[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7]

Gotta love when people gather for a religious event and someone gets punched in the face! Wow!

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

Time for another installment of YGBKM, or What the Crap?, or Seriously?

Not sure about this one - but it is hilarious. What I'm trying to figure out is why they thought a correlation between breakfast and God coming back made any sense? And I'm not sure who to feel bad for, that lady or him or you?

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

I usually reserve these posts for people trying to be relevant but failing. This however is just ignorant - naturally I thought I'd share.



I have no idea what he is trying to accomplish or say or do with his hair.

Since the last series of 'You've Gotta Be Kidding Me...' went so well [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3], I thought I'd share what I found while perusing some flickr photostreams and had to laugh. Not only is it the wrong voice for Christians to have - it is a warning of impending judgment for 'Sports Nuts'?

So, I guess you can consider your self WARNED all you sports nuts!

I couldn't help myself and I couldn't fit all my hate on just one banner...

So there are a lot of people angered by SNL's depiction of the NY's blind Governor Paterson, namely the Governor himself and the National Federation for the Blind (article).

I consider all things funny in the game of comedy. I think it is good to be able to laugh at yourself and others - but is that right? What do you think?

I assume most people have at least heard about the 'shoe throwing journalist' in Iraq, if not seen the footage, but it is a telling satire on America's standing in the world. But what I thought was most amazing about the footage is the crazy fast reaction time of George W. I thought it was really impressive.

And I guess it is also noteworthy how fast that journalist was able to take his shoe off and then launch it.

And I wonder where he is today?

I also appreciate how hindsight is 20/20 and that no one would have been able to predict the 8 years that followed debates like these...

I'm sure a lot of you already heard this story - but it is truly sad and a telling commentary on how ridiculous the 'Holiday' season is in America. Thanks to Ragamuffin Soul for posting it.

I know these pic's are gross, but this story is amazing.

Apparently the owner of this BMW was crusing down the autobahn in Germany at 140 mph when he hit a deer - the deer then disappeared. Which left two options, either the deer vaporized or was now lodged inside the engine - the ladder is obviously the outcome.

CRAZY! Crazy GROSS!

...is that stupid people have the same right.

As much as the election of Barack Obama has shown progress in closing the gap of the racial divide, it has also shown us how far we still have to go. Here are just some of the post-November 4th incidents that prove our country still has a ways to go in judging a person by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin;

• University of Alabama professor Marsha L. Houston said a poster of the Obama family was ripped off her office door. A replacement poster was defaced with a death threat and a racial slur. She stated, "It seems the election brought the racist rats out of the woodwork."
  

• Crosses were burned in yards of Obama supporters in Hardwick, N.J., and Apolacan Township, Pa.

• Black figures were hung by nooses from trees in Mount Desert Island, Maine

• Second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanted "Assassinate Obama!"

• Racist graffiti was spray-painted on two dozen cars in New York and a high school and skate park in Texas
  

• Swastikas, racial slurs and "Go Back To Africa" were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars in Los Angeles
  

• At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said. At the bottom of the marker board was written "Let's hope someone wins."

• In the Pittsburgh suburb of Forest Hills, a black man said he found a note with a racial slur on his car windshield, saying "now that you voted for Obama, just watch out for your house."
  

[these sound a lot like headlines from the 60's]

If only we could revoke the speaking rights of stupid people who still hold an archaic worldview that separates on the basis of skin color. But their unfortunate (and in some instances illegal) expression of conviction does serve as a reminder to both the minorities and the majorities that we still have work to do.

Following all the discussion about the last two days posts, it reminded me of the huge statue I saw of Jesus this summer. This sweet piece of art and monumental tribute to our Lord and Savior is brought to you by Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio. This was designed and built by the same guy who sculpted the huge Neptune at Ceasar's Palace in Vegas (top notch). It is some 65 ft in the air and right off the highway as you head in or out of Cincinnati.

I get that they mean well and had only genuine intentions in constructing this, but...

...isn't this a lot of money that could have been spent doing something a little more productive? Is it me, or does this seem ridiculous to those outside our faith? How many people have come to know the Way of Jesus because of this freaking huge sculpture of him? I'm all for art and expression and creating things that make the world say, 'Wow!' but I don't think this is it.

Thoughts...

I could only handle 30 seconds of this - again I submit, this is not a way to bridge the gap between church and culture. It's a lot like Napoleon Dynamite meets Joel Olsteen live on stage in Branson, Missouri.

I'm all for bridging the gap between church and culture - I submit this is not the way.

Below is a comment I received over the weekend that is hilarious. Enjoy!
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I came across this blog by chance. You enlightened 20-something, so called Christians, crack me up. "Wrestled with your decision" - You didn't wrestle with anything. Be honest your mind was made up long ago. It’s obvious with the orgasm you’re now posting about Obama. All that matters to you is that the "Black" guy won. You excuse “life” for “other issues”. Do you even have a clue what his issues are? Did you even research what the guy wrote in his book? He’s an admitted socialist. He’s pro gay marriage, pro infanticide on a botched abortion, he voted 44 times on legislation to raise taxes: His racist pastor, his ties and sympathies to terrorism, his hatred for the Jew whom you all claim to serve. – the fact are there. They’re in prin. They’re in his books & writings. Well I’m not going to try and convince you bunch of dopes just how blind you are. Because you want to be blind. You want to want to trade a real messiah for this one. I hope you get everything you deserve.
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Why so angry? It made me laugh and I continued to find humor in how some anonymous person who won't put a name to their thoughts is questioning the legitimacy of my faith. I didn't know I was having an orgasm for Obama either. I was just excited that our country has taken a huge leap in bridging the civil rights abuses of our past.

I guess by re:posting this comment I'm giving Mr A props he doesn't deserve and yes I assume he is guy - girls aren't that stupid. Right?

Mr A you should calm down, stop assuming you know me and stop pretending like random comments like this are accomplishing anything. No one needs your anonymous hatred.

After hearing about the 'Letter from 2012 in Obama's America' from my #1 commenter Ryan Billings, I'm joining Jim Wallis and other bloggers of faith asking Dr Dobson to apologize for the ridiculousness of this letter.

Even though Ryan and I don't see eye to eye on issues of faith and politics, we have been friends since Jr. High and he has a way of keeping me grounded (and as a side note, he has yet to actually post something of his own, his blog is mad boring).

Anyway, let me be clear that I'm not a hater on Dr Dobson or Focus On The Family. I grew up in Colorado Springs and have many friends who worked there and have heard him speak numerous times.

However, this is the exact reason I hate Christians excersizing their voice in our Democracy. We have an unfortunate tendency to be just as polarizing and demonizing as those who don't share our faith. And the unfortunate part of doing it in the name of religion is that we further the divide between ourselves and the 'others' who don't agree with us. This letter comes across ignorant and offensive, and I'm a Christ follower. This letter paints us exactly how so many 'others' see us, as irrational, un-intelligent and blind fools following a religion.

That is not me, that is not my faith and this letter is wrong. So on behalf of Christians who seek a higher ground in America and political involvement, I'm sorry - we're not all this way.

Judged from David Tate on Vimeo.

What I'm about to say will sound more political than I mean it - I'm not arguing from a partisan perspective.

But something from the VP debate has been stuck in my head and I can't get it out. When Governor Palin said that people were chanting 'Drill Baby Drill' at their rallies I was confused. First I was confused as to why drilling for more oil on our land would be celebrated as a viable solution.

Maybe I'm missing something, and I'm prepared for someone to set me straight, but this just seems so obviously stupid. We as Americans have about 3% of the natural oil supply that could be drilled and yet consume 25% of the oil in the global market - why are we thinking this is a solution? Shouldn't the solution focus our resources on removing our dependencies from oil, not just foreign oil? I'm thinking yes!

And why would we spend the money and the time to build infrastructure to drill for oil on our land if we know it will only provide a short-term solution? Isn't our short-sightedness as a country what got us in this position in the first place? Not to mention the scarring and damage that will be done to our land.

Again, maybe it's me, but 'Drill Baby Drill' seems ridiculous.

I'm sure the S. African's that read my blog think we are a bunch of winey babies in America. And I know the European's have been paying too much for too long - they're probably thinking the same thing.

Thoughts?

This is courtesy of my friend Justin McGinn, who unfortunately does not blog and so I will post it for him.

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If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago
you would have $49.00 left.

With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank
all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling
REFUND, you would have $214.00 cash.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink
heavily and recycle. It's called a 401-Keg.

So a crazy little story from our life.

5 years ago we found out that Julie has an allergy to MSG following my introduction of my favorite General Tao's chicken to her in college.

Not just an allergy but an actual reaction that freaks her whole body out.

For her, MSG triggers inflammation of a blood vessel in her head and when inflamed the vessel presses on some important piece of her gray mass and the following side affects happen:

-extreme dizziness
-slurred words
-paralysis of limbs/numbing of limbs
-loss of vision
-nausea
-and other stroke-like symptoms

Yeah - crazy right! The Dr. called it a complex migraine. So yesterday it happened again. She stays relatively on guard from MSG, mainly at Chinese food establishments, but this time it happened following a girl’s night at Applebee's. Until yesterday it had only happened once and there was a lingering suspicion that the MSG was unrelated - but yesterday confirmed that MSG and Julie don't mix.

The unfortunate part is that I love MSG; I mean I love food that has it in it. The good news is, that the though the pain is intense and the symptoms are scary it only lasts a few hours. So after the ER visit and some rest she is feeling better today.

I'm as weary and fearful as anyone in America right now, as it relates to the condition of our economy. But what bothers me to my core is how we are now bailing out the greed of companies and their leaders.

Now I'll admit I don't know enough to say that these business leaders aren't having to pay their multi-million dollar bonus' back, but I assume at best, it's a smack on their hand.

I won't make excuses for the people who have lost their homes and their financial credibility (not to mention their security). Several people very close to me have lost their homes in the pass year and about a baker's dozen have foreclosed in my sub alone - but I also will not make or accept excuses from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Sterns or Lehman Brothers for the greed that got them in their own financial mishap. So while my friends live without credit and look down the barrel of the years it will take to regain what they lost - these companies get billion dollar bail outs for the sake of the public's good. And it was the public's good that they overlooked as they pursued their own profitability.

It bothers me that now the tax dollars of the American worker are being used to bail out the greed gained by overextending those workers. The issue isn't just economics, it's also about morality.

A related post put it this way, these CEO's are pursuing "huge personal bonuses and escape hatches while destroying the lives of people who work for them. We now need wisdom from the economists, prudence from the business community, and renewal courses on the common good from the nation’s religious leaders."

For further reading, a good article is locate right here.

I was scrolling through various blogs one day and found one that is dedicated to all that is anti-Bush, which included this animated icon in the header.

I too am disappointed with the Bush administration and can relate with a lot of the frustrations in our nation (i.e., the war, our fuel crisis, our foreign policy disasters, the faltering economy, etc.), but I can not relate with such hate. Even if it is labeled as a joke, it's ridiculous.

Though hatred stirs change, hatred also stirs irrational action. It is always easier to just hate rather than try to understand. It is always easier to hate than to engage, to prayer for, to work towards something better. This is by no means a defense for Bush, his administration or his actions/words. In fact, if you've ever discussed politics with me, you know I have a lot of disdain for the past 8 years. But Bush doesn't deserve to be shot, nor would that bring about the change people really want - the change our country needs.

The thing that bothers me most in our country is how we always discuss these issues like it's just that easy. Just vote for this guy, just vote 'NO' on this bill, just be a Republican/Democrat, just focus on this one issue. Like it could be that easy?

It will always be easier to just hide behind 'one' party or to simply judge the actions of one leader - but followers of Christ are called to be more. More importantly, we are called to do more. While I can be persuaded that voting is important, it does not replace my responsibility to engage the world around me and work for change - not simply desiring change, but being the change.