We are screwed!

From the folks at The Huffington Post: The GOP lookin out for the rich kid.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/06/gop-opposes-pay-limits-on_n_164544.html

Obama is human

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/02/gop.stimulus.worries/index.html

From the folks at CNN. Check out this article that list what the Republicans find so repulsive about President Obama's Stimulus Bill. I can't believe I agree with them on some of their complaints. I can see how some will produce jobs. Others can't be anything but pork. As an Obama supporter I am reminded that he is a politician. I hope some public outcry will have him think again. By the way, Republicans have their own pork-laden stimulus bill from what I hear. Who cares about the American people and saving the freakin' world from economic doom? No one but me and you. More later

Progressive and Religious

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/rdbook/688/rd10q:_progressive_&_religious:_moving_beyond_the_culture_wars_and_transforming_american_public_life/

Good info regarding religion and politics.

Wrapped around her finger

Meet my beautiful daughter Cayton. She was born on December 16, 2007 at 1:16am at 7lbs, 6oz. This is her silly face.

Above is a pic of Frank the Cat checking out the new member of the family. He seems to actually get what's going on. I'm proud of you Frank. Below is Subaruman attempting to nurture over nature and nurture my little one to the joy of being a Red Sox fan.

And finally, this is my sweetheart Cayton (Little Subarugirl) wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!!!

A Third Way

A friend of mine told me about this group. They, like many of us, grew tired of the culture wars. In an attempt to combat the childish name calling that is so prevalent on the modern political scene, these intelligent folks seek to find better than a middle ground. They wish to find a third way--a better way. Check it out for yourselves.

http://www.third-way.com/

Watch for Falling Turkeys!

Have a favorite pop culture Thanksgiving moment? Remember WKRP in Cincinnati's Thanksgiving show? Less: "Turkeys are falling like wet bags of cement!"

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/20/thanksgiving.tv/index.html

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1499909&fr=yvmtf

The War on Christmas and How I Spoke too Soon

There are liberals out there that make my life difficult by embarrassing me. Lowe's put out adds for Family Trees. What is a Family Tree? I thought it was a graph that traces one's family origins. Lowe's used Family Trees and Holiday Trees to describe Christmas trees and in some instances where they included an add in Spanish, used 'Navidad' to sell the same trees. Apparently you can't offend those that speak Spanish. STUPID!!!! There is no Jewish person that I know that wants us Christians to call our Christmas Trees anything but Christmas trees. It's not like a Muslim is going to stick one in his living room if Lowe's calls it a family tree. To Lowe's credit, they changed their policy after admitting their mistake. As I searched for articles on this matter, I found positive responses on Christian Websites--the kind that frighten me. The kind that promote automatic rifles and Christianity in the same breath. What was more scary? They were right on target.

Here is a Christian Conservative watchdog group's response to Lowe's change in attitude:

Christmas trees are now called just that. Lowe’s informed the American Family Association that the company took down the signs reading "holiday trees." In their place went up the signs reading "Christmas trees."
That means that every store within the chain has labeled the 49 varieties of live and artificial trees as "Christmas trees." Lowe’s in fact went further to explain that the "holiday trees" label was originally a "mistake." Lowe’s had no motive of denigrating Christmas or snubbing Christians.
Customers applaud Lowe’s not only for the name change but also for the explanation. It would help if other retailers followed through with like change.
Sears has done so. They have shipped out "Merry Christmas" signs to all their stores. The executives inform store managers to display the Christmas signs in place of "holiday greetings." Their ads also will carry the "Merry Christmas" greeting.
Target says next season Salvation Army bell ringers will return.
Walgreen’s apologized that it is too late to change their "happy holidays" banners with "Merry Christmas" but next year it will be "Merry Christmas."
Here is Lowe's statement:
Lowe's has proudly sold Christmas trees in our stores for decades, and we continue to do so this year in all of our stores nationwide. All 49 varieties of live and artificial trees at Lowe's and on our web site, Lowes.com, are labeled as Christmas trees. The product signs inside Lowe's stores have always said "Christmas trees," though an outside banner did not. To ensure consistency of our message and to avoid confusion among our customers, we are now referring to the trees only as "Christmas Trees." We have also removed the banner that read "holiday trees" from the front of our stores.Lowe's apologizes for any confusion the banner created. We appreciate our customers bringing the matter to our attention and giving us the opportunity to correct the error. For many retailers, including Lowe's, the holiday season encompasses all the holidays between October and early January. Thus we adopted an overall "Home for the Holidays" theme five years ago. In addition to spanning the season, we believe this theme is respectful of all our customers, regardless of which holidays they may celebrate.

Fighting the War on the War on Christmas

Forgive me for getting a little political.

With the holidays rolling around again I wonder when I'll start hearing about the War on Christmas. The artificial trees are already peering through the windows at the local Walgreen's. If you aren't familiar with this particular war, supposedly liberals and the liberal media and possibly Satan have launched an all out assault on Jesus' birthday. Here's how the claims usually pour forth from the likes of Bill O' Riley. When your local department store has Seasons Greetings painted on its windows it's because liberals have stripped the stores freedom to paint their widows with Merry Christmas. "Merry X-mas" is another hated term by those who claim they are losing this battle. Happy Holidays posted on your local hardware store door is also unacceptable. Now I'll give them this--I do have fond childhood memories of going to the mall and seeing the word "Christmas" framed in garland as far as the eye could see.

However, it wasn't for some childhood fascination or even love for Jesus. It was because I related Christmas with the receiving of toys, crisp weather, the useless hope for snow, and seeing my grandparents. All good and wonderful and my Santa Myth still lingers as a 39 year old.

Things have changed but I dare say for the better. Political correctness gets to be a burden and sometimes is just wrong, but in this case I side with the dark side. What I don't understand is why some Christians want Jesus selling perfume at JC Penny's or a Credit Card that promises to make your life worth living. Isn't the conflict blatantly obvious? Jesus was absolutely against the idea that your stuff made you and that you can buy your way into the Kingdom. The irony is poignant in that Jesus would not want anything to do with the holiday that celebrates his birth.

So Happy Holidays to all! It's catchy and actually has Christian origins. I don't see us changing anything soon. The US is a capitalist country and I'm OK with that because I don't know of a better choice. I say embrace it. Don't go into debt but feel the joy and excitement of X-mas. If you aren't Christian, come on along. Take part in the department store sales, take part in all the joyful noise, attempt like crazy to do some good. Shouldn't we, as Christians, be overjoyed that we now have a secular holiday with more sincere origins--capitalism. The spiritual/religious/Christian Christmas can be enjoyed at home. And after you are done, go blow some cash on a new I-Phone. It's a more sincere act than getting all puffed up over what signage is hanging in the mall.

Too busy to love

"How is it my God, that you have given me this hectic life and so little time to enjoy your presence? All day, people are waiting to speak to me, and even during meals I have to keep talking to people about their concerns and needs. During sleep itself I am still dreaming about the problems that await me tomorrow. I am doing all of this for you, not for myself. My way of life is more tormenting than reward and I only that for you it is a gift of love. I know you are always beside me, yet I become so busy that I forget you and ignore you. If you want me to keep up this pace, please make me think about you and love you, even during the most hectic activity. If you do not want me to be so busy, please release me from it and teach me how others can take over some of my responsibilities."

Sister Teresa, 16th Century Carmelite Nun

The Church and Humor

Kathy Griffin, the comedian who stars in her own reality show, My Life
on the D List, that I have never seen, apparently ticked off a lot of
Christians at the Emmy's a couple of weeks ago. I have only heard parts of it. She began by saying that many people thank Jesus for winning their Emmy then continued by not thanking Jesus for her award, stating ,"No one had less to do with this award than Jesus." The big bomb was when she said that her award was her God now and that Jesus could go . . .well . . . you know.

There was a strange response from some Christians to Kathy's humor. The Catholic League was able to get the words edited from the rerun of the awards show on E! I hear an evangelical group of film makers took out a full page add in the New York Times that cost them a ton full of money. I heard from an unreliable source that the add costs $90,000.

First, I think the Church hurts itself when it throws so much energy into what a comedian says about Jesus. They only create more of an opportunity for jokes. If only the Christian film makers would have fed people or taken out a full-page add to shed light on the horrible situation in Sudan.
Secondly, I think (all but for her last statement) Kathy makes a more christian-like point than her critics. I hate when some self-absorbed movie star with her gazillions of dollars steps up to the mic and thanks Jesus for her award. Kathy is right. No one had less to do with her award than Jesus. And Yes, I think it's funny because it is true and she had the guts to make fun of her own "people."
Thirdly, I wonder if Kathy has really gone home and worshiped her Emmy. Of course not and that's also why it's funny.

The Church needs to learn to laugh at itself. It has made enough mistakes in it's life time to where we must laugh even when outsiders make the joke. Monty Python's skit about the Spanish Inquisition--Funny. Rowan Atkinson's monologue about God--Funny. Kathy Griffin-funny. We deserve it for holding so tightly to what is important to us and being so easily offended when someone goes after it. I do have my limits but come on. Lighten up or at least ignore the minor jabs by a comedian that hardly is a house hold name--until now.

Great Post By Real Live Preacher

know the feeling?

http://www.reallivepreacher.com/node/1400

On Being Non Judgemental

I assisted a family at the hospital a few nights ago. Their 20 y/o daughter had died after suffering from Sickle Cell (among other ailments.) A large family arrived to grieve their loss. Some were more demonstrative (to say the least) than others. One family member attempted to kick a doctor, twice. Another ran down the hall way smack into a stairwell door and then fell to the floor crying. Others grieved by screaming, others wept silently. After grabbing one woman by her ankles so she would stop trying to kick people, I let go of her and walked out into the hallway. From here I could get a good look at all of them. There was a dozen stories I could come up with about this family. Heck, the family had already told me a few. The deceased's mother was a no show "drugee" and the deceased's boy friend was in a custody battle with her over their 6mnth old child. He was abusive. As I was able to gain some perspective, I figured out even with that info I knew very little about these people. I didn't fully know all their hardships, what brings them joy, or who gets along with who. The family was separated into 3 groups so I assumed their was division and enough blame to go around for a few families. Then I stopped and told myself that all my inner inquiry was leading me to draw conclusions about these people-some that might be true, most not. I reentered the family room and attempted the best I could to comfort the Aunt that had practically raised the deceased as her own child. That was like trying to stop a freight train. In the middle of her 5 hours of demonstrative grieving she opened her arms up and pulled me onto my knees and gave me a big bear hug. I told her I was sorry and she said she could tell I was sorry. Especially when people are experiencing a significant loss, it behooves us to refrain from judgement. It is better that we see the suffering individual as the embodiment of Christ, no matter their shortcomings and emotional displays. It seemed to work in my favor this evening. It was one of the toughest cases I'd ever encountered. Seeing them as a child of God and as Christ embodiers, changed the way I ministered to them. They figured this out quickly and by the end of our time together there was a smidgen of something redemptive that took place in all of us. Race, culture, lies and truths alike all crossed and got mixed up for 5 hours. The gift that presented itself as a result out of this entangled mess was the truth that we are not in as much control as we pretend and that truth that God can move us to cross boundaries without much help form us at all. These are good moments. In this case, it was a good moment in the midst of a tragedy. At times I wonder if these are glimpses of the Kingdom--something larger than us and not altered by our petty hangups. Too bad we miss them most of the time.

The Nature Conservancy

If you are interested in being green but find it a turn off when Hollywood types suggest we only use one square of toilet paper when we do our binness, The Nature Conservancy might be for you. I sent my first tiny donation to them last month. They buy land legally and return it to it's natural state. They approach a farmer, for example, who is growing corn that rots in silos and makes an offer on the land. It's all up front. They work with politicians and make politicians look good which I'm convinced is one of the few things a politician cares about. They will let politicians take credit for good environmental policy as if it were their idea. I am most grateful to this org for saving the Pascagoula River that runs through my hometown. How did they do it? They purchased it and the Pascagoula River is forever safe and in my opinion one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Read more about this huge swath of marshland in South Mississippi, free flowing and natural at the link below. I had no idea when I was a teenager of the jewel of a river that was practically in my backyard.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/mississippi/preserves/art17304.html

From Green to Brown: The Gas Mower Wins

On Friday I pick up my gas powered lawn mower from the repair shop. I feel a bit defeated and a bit guilty, to boot. This summer has defeated me not with heat but with rain and long quickly growing grass and weed. The young man at the repair shop laughed when I told him I had been using a push reel mower. In Texas?, he asked. He said push reel mowers only work on certain kinds of grass. He named them. I responded, "Hey, I've never heard of those grasses." 'Exactly," he concludes with a bit of sarcasm and pity. I actually look forward to the rumble beneath my fingers as I push my mighty 10 year old Honda Lawnmower through my thicket of North Texas weeds. Save the Whales! I'll be sure to make a donation to the National Conservancy.

Why John from Cincinnatti Makes Me Angry and Why I Can't Stop Watching it

In case you haven't watched John from Cincinnati, HBO's new series, it is basically about a family in turmoil at a rundown area of forgotten beach in California. John comes along. He seems autistic but not really. Just innocent? Yea, but it's more that that. He is odd and people have begun to notice he has angelic powers. He has healed people not from his own touch but by giving people (or animals in one case) the power to do so. Since John has shown up at Imperial Beach, one former star surfer floats in the air for no reason. It helps no one but it gives this depressed father ex-surfer a sense of something outside his own problems. Shawn, the child prodigy surfer broke his neck surfing only to walk out of the hospital the same day because a parrot that Jon had resurrected earlier 'kissed' the dying Shawn in the hospital room. Nuts, huh? And hope John never looks you in the eye and tells you to ,"See God." It can be an alarming experience. In one case, Cai (sp?) was trying to coax John into a sexual encounter. She was being pretty graphic with John when he says, "Cai, See God." Cai's eyes roll back in her head and she sees certain people in her life grabbing their wounds. The Vietnam vet grabs his knee, the druggie surfer grabs his head where he has received hair transplants, and Cai grabs her breasts because of her piercings. God is seen in their wounds is the message I suppose.


This is no 7th Heaven. The characters drop more f-bombs than Tony Soprano. There is something I like about that. Real people with real problems being chased and found out by God. There is nothing sentimental about this family. They would all benefit from a 12 Step Program but, hey, they have John. Their church is a creepy run down motel. Great things happen there to the oddest and most outcast of people. Sometimes their goodness seeps out.


What ticks me off at the same time is that life doesn't work like this. There are no healing Johns though I wish there were. It's just a show and one that is currently holding my interests. I don't blame the producers. However, we are all looking for a great healer to lead us out of our troubled lives. Instead, natural disasters occur, people starve to death because of where they are born while their political leaders live it up, and marriages split because people see in their spouse what they hate in themselves. I could get real religious here and start talking about Jesus being our healer, but it wouldn't change the fact that we (I) long for this world not to be so harsh. As a very conservative and faithful Southern Baptist co-worker of mine once said through her tears, "God is not enough." I was shocked that she could voice this. She followed this comment by saying she needed someone 'in flesh' to come to her rescue. It has been a few years since I worked with her, but I hope she found her 'John'.





So, I find myself totally mesmerised by this show and it's attempt to in a very strange way speak to spirituality. On the other hand, I know Johns don't come around. People die. Families fall apart. No miracles or miracle givers come to our rescue.

Cancer Sucks!

Wrote this after visiting a family at the hospital. A mother was protecting her sick daughter like a hawk. Her insurance wouldn't pay for vital medicines that would help her Bone Marrow Transplant 'stick.' The insurance payed for her transplant but not the meds that might keep the transplant from failing. Ughh. Dirty crooks! When the Case Manager approached the mother, the mother firmly stated the line that begins this poem. It hurt the Case Manager deeply. She shared two things with the mom. They were both African-American and both were women. The Case Manager later said, "It gets up next to me." She was speaking of the pain that gets so close it is almost yours. Willy helped make each line 10 syllables long. Thanks Willy.

Up Next to Me

“You come back when you can help my daughter.”
That criterion stifles me for good.
Sweaty hands to shake could persuade fairness,
Yet half truths and inequities creep up.
You can see ‘em coming a mile away,
Never too few and too often too late.

It rubs me raw like a horsehair sweater.
Her open anger--truly justified.
And it gets up next to me, I tell ya.
I breathe it in; it nests within my pores.
Not mine and too near to be separate,
But it gets up so damn close to me still.

Rib over rib under rib, breast to breast,
Up next to me yet within and ‘round her
Like steely flesh made for a wild creature--
One more accustom to a harsher life.
This soul desires justice innate yet knows
The lack of it separates her from me.

A few mysterious thoughts light on me
Like a sparse but unexpected flurry:
Fairest Jesus, get up in between us
And that which stealthily hangs upon us
Oh, but with bane eternal hooks for her.
We can see you coming a mile away.

And never too late.

Flight of the Conchords

I mentioned in my last post that I'd be watching the HBO series, John from Cincinnati. True, I have watched it and the jury is still out on this one. But I have also run across HBO's new comedy series, Flight of the Conchords. I'm basing my review on the series opener that I found quite humorous. The basis of the show from what I can tell is these two deadpan rock band wannabes from New Zealand try their luck at making it big in New York. One of the main characters (who I've seen somewhere before) is a Mick Jagger look-a-like. Actually he is more of a caricature of ole Mick. The funniest aspect about the show is that these two who are stars in their own heads break into music videos throughout the show. Funny. The lyrics of these songs are common uncreative lyrics explaining the current emotions that are taking place with these two. After being dumped by the girl (or should I say gull) of his dreams, they sing something like, "I'm not crying, I'm not crying, it's just rainin' real hawd." And then later in the same song, "I'm not crying, I've just been choppin' onions." The characters never laugh at themselves. FUNNY, I'm tellin' ya. Watch it for a guffaw or two.

Duck Tony!

I have a confession to make. I love the Sopranos. The HBO series is the most well-written show I've ever seen on TV. I've watched from the start. Remember those days, Tony? Who coulda guessed so many people whacked? I've enjoyed the weaving in of the psychology and even spirituality from time to time amidst all the violence and stuff that a Baptist minister should probably be blogging against. But man-o-man I love the show. I have loved and hated Tony and other characters on the show. They all struggled for something higher, and all have failed. We'll see if Tony fails tonight and you gotta think he will. I also find the show quite funny. All the misspeaks that Tony and others gave without cracking a smile. Here is one as an example: (Tony speaking to his therapist about his son A.J., paraphrased) "My son oughta be out there getting laid, instead he's at home watching cartoons in a fetus position!" HA! a fetus position! That's great. He can whack people but he is dumb as a tire tool.

Tony, alive or dead, I'm gonna miss you in a weird sort of way. You should have never killed Christopher though he was on his way out anyway. It was the ultimate sin. Some things are more important than being the boss. I guess now I'll have to watch John from Cincinnati.

Society's Need for 12 Step

What the hell is wrong with us? I called my mom a few days ago and she was ticked off because Paris Hilton and her return to jail was dominating the airways. FOX NEWS: Paris. CNN NEWS: Paris. ABC local news: Paris. Do I blame this on Rupert Murdoch who I truly believe sees it his duty to control as much of the news as possible? Does he want us to forget that a mess of a war is taking place in Afghanistan and Iraq? Does he want us to forget congress' botched attempt at immigration reform? As much as I'd like to blame that jerk with the media's fascination with Paris and Bradgelina, I'm afraid the problem is with us. We are like addicts that need a good AA program. We are in denial. If we slow down, if we admit our powerlessness, we think the wheels will come off the train we all ride. However, that is exactly what we need. Our world is in a whole lot of trouble- Iraq, Sudan, the environment, New Orleans, etc. I don't have any answers. I'm mad. I get frustrated that our government is so inept that it can't help Katrina survivors and when the next disaster takes place I expect the same mismanagement of money and resources. Will they ever mess up so bad that we demand them all to go home or reform? I believe the day is coming. In the mean time maybe we can demand more of our media sources and more of ourselves. We could stop caring about the Hiltons and start singing the praises of our Troops and those that preach peace and solid solutions.

I'm glad Paris is in jail again. I hope she returns to her mansion a little more like Mother Theresa than her old posing self. I heard this morning on Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood, that she actually said she hoped the media would turn its focus to more important events like the War in Iraq. I hope she meant it. Then maybe I'd care.

Old Thoughts on Katrina

I wrote this hoping NPR would accept it on their "This I Believe" program. Honestly it's not a great piece. I have been unable to write too creatively about Hurricane Katrina b/c I have so many crazy memories and feelings associated with those memories. My younger bro along with Willy's encouragement inspired me to go ahead and place this in the blog. My brother writes about the hurricane often on his blog, http://richardswrightings.blogspot.com/. Willie just tells me that writing about it is good whether it all makes sense or not. You'll be glad to know that my parents are close to being able to move into their new home. July 4th, we pray is the moving date. but the contractor first said New Years Day, then Mother's Day. We'll see. You'll also be glad to know that my parents are excited about their new home so my fears I expressed below might be of my own creation.

This I Believe

The first water-logged object I picked up was my parent’s wedding album. If I hadn’t caught a glimpse of my father’s face with his horn rim glasses and crew cut, I wouldn’t have known these pages of black and white streaks were at one time an important piece of our family history. They might as well have been charcoal drawings the way the gulf waters washed the images away. I flung the leather carcass of useless pages into what would become the junk pile. Things do matter! Perhaps an ordained Baptist minister like me shouldn’t say such things. The spirit, the intangible, is the penultimate of creation, right? Nevertheless . . . I believe in things.

I am indeed thankful my parent’s survived Hurricane Katrina but those that continue to claim that unlike people ‘things can be replaced’ are not familiar with the stress that comes with frantically trying to hang on to memories less they quietly slip from your brain never to be retrieved. Old photos, wedding china, Nanna’s silver set, all carry memories with them.

Atop one pile of debris is a Johnny Mathis album that I remember my parent’s dancing to on Sunday afternoons now scratched beyond recognition. Strewn clear over into the neighbor’s yard, the stained-glass candle holder that as a child I purchased with some hard earned dollars for my mother at the Pascagoula Beach Park Craft Show, now shattered and useless. I actually thought about keeping it because though the gift was broken the memory it held was still in tact. Then comes hope in the form of a neighbor who pulls from behind his back a 12 X 18 framed picture of my mother in her wedding dress. The wall on which it hung is no more. It floated for an entire block and sustained little damage. Hope in the form of a thing? You betcha.

I worry about my parents who are in their mid to late 60’s and still reside in a 30ft trailer on the same property where their house once stood. I worry more about that day when they move into their new bigger, better, and brighter home chocked full with new furniture and art—all pretty and gleaming but almost void of memories. How long will they feel like strangers in that new place before their ‘stuff’ once again attracts some memories? When my family visits for the holidays, will this new place feel like home or the Holiday Inn?

I’m thinking the small number of pictures, and the new Katrina-inspired side table tiled with generations of broken china, will be enough to give new energy to a new start for my parents. Hope will gain momentum and not all memories will be lost. Yea, I’m really into things, now. I believe in the necessity of my stuff. I’m not collecting anything or saving every Mason jar, but I am taking notice of my stuff and the stories they carry.