Unusual Politics

  I had a great story in mind regarding the stupidity of the theory of evolution, and how that rather then being mutually exclusive, science and God are quite compatible. I even started thinking of a title. I dismissed Scope It Out as too corny a reference to the Scopes Trial, and was leaning toward, Of Monkeys and Men. But try as I might, there was no way of escaping the politics of the day. No matter where you go, the shear stupidity of it all finds you, and there it is, everywhere and anywhere. Anyway, it wore me down, until I knew that I wasn't going to do a piece on Creationism, but rather this, whatever this is to become? God knows I'll be happy when all the politicking is done. I even thought maybe I could combine the two stories, but the only connection to monkeys with politics is that the politicians look to make monkeys out of the American people. So instead of a great story about Creationism vs. Evolution, you get this one, and sorry just doesn't say it. I had heard that there was to be a debate tonight on Univision, which for me is channel 18, but it wasn't on there? Quite by accident while scrolling channels, I found it on CNN. I told myself that because I already knew what I would say about the coming elections, that I'd watch the debate, but I wouldn't let it influence what I planned on saying. I wanted to speak about the subject in general terms, and was determined not to get caught up in individual personalities. Well, that went out the window almost immediately, as the spirited debate  made being more specific inevitable.
  Overall, looking at this election cycle as a whole, all the pundits from the left and the right agree on one thing, that being, that what the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders means is that all Americans are sick to death of the promise it all and do nothing politics as usual. What the two men really represent is a collective middle finger raised to the political elites. Those stodgy old men and women who have made a life long career out of clogging the halls of the Whitehouse and the halls of Congress. Term limits folks! One of the main reasons nothing ever changes in Washington, is because serving in politics was never meant to be a life long profession, but rather, do one or two terms serving the public, and then return to the private sector. But certainly, I digress?
  Extreme behavior begets more extremes, so after seven years of the most divisive president in our history, we get a polarized electorate, hence Bernie and Donald. All that the extremist politics of Barack Obama has done, is to galvanize an extreme reaction from both the left and the right. So wide is the divide caused by Obama, that only the voices of other extremists can be heard. But electing another extremist who is so self absorbed that they think that they know better then the people what they need, is not the answer. We elected Obama for two reasons. One because he was accepted as black, and the other for his flowery words which gave no substance, and was little more then empty promises. The difference between Barack and the Bernie/Donald duo is that Obama was a gifted orator who could have sold ice to Eskimos, while the other two have no debate skills, so instead of finely crafted lies, they use the words of anger and betrayal. The full meaning of the empty phrase hope and change has come full circle, and been replaced with words like liar and revolution. The one thing Americans don't need is another divider in chief, what we need is a Uniter in Chief. We must come together as a nation, because only our very way of life is at stake.

On the Eternal side

  Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. Revelation 21:5
  What does the Lord mean when he says, I will make all things new? Let's approach this question first from this side of eternity. When you come to know God, you will find that two things will happen almost immediately. The first, simply put, is that you'll become wiser. Because you have awoken your spiritual self, you'll have a better understanding of things, because you'll have a spiritual perspective.
In short, you'll be smarter. Smarter, in that, you'll begin to see the truth in all things, even though the truth may be hidden in a bed of lies. So then, what's new on this side of life? You'll be smarter, your IQ will go up. And you'll have to trust me on this, because I know of no scientific study on the IQ of spiritual people vs. the unspiritual.
  On the eternal side,
    Things will be new, all things, because the Kingdom of Heaven is like no other place ever. The Lord has said, There will be a new heaven and a new earth. But how can we grasp the understanding of what Heaven will be like? The first great blessing from the spiritual side of things, is that, by it, eternal life is guaranteed you. Listen, life and death share on characteristic, and that is that they are both eternal. Eternal life and eternal death are two sides of the same coin, as time is eternal, and no one escapes time. God, being all things, is time, as eon after eon, time rolls on, time is eternal, God is eternal.
  But here's the truly amazing part, God is greater then time, because God is outside of time. He was, before it was first recorded, and he will be there when it ends. For what does God say about himself? It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.  Rev. 21:6
 

Global Freezing

  The year is 2026, and outside, snow drifts reached as high as 18 feet. Record colds world wide, shattered all other records, Meteorologists were amazed. The carbon alarmists of just a few years ago, called it global warming? It had been global freezing, not too long again either. But the weather scientists who had predicted this, were all caught with their slips showing, as the big freeze never happened. So they changed their point of view to predict warming, but the public relations department insisted on softer language, and so the term climate change was berthed. And who could argue that, the climate does change. My dad who was quite the weather prognosticator, having worked out of doors all his life, would often say about New Jersey's weather, because Jersey is all he knew, and it was the perfect barometer for change in that we enjoy a full four seasons, so the weather is always in a state of flux. That if you don't like the weather in Jersey, wait, it'll change. Brilliant! Weather, like everything in life is cyclical. So why all the hub bub? Why the panic over risings seas, millions drowning, a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions? Money.
  Surprise surprise, it's all about the money and who controls what, where, and when. Why would we consider giving so much power to any school of thought. Who would control this climate problem, the EPA? They have become second in abuse to Americans only to the IRS. Money is power, and power is control, it has little to do with our being able to influence the weather. As George Carlin once joked,  We think we control the planet? Why this planet will shake us off like a bunch of fleas. Obviously I paraphrase, my photographic memory is getting a bit frayed around the edges.
  In the argument over this ridiculous subject, a warning for both sides, to make you seem less stupid,when discussing this hot topic. We are snowed in here in the Northeast, and a few weeks ago at Christmas time it neared 70 degrees. The advice? Don't go around touting your point just by recent weather patters, keep in mind that the experts were left looking like fools for exactly the same thing.

President 2016

  So what facilitated this little political blurb? Well, as much as I hate the division that politics has spawned in this country, and as hard as it is to get away from the subject, what really resparked my interest was receiving my new voter registration card from the Ocean County Registra's office. I am now officially a Republican. Though as I said, I am a compassionate conservative, I had, prior to this opted more to the compassionate side, and became what my father who was, a life long Teamster, which back then meant a Democrat. As much as I detest the labeling anyone or any group, a little of the rhetoric is true on both sides of the aisle. Liberal's hearts do bleed to the point of making a mess, and Republicans do tend to worry more about the cost rather then the solution for solving social ills. But the problem for the Democrats is that the Democratic party of my father and others from the "greatest generation" is that the once proud party has changed so drastically, that not only would they not recognize their party, by looking around at what this country has become, when the Second world War came calling for their sacrifice, they would be unsure who to fight, them or us? Possibly a bit over played, but there you have it.
  One of the many fundamental changes I would bring about as President, would be the abolishment of the two party system. By it's exclusiveness, it breeds corruption. National offices should be paid for by the federal government, with each of the final candidates receiving equal funding for advertising. All unused money to be returned to the tax payers. But we are a long way from making any meaningful changes. Other then Mike Huckabee, I haven't heard anything about term limits. Wouldn't that be the first step in breaking up the Washington cartel?
  But as for the reality of the here and now, the country needs to adjust hard to the right, before we can get control of it, and settle in the middle. So for the here and now, we need anyone other then another Democrat. My choice is influenced by the fact that we will need someone with a calm demeanor behind the wheel, one who is intelligent and slow to anger. A person who not only understands the reality of the life that plays out on the streets and battlefields of the world, but also one who understands the under lying spiritual reasons as to why these situations exist. Not a career politician, nor an extreme capitalist entertainer, but what I want is what the country needs, a true man of the people, off the charts smart and compassionate. A man who rose up from among us, a citizen statesman, a man who felt called to lead this great country, not for any personal glory, but because he loves this country and her people. One who is not beholding to anyone on either side of the aisle. That is not a weakness, but rather his biggest strength. Ben Carson for president of the United States.

Matters of the Heart

  Matters of the heart most often defy logic. Love is the most confusing of all our emotions, because love gets lost in feelings. The logic of the mind and a broken heart are about as different as night is to day. Most people don't understand love, and have never heard a concise definition of it. Love, in it's purest sense, is to put another person before yourself. That is true love in a nutshell, making someone more important then yourself. It is that simple, and yet so difficult to do. It is unnatural for us to put anyone before ourselves, mostly because trusting another fully is so hard to do. Even within the family, breakdowns of communication are common.
  Unfortunately, the kind of dedication it takes to put another first is rare, even in the best of marriages. We are by nature, a prideful selfish lot. Oddly enough, it is in the most horrible of places where we can see this kind of love and dedication displayed. It is played out on the battlefields of history, where one man gives his life in an attempt to save another.
  But you can find true love without going to war, because I have this friend who you can always trust. One who never fails. One who has already been willing to give his life for mine. People will let you down, they almost always do. But I have this friend who I trust so much, he knows my frailties and my deepest forebodings. Ask me about him, and I'll be glad to introduce you.

Effin Fun

  Frequent failings followed the forgivings of failed forevers. Life, it comes at you day by day, it is relentless, and you hardly have enough time to catch your breath. If not by F, then in 25 different ways, but life and it's problems will continue. We, all of us, go around in life with only one thing continuously on our minds, ourselves.
  Everything, from the decisions which have dire consequences, to the smallest matters of adjustment, we make everything about us and how it will affect us personally. We talk publicly about the common good, but in truth, what is good for most is only good for us, if it benefits ourselves. It is the great human sport, to manipulate our surroundings to best suit our needs, and if it happens to help our fellow man, all the better.
  We read into our environment, processing what we see in accordance with our perceptions. Our perceptions are set by what we have experienced in life, and what we took from that experience as truth. Applying that truth to our personal belief, but also, we take note of what was false about that same encounter, as a lesson of what went wrong and why, so those mistakes need not be repeated. But allowing for the fact that different people might well have interpreted the same event in a different way, and so coming away with a different perception about the matter, is there more then one truth? Though logical assumptions can be made for almost anything, if that logic doesn't arrive at one undeniable truth,  then someone must be wrong. Truth is solid rock, and so there can be only one truth. There can be differing ways to arrive at that truth, but still just one truth. The exclusiveness of truth is where the problem comes, as someone has to be right, and someone wrong. Knowing you are right is easy, while admitting you are wrong takes courage. This would be the perfect spot to speak about ego, but that is another story for another time.

Being Human

  We are some weird creatures aren't we? Um, make that entity, as creature denotes a lower form of life. Not a lower form of life because it is less precious, but a lower form of life in that our intellects are far superior to the rest. All life has it's place and function, from the tiniest microbe, to the complicated entity which is ourselves. The reason for this huge gap in intelligence, isn't because we evolved from some monkey, nor does it mean that we were once fish. What it does mean, is exactly what the bible teaches, that we were wonderfully and fearfully made. According to Him, he made us in his image. Not in looks or even type of life form, as He is all spirit, and we are a hybrid, half Spirit, and half physical body. The body dies in 80 plus years, but the spirit is eternal.
  The reason that so many, otherwise intelligent people miss the reality of God, is because their vision is limited only by the things they can see and touch. But you, and you might want to trust me in this, You are eternal. That last statement might be the most shocking of all, and you are apt to have one of two reactions. One is that you'll agree wholeheartedly and say amen, and the other is to run for your Thesaurus, and start looking for ways to label me as one of those, far right bible thumpers? Come to think of it, I am all those.