  For he referenced [Acts 4:24] as an example of the members of the first church openly praying in public, and I must admit that it had me at a loss at first.  Then our Heavenly Father pointed out to me that they were just not used to the constant presence of His Holy Spirit yet.

So, does this mean that the same applied to Christ Jesus while He walked amongst us in the flesh?  For there are many examples of Him going off to pray.

No, it most certainly does not.  For those prayers were meant to serve as both an example of how to talk to our Heavenly Father and as written confirmation of just how deeply They care about us.  For it is written: After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.  For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.  Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.  I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.  Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.  For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.  I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.  All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.  I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.  My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.  Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” [John 17:1-26 NIV]

Come on now, do you really think that Christ Jesus needed to file a report?  For even if you want to believe that He really was just a man not so unlike any of us at the time, would He feel it necessary to tell the One who is all-knowing and always-present what had been going on?

No, there is nothing necessarily wrong with kneeling down with your small children to pray—nor anyone else, for that matter, but the closer you are drawn to our Heavenly Father, the more it should become clear to you that only those who do not really know Him are comfortable with public prayers.  For those who really do know Him in a very close and personal way understand just how dissatisfying MOST public prayers truly are unto our Heavenly Father.

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

Through Adullamite

Despite his resistance, our Heavenly Father still delights in letting His Light shine quite brightly through [Adullamite].  The following is an extraordinary example of that.  You can view the entire article [here].

This of course is not the first time riots have occurred in England  (Note: Unlike the English press I use the word 'England' as all riots so far have been there. The English press use the term 'Britain' in such circumstances although had this occurred in Scotland the term 'Scotland would of course be used. These riots have been found only in England, please note!). Beginning in north London after a peaceful vigil for a man shot dead by police the riots quickly escalated. Various parts of London soon found themselves ablaze with many, mostly young, yobs keen to destroy wantonly, steal and loot from every shop in sight, and on occasion injure any who stood in their way.  Soon Birmingham, Liverpool and even the small town of Gloucester got in on the act.  Police shortcomings have been exposed here, and while a more positive approach is now being seen it is much too late, although is has to be said nobody could have seen the widespread 'copycat' events that occurred later.

The reason for this remains shrouded in endless chatter and blame sharing. Police and 'ethnic minorities' have had trouble relating in London for years. The liberal types point out the police failings, and they are many, and few have the courage to stand up and indicate the black 'minority' have a fair part of the blame also! In the eighties Commissioner Paul Condon claimed eighty percent of muggings were caused by young black males.  A huge outcry was heard, mostly from black politicians, and the only people to suggest he might be right and that something ought to be done were black pastors of local churches and black imams of the mosques. There were few who wished to face reality, but many who wished to make the most of the position. (I spent 21 years in the centre of London and found hardly any race issues amongst the black folk I knew!).  A lack of family values, far too many single mothers, gun gang crime based of Hollywood movies, and money from drugs lies at the bottom of this. Heavy handed policing does not help, especially when people die in police custody and no-one is to blame!  How often does it happen, usually to a black man at that!  These are often thuggish black men it has to be said, not innocent passersby.  Rarely does this happen to a black meteorologist or computer engineer, dentist or taxi driver, the usual recipient of violent treatment is often a man with a violent record, missed by few!  This does not dismiss the police failings, not the number of occasions such event occur, and there was in the past a certain amount of racism in the Metropolitan Police Force, although to consider it wholly racist was just wrong!  This weeks situation began with a man shot dead by police, whether a criminal, a suspect or an innocent man, in truth nobody either knows, or is saying at this time. The truth will arise eventually, maybe.

The trouble that followed was not based on youths feeling ignored by society. This was not a rebellion against a world that kept them down.  Many would have had jobs, many rejected jobs to stay on the dole and make much more money selling drugs, others were still schoolkids, some from primary school!  The vast majority involved were following that aspect of human nature we like to pretend we do not possess, the part that likes to hate, and likes to take whatever it can when opportunity arises no matter the cost to another. Greed is idolatry and it has been seen this week.  Rarely do we admit to ourselves that we enjoy hating an enemy, unless the world around us agrees with our opinion. Rarely do we admit that grabbing loot from a damaged shop is great fun and personal gain!  Rarely do we admit just how awful human nature really is, and many reading the reports in the media, a media full of bullshit it must be said, rarely do we admit to a jealousy that we were not near enough to go and grab that item we really wanted!  The suffering of those who lost businesses, homes, jobs or everything they possessed may move us slightly, but how many of those involved, when moved as many will be, by such emotion will give back their booty and show their remorse by an action? 

The circumstances of being at the bottom of society, ignored by the government, treated badly by the authorities actually affect many more people than the young or any 'ethnic minority!'  Nothing today justifies the behaviour seen in the past week. There can be no justification for the burning of homes, nor the robbing of others, this behaviour comes from the fallen human heart, and circumstances allow this to reveal itself in all the horror it can get away with.  The worrying thing is that while we do not wish to believe it this conduct is within us all, the human heart is rotten to the core and only Jesus and his finished work on the cross can cure this. He has seen riots like this many times before, since the dawn of time. Britain, and I mean Britain not England, has often been troubled by riots, in the eighties in Brixton and Liverpool, during the twenties when men returning from the war found the promised jobs failed to appear as did the promised houses, and even many officers were found sleeping rough in our cities. Riots in the past over Corn laws, and parliamentary reform, riots over bad working conditions and poverty have returned to Britain many times. Today we do not have riots because of poverty, or even lack of opportunity or bad police relations.  We have riots because human nature likes to steal, rob and destroy. One day we will admit to ourselves that this is so, if we have the courage to do so.

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

Expository Prayers

Link: [On YouTube]

Link: [On YouTube]

No, I have no doubts about any disrespect being meant.  Well, at least not in the first case given here.  Besides, our Heavenly Father really does have a great sense-of-humor.

Nonetheless, both serve as good example of someone who really doesn’t know our Heavenly Father.  For if they did, they would know that what our Heavenly Father most wants is true intimacy with us, and both of those prayers were just for show.

Yes, such shows would be necessary if what has been so widely taught is indeed true.  For they would serve as another means of reaching out to the lost and confused in our Heavenly Father absence from this world.

Woe be it unto all who want to believe that.  For our Heavenly Father will keep making it more and more abundantly clear that there is nothing good about us apart from Him until we are willing to truly humble ourselves and fully accept what He actually says is absolutely true.

No, this is not to say that everything is going to get worse and worse from our ground-based points-of-view.  For the worst thing that can happen is for His blessings to be poured out upon those who want to believe that they have earned what they have received, but when He knows that the good that they can experience in this world will be all that they will ever have, our Heavenly Father is merciful.

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

And

[FishHawk Droppings]

Tasteful or Trashy?

Link: [On YouTube]

I have never been all that impressed with [Marilyn Monroe], but my dad was a huge fan.  I wonder what he would think of this gigantic statue of her from the movie, [The Seven Year Itch]?

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

Torchwood: Miracle Day

I seem to recall seeing something about a new Starz original series, [Torchwood: Miracle Day], some time ago, but I had forgotten all about it. While looking for something to stave off complete insanity for at least a couple more hours earlier this morning, I spotted Torchwood amongst the Starz listings, and four hours later, I was hooked.


Okay, it is technically a new series, but in reality, it is actually the fourth revision of a [BBC series], which was a spin-off of their Doctor Who. Since I don’t get out much, it truly is an original series to me, however.


Anyway, what is so fascinating about Torchwood: Miracle Day is that it portrays what could happen (naturally-speaking, of course) if all of a sudden, no one could die. No, we are most definitely not talking about Heaven on Earth here. For while everyone quits dying, the suffering from injuries, disease, starvation, dehydration and just plain old old age remains the same. Hey, they even had one guy blow himself up with a suicide vest that terrorists would envy, and there he was, laying on a hospital table, looking around at the doctors who were looking at what was left of him!


No, that is not the kind of stuff that so attracts me to this show. For it is the reactions by everybody to the possibility of there quickly not being enough food, pain medications and places to put the millions upon millions of invalids that had me spellbound.


Horrified would be another good word to describe my reactions to the scenarios unfolding in the show. For I know what it is like to experience long-term suffering, and I would not welcome the news that it could continue on indefinitely.


Evidently, there is some secret organization that is behind the phenomenon, and what is left of Torchwood Institute operatives, along with a couple of CIA agents and a fairly attractive doctor, are desperately trying to get things back to normal. There has been some hints of extraterrestrial involvement on both sides, but very little has been revealed so far, which means that I will have to keep watching. Okay.

Link: [On YouTube]

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

Through The Wormhole

Link: [On SCI]

I must admit that all of the science fiction that I have watched over the years has had some impact upon me. For I have seen dozens upon dozens of episodes involving more primitive people believing that what is being done with advanced technology is the hand of their god at work.


I am reminded of such when watching scientific programs, which is actually a good thing. For the kind of faith that truly is of our Heavenly Father is not blind, nor deaf, and he is well able to leave the door open to having faith in Him—despite all of the “evidence” presented that puts me in the same boat as those more primitive people in science fiction.


It was “discovering” a new show on [The Science Channel], which is part of the [Discovery Network], that focused more of my attention upon that. Since we do not actually get it on our cable package, I have to see what’s available through the Free Pass section on our On Demand.


Sadly, I was unable to find an embeddable video of either one of the two shows that I have seen so far. This was particularly disappointing on account to the first one, which is actually the [sixth episode of the second season] about the possibility of there actually being a sixth sense. If you follow the link, you will find a synopsis, which is better than nothing, but not nearly as impactful as the episode itself.


Yes, the episode made quite an impact upon me. For it touched upon such phenomenon as feeling like someone is staring at you, as well as thinking about someone at the very same time as they are thinking about you, which are some of the things that I have been made acutely aware of.


Of course, I am convinced that those things really are our Heavenly Father at work for the purpose of proving that He really is there while the scientists on the show are more inclined to think that magnetic fields and other natural forces are what is responsible. This places me in the primitive category—right?


Ah, but where do magnetic fields come from, and how did those factors come to be? Alas, if I am wrong, I just die in ignorance, but if they are wrong…

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]

The Amy Hestir Student Protection Act

Link: [On WGEM.com]

To be quite honest about it, I don’t know what to think about the new [Amy HestirStudent Protection Act], which essentially bans most interaction between students and teachers on social media sites.  For on the one hand, I can see where there might be great potential for things to go very wrong, but on the other, it makes it that much harder to teach a kid something when you act like you don’t want to have anything to do with them outside of the classroom.

Hey, some of my fondest memories of high school were of running across one of my teachers off-campus, and finding that they really were just a regular person.  Of course, if I had not of been allowed and enabled to be such an exceptional student, those meetings might not have been so pleasant.

Alas, I suppose I am knee-jerking as badly as those who support this new Missouri law.  For I understand that a teacher has no business making comments about who is going with whom in their classes, but has this really been going on?

Besides, isn’t there a greater potential for a reaching a student in all of the wrong ways when it comes to private tutoring?  So, will there be a law banning that practice coming soon, or is there already one on the books?  By the way, where were the parents when all of this Facebook flirting was going on?

Please Also Visit:

[AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles]

and

[FishHawk Droppings]