tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-266157402024-03-07T01:41:25.169-06:00Psychosomatic WitJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.comBlogger314125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-47176344725990217332019-08-11T13:30:00.000-05:002019-08-11T13:30:58.772-05:00To My Sister on her Birthday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafBjZYBH4O0JFAlMSN0UsCykTSb5ppRruLfAqo7aKO2SGeoP618D_8XOxiyzlLz2phXhU9bEa57ahH1STMfJlLD6l-uk2n-PfnyazWrCcA8Dcqmti1E0C4a_gGTUgOEWGTnpB/s1600/donna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafBjZYBH4O0JFAlMSN0UsCykTSb5ppRruLfAqo7aKO2SGeoP618D_8XOxiyzlLz2phXhU9bEa57ahH1STMfJlLD6l-uk2n-PfnyazWrCcA8Dcqmti1E0C4a_gGTUgOEWGTnpB/s1600/donna.jpg" /></a>Today is a special day, but it doesn't get the ceremony it deserves. It is my sister, Donna's birthday and that makes it special. Big deal, you say, everyone has a birthday. My sister, your sister, all God's children's sisters have birthdays. That of course is true, but you see, Donna is the best person I know and there can only be one of them. Countless people would have much dimmer lives if it weren't for my sister - and that is not an exaggeration.That is why today, HER day, is so special!<br />
<br />
Donna is the kind of person that people take for granted. She always comes through as if it were her job. Donna doesn't care. She just wants you, your neighbor and any complete stranger to be happy. She will do all she can to make that happen. I have been blessed to watch her work her magic - her special kindness - all my life. She has simultaneously made me a better person and put me to shame all at the same time. She doesn't do that on purpose, you see. She is just being Donna and it is so plain to see that me just being Jeff is a far cry from her just being Donna. Her magic is that instead of me being jealous or feeling less, she somehow lifts me up instead. That is Donna and she's the best!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhXF9f3EcVzXB3yuwR4Fxhr4e7I3RVxX7btbnCZ4VsneUxX0reRGeMB1-7ISvHaEAtnFlxqLiq5ImKjwxLsrVoGfULkh_UBG-MsAua2rjOJftBq86tCgR_OsyqbxnhVcNHMY0/s1600/Donna+and+Ron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhXF9f3EcVzXB3yuwR4Fxhr4e7I3RVxX7btbnCZ4VsneUxX0reRGeMB1-7ISvHaEAtnFlxqLiq5ImKjwxLsrVoGfULkh_UBG-MsAua2rjOJftBq86tCgR_OsyqbxnhVcNHMY0/s320/Donna+and+Ron.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron and Donna</td></tr>
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Every family needs someone to be the glue that holds it together. Donna is that someone for us. She is the one that makes sure that Christmas comes together. She makes sure that everyone has a multitude of packages to open, that there is food aplenty, and that the timing fits everyone. Her presents are always thoughtful and unique. She gets them in interesting places; she even sometimes makes them. The holiday always comes together with smiles and laughter. When I was going through my divorce, my ex wife told me, "One of the things I will miss the most is the awesome Donna Christmases."<br />
<br />
Speaking of my ex, when she first moved to town - before we were even dating, Donna surprised her with a clothes basket full of things that people need to keep house. Cleaning tools, detergent, spray bottles, gloves, it was all there. Donna didn't even know her and never met her, but again, that is Donna.<br />
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My oldest sister, Cheryl, had a couple of strokes and is now being cared for in a nursing home. She went in with the hopes that it would be temporary. That was a few years ago. Donna visits her most everyday. She cares for her, makes her things, helps directly with her personal care, and puts up with a lot of grief from my sister for the trouble (a by-product of the strokes). Many people would throw up their hands and say, "Forget it. She has the care she needs, I will just be a periodic visitor." That's not Donna. Sometimes through tears she pushes through and loves my sister with her words and deeds.<br />
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Our baby sister, Jana, battled with Multiple Sclerosis. We lost her two years ago as she ultimately gave way to the disease. Donna was so instrumental in my sister's life and welfare that you would think that she was on the payroll. She took food and bottled water (Jana's drink of choice) to her regularly just to make sure she wasn't doing without. She cleaned her place, moved her, took her to her appointments and family get togethers (until Jana simply couldn't get out anymore), and made sure that all of Jana's paperwork (insurance, help agencies, etc.) were up to date. She did this despite Jana having a live-in boyfriend and caregiver there. Donna even took care of HIS needs. That was Donna.<br />
<br />
Jana would apologize to her and confess guilt for being such a needy burden on her. Donna's loving reply was, "Jana, you aren't a burden to me. People like me need people like you as much as people like you need people like me." Yes, that is Donna.<br />
<br />
Donna has been there for me, too. I try not to impose on her because I see what she does for others and do not want to take more away from her time and resources. I want her to know that there is someone that is on her help side, not just her need side. Yet, she always hems and repairs my clothes and makes sure that I am not forgotten. The highlight of my life, it seems, is when Donna and Ron (Donna's other half) invite me to lunch or dinner. It always gives me a break from whatever I am wrestling with and ensures that I will have plenty of smiles and guffaws before I get back home. I know that she will be there for me if ever I require any need. I also know that it would make her happy to help because that is Donna.<br />
<br />
So here is to Donna on her birthday! She is the kindest, most generous, as close to a perfect loving person that can be found in a human being. I know, because I am her brother. That makes me one of the most blessed people on the planet.<br />
<br />
I love you, Donna! Please have the happiest of birthdays today and do me a favor: For once, on this day, put yourself first!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZySUQWUXA14XpJxZle5TYmGFECPwEpdpqVhJ-09ywe5jH7Drno3KtBdPbF37ikIEVP3agk_KW0Jca3vM9NwZfIYOfbsM8CvS38nm_KL9gVNvklx5Rb7HnAK1tBTZNFf6NcoK6/s1600/the+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZySUQWUXA14XpJxZle5TYmGFECPwEpdpqVhJ-09ywe5jH7Drno3KtBdPbF37ikIEVP3agk_KW0Jca3vM9NwZfIYOfbsM8CvS38nm_KL9gVNvklx5Rb7HnAK1tBTZNFf6NcoK6/s400/the+family.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Left: Donna, Jana, Donna's daughter, Heather, Mom, Ron, and sister Cheryl</td></tr>
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-80233741541772638212019-06-15T22:56:00.000-05:002019-06-16T08:15:42.083-05:00Saturday Night at the Catholic Shindig<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvXJPR_3klL6FexEP0kWcuvCSwLDwi55RHihARr5S_n7_QlPdBCtN5ouGSeVSPELcBBohGsZZDFXdgg0BjtlsG9opdyUBM4Q6ENesn_iOM1gt3w7BaMPOrvc8EqyEvwvw4v-C/s1600/duelbanjo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1001" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvXJPR_3klL6FexEP0kWcuvCSwLDwi55RHihARr5S_n7_QlPdBCtN5ouGSeVSPELcBBohGsZZDFXdgg0BjtlsG9opdyUBM4Q6ENesn_iOM1gt3w7BaMPOrvc8EqyEvwvw4v-C/s400/duelbanjo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Looking down at my Fitbit, I knew I had a number of steps to go to reach that 10K bench mark, so I decided to head down to the neighborhood Catholic Church. You see, it is summer social time in Evansville and it was the local church's weekend to prosper. That being the case, I put my walking shoes on headed to the parish to see what they knew.<br />
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As I got closer to the campus, I started to hear "Dueling Banjos" fill the air. Ah, live entertainment! I was hoping to see that weird looking kid play from <i>Deliverance</i>, but I knew it was a long shot.<br />
<br />
Finally, I pass a sign signifying the summer social for Annunciation Parish at Holy Spirit.<br />
I confess the sign irritated me a bit. I am not a fan of change and for as long as I could remember it was just known as Holy Spirit Catholic Church. But for some reason, they had to tack on the prefix of "Annunciation Parish" to the moniker. It reminded me of all the universities that started naming their basketball floors after someone - such as Arad McCutcheon Court at the Ford Center. However, to me, the court naming made more sense, but I digress.<br />
<br />
It didn't take me long to confirm my suspicions about "Dueling Banjos." The weird looking kid wasn't playing. Instead it was one seasoned guy playing an acoustic guitar. The banjo was apparently recorded . . . so maybe it was the weird looking kid. I will just believe it is for peace of mind. (On a side note, that weird looking kid in <i>Deliverance</i> didn't really play the banjo at all. He was just chosen to play that part because he was . . . well, weird looking. There was actually a REAL banjo player that was behind him that reached around him and played the banjo. Not kidding.)<br />
<br />
Getting back to the shindig, it was different than the summer socials of Holy Spirit's past. There used to be rides and gambling and a huge rummage sale on top of the food booths and Cafeteria plates. There also used to be BINGO. Not this year. No rides. Just a couple of food booths, plate dinners, but no gambling. New things consisted of a bierstube and an inflatable play room for kids. I was hoping the two wouldn't intersect.<br />
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There was light crowd there. I felt like I stuck out being there alone and not really doing anything. It was that "lonely in a crowd" feeling that we get from time to time. As I was scouting out a food booth, this man came up to me.<br />
<br />
"Do you remember me?" he asked.<br />
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It hit me (not the man, but from where I knew him), "You played for me in little league!" I announced.<br />
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I can't believe he recognized me from all these years. Brian, my left-handed first baseman - the best player on that particular team was a sight for eyes that were sore from being a stranger in my own neighborhood. He introduced me to his wife. I told her that I was her husband's little league coach and to not be fooled by the fact that he looked older than me. She laughed, but kind of agreed.<br />
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It was nice to run into another former player of mine. It happens a lot and they always seem generally happy to see me. Some are even more than happy to see me, but perhaps that is a theme for another time.<br />
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I told him that I would let him eat his tenderloin sandwich before it got cold. I walked away thinking about Brian, the church, and that tasty-looking sandwich.<br />
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I walked around a little more, trying to put some more gratuitous steps on my Fitbit when I saw an older man with a black shirt and a white Roman collar. I didn't need to be at a Catholic church to know who that was. He looked at me and shared a friendly greeting.<br />
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"So are you the guy I talk to if I am thinking about converting?" I asked thinking that would be a good ice breaker.<br />
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"No, I am just visiting," he replied.<br />
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"Well, you are the only one in uniform so I thought I would give it a shot."<br />
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He replied, "Well, you can come and visit here and they probably have classes you attend."<br />
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"Yeah, I am sure they do. Have a nice evening."<br />
<br />
As I walked away, I couldn't help to compare that little exchange to one I would have had a baptist pot luck or something - they don't have summer socials at baptist churches. It is the devil's playground or something like that. Anyway, instead of the casual, "You don't want to know from me; this ain't even my neighborhood," reply from a visiting priest, I would have gotten the preacher and two deacons giving me the Bible quick draw while a couple of their wives gather around to hum, "Just as I am." I would have been baptized before being even able to taste a tenderloin sandwich. It wasn't as though I was dead serious about converting, but I kind of was interested in hearing the spiel. Besides, who knows?<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwE2G8TmsTUUdYYT3pvGc9_E0ZGlY9Hh-JhRayushifUTyzB6oqVrvozC6AmiqKhvuN7PHRlWrcUTyecAKjpnlkY-ybhp5Y3A4nXMdWbGAvKopvatZXAR7ZS_M2qORZYFlikm/s1600/CR-Heroes-1_54_990x660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="990" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwE2G8TmsTUUdYYT3pvGc9_E0ZGlY9Hh-JhRayushifUTyzB6oqVrvozC6AmiqKhvuN7PHRlWrcUTyecAKjpnlkY-ybhp5Y3A4nXMdWbGAvKopvatZXAR7ZS_M2qORZYFlikm/s320/CR-Heroes-1_54_990x660.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the actual sandwich. Your mileage may vary.</td></tr>
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At that point, I was ready to journey home. But first, I had some business to attend to - so I thought. I sauntered over to the booth where they sold those tasty-looking tenderloin sandwiches. "Do you have a way I can get it to go? I have a little ways to go and I walked."<br />
<br />
"No, I'm sorry. All we have are these open boats."<br />
<br />
"Thanks anyway," I replied trying to hide my disappointment. Realizing that I am trying to eat healthy as well as get my exercise, I knew that I had no business eating that fine looking sandwich anyway . . . that sandwich that looked and smelled so delicious . . . yeah, that one. I started walking home thinking that God was helping me look after my health - and I didn't even have to convert to Catholicism to get it<br />
.<br />
<br />
<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-82091044170309449112019-02-14T19:22:00.000-06:002019-02-14T19:22:02.935-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8C9VLUSjtHHQfimQlnV0xgkV7x3dIaQ_Ki3K1p4zD_DMxFIpY_SjHGZ56zVp_zjJk1HOxMnMR4U6o2fvxieBSnjoeM0YShoyeiXGtNTN2qf3Qx-A5UFM7KHD7omt9rD3SW5M/s1600/broken+heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="477" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8C9VLUSjtHHQfimQlnV0xgkV7x3dIaQ_Ki3K1p4zD_DMxFIpY_SjHGZ56zVp_zjJk1HOxMnMR4U6o2fvxieBSnjoeM0YShoyeiXGtNTN2qf3Qx-A5UFM7KHD7omt9rD3SW5M/s320/broken+heart.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">To those alone on Valentines Day,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t lose sight of who you are. It is difficult to experience loneliness - especially when you know that you have a lot to offer someone. Or perhaps you face the excruciating situation of unrequited love. It is painful to have the thought that your best just isn't good enough for anyone else. During these times, it is easy to believe a lot of lies about yourself - about your worth, about the value of you just being you. Don’t get sucked into that. No matter how it feels, it simply isn't true.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>"You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody." </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>- Maya Angelou</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all have the potential to be beautiful at our cores. You may already be there. It is there where you find your true self. That is where you are free from all the defects we are subject to within this shell in which we live. There you aren't graying or wrinkling. You are not carrying extra weight, age spots, or any other thing you don’t like when you look in the mirror. Someday someone will see the real you and not your shell. That is the person whom which you can share your life. The blessings that you can uniquely bestow will be given to only that special person that deserves it and has waited for it as you have waited. Someone, someday will recognize you and your heart will overflow in knowing that you aren't wasting yourself on the undeserved. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it is these times of loneliness that we should try to be thankful that we are more than our biology because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. A cherished piece of the Creator of life and love dwells within us. Sometimes, in these darkest hours, that has to be enough. AND IT IS ENOUGH! It is MORE than enough because that which is on the inside is what will never tarnish, grow old or fade away. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If it happens that you never find that one who sees the real you, then take comfort in that you didn't cast your pearls before the swine. Stand boldly knowing that your best was received only by He who gave it to you. Never lose that fact and you will always realize who you really are.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>- Psalm 139:14</b></span></span></div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-43216377637027440222018-10-14T10:54:00.001-05:002018-10-14T11:46:59.307-05:00The Source of Hope<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFDFD2pRooLPOMXPB1NACnVSy8EZJFLHZUbpI3vGP4mJ3TJYhuZntqdDSvJ-yoqC3Ueyq1YEkowdPdWk2NZNn3OvTdMSXMbTW6XMfXcNt1O3xI76CXahnPOVuuMFCWZzrAPKx/s1600/Hope+Lucado+Quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFDFD2pRooLPOMXPB1NACnVSy8EZJFLHZUbpI3vGP4mJ3TJYhuZntqdDSvJ-yoqC3Ueyq1YEkowdPdWk2NZNn3OvTdMSXMbTW6XMfXcNt1O3xI76CXahnPOVuuMFCWZzrAPKx/s320/Hope+Lucado+Quote.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The depth of hope is dependent on the depth of its origin.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">A</span> recent </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">article in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Scientific American </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">estimated that in the US, there are about 60 million </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">people </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">who claim to not be affiliated with any religion - most being atheists or agnostics. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">That is somewhere </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">around 20% of the population. There are a number of people who are </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">happy about this growing </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">group of faithless people, but I can’t be counted as one of them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Many have wondered why I focus a lot on this topic. Like everything else, there are a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">number </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">of reasons. However, this one is particularly personal to me. I guess it is time to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">share why that is. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I am a Christian. I have personal relationship with Christ. I’m not just </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">throwing that out there; it is </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">the driving force in my life. It is the only reason I am here. Let </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">me explain.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">First, some background: I had a normal, happy childhood. I dabbled with church, but we</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">weren't </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">really a church family. I did feel that God had a hold on me, although I really didn't </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">understand it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When I was 15, I made an official commitment to God. It really didn't seem to change me </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">much. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I was always a pretty compliant kid. It didn't turn my life around or anything. As a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">matter </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">of fact, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I just put it on the back-burner and lived my teenage life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Later, I went to college where I met a lot of different kinds of people with various beliefs</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">or </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">lack thereof. When I was a freshmen in the dorm, I met my first atheist. Rich was a guy </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">that </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">lived on my dorm floor. He kind of freaked me out; I mean, how can someone just NOT </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">believe </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">in God? Despite that difference, Rich and I became good friends. We even talked </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">about being </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">roommates. We also talked about religion, but neither one of us had much </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">influence on the other </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">one in that vein. It wasn't a stumbling block, though. We got along </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">splendidly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Through my undergraduate years, I wasn't exposed to much God stuff. I lived in a fraternity </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">house </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">where there were often activities that pastors wouldn't approve of. In addition, the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">university was a </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">mix of views and offered a variety of exposures for a young guy learning </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">about the world. I kind of </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">slipped away from my beliefs and slipped into an exploration of </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">philosophy and other pursuits. I never </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">proclaimed any changes in my beliefs and I now </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">presume that God had a hold on me through all </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">my brain clouds.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When I graduated, I moved back home and enjoyed a number of months of unemployment</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">on my </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">mom’s dime. During this free time, I read and studied about God - and I studied a lot. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">There were </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">things unsettled about God as far as I was concerned and that needed to be </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">remedied. While some </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">of the surface stuff was troubling, the spiritual stuff really started to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">amaze me. Through this process, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">the “personal relationship with Christ” really became a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">thing. God had been with me during my </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">exploration stage in college but seemed to be mostly</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">a silent observer, although I am sure he gave </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">me nudges along the way that I didn't recognize. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">However, now He was there for a real exchange.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Fast-forward a number of years. God was my partner in helping to bring up my nephews who </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">lived </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">with me for a stretch. He also had a huge hand in getting me into the occupation I have </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">now. It is an </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">interesting story in of itself, but it will have to wait for another time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Through the years, God has given me pieces of information about friends, relationships, and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">mostly </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">myself. He has sustained me when life, itself wasn't sustainable. He helped me through</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">my mother’s </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">brain tumor ordeal and her disability. It was His strength that kept my heart straight </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">as I took on the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">role of her primary caregiver.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When my wife and I divorced, it was one of the toughest things I could imagine going through.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">All </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">sorts of weapons attacked my psyche. The feeling of betrayal and abandonment took center</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">stage. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I even turned on God because I thought he was just as guilty as anyone. I believed (and still </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">believe) </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">He led me to that relationship including the decision to get married. It seemed like a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">cruel joke to me. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">However, I still resolved to trust God with the big picture, but admittedly, I </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">haven’t been completely </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">the same since.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It wasn't too many years after that when I lost my mother. It was a shock and a blow that </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">buckled </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">my knees. My mom was the focal point of my life at that point. Even though my </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">vision of a life with </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">my wife and kids had slipped away, my mom gave me a reason to exist. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">In losing her, not only did </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I lose my mother, I lost my purpose and the last person who made </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">it clear that I actually mattered </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">in this world. She was my mom, my best friend, and my </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">dependent all rolled into one. When we </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">buried her, I didn't know what the point was anymore</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">for me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I decided that I really didn't need God after that because my miserable life was the result of</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">trusting </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Him with it - a life of total abandonment without purpose. I set out to wipe out that </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">part from my life </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">and truthfully, I was ready to wipe life out altogether. I had never a suicidal </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">person. The thought of it </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">seemed so foreign to me my entire life . . . until then. All of the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">sudden, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">it seemed like a reasonable </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">idea. No purpose, no God, I was done.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">However, through this despair and hopelessness stood God with “I will never leave you nor </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">forsake </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">you.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">That experience gave new significance to the “Footprints in the Sand” poem that had always </span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">been </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">hanging on my mom’s bedroom wall. It was true. It was put to the test and it was true. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This brings me back to today. People need God. They turn away from Him for all kinds of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">reasons. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Some think they are too smart to believe. Others believe that they have no choice </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">but to NOT believe </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">or they need proof. I understand that. Sometimes all that is part of the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">journey to faith - it was for me. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I get it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">However. the one that infuriates me the most is when Christians link God to hate and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">oppression. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">They do it unwittingly, I think, but it is so harmful. I don’t blame people when </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">they refuse to entertain </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">the existence of God because of that, because they see how </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">antithetical it is profess a loving God </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">and then spit venom at his creation in His name. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I get angry when I see people shoveling hate and trying to champion God with the same </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">breath. It is </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">because that kind of mixed message makes a fraud out of God and those with</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">faith. That kind of </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">rhetoric that is often tied to politics infuriates me because I know God is</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">not a fraud. He saved my life. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">He gives me purpose. He gives me HOPE. He gives me </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">assurance that He really does love me and </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">has a plan for my life - even when I feel that no </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">one else does or even cares. Because of God, there </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">is no grave with my name on it next to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">my mom’s today. He is the ONLY reason for that, too - of that </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I am sure.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When I look at my life, it crushes me when I see that more and more people have abandoned</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">faith. I am sure that decision has also contributed to people abandoning life itself. It almost </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">did for me. Suicide rates have increased 28% in the US since 1999. Hopelessness will do that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Does correlation mean causation? Not necessarily, but I know one guy that was saved </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">because through it all, he didn't</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> abandon his faith. I know that for a fact. </span></div>
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-76180648927000215972018-02-14T17:58:00.001-06:002018-02-14T17:59:45.878-06:00What's Your Valentine's Day Theme Song?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It is that time. Romance is brewing in the air thanks to the Hallmark Company. Heart-shaped boxes full of mystery chocolate covered candy with stuffed teddy bears are all sitting on tables next to the vases of a dozens of red roses. The finer restaurants are packed and the poor saps that weren't smart enough to make an early reservation are sitting on the sidelines with their patient dates waiting for a gap in the crowd. Yes, this is Valentine's Day, a marketing dream for the romance business.<br />
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Sure, I sound cynical. That is the "cool" thing to do, isn't it? However, we can take those lemon, commercial concepts and magically make the sweet tasting nectar known as red wine out of it. You thought I was going to say lemonade, didn't you? Who has lemonade on Valentine's Day?<br />
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If you get passed the profits, you can capitalize on the day, yourself, and allow it to be what retailers want you to see - a celebration of love. And with great love celebrations, come great theme songs. What is the theme song of your love life?<br />
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I am sure there are a lot of great stories out there. Love lives with themes such as "Endless Love" or "Through the Years," and other great prom theme type songs. Oh, how I would have loved to have claimed, "She Believes in Me" as my love theme. Sadly, no.<br />
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It was almost a great and cheesy song for me, yessiree! The most magical night that could have been a great forever story should have crescendoed at my college fraternity formal dance. I worked hard to get the girl of my dreams to be my sweetheart. It wasn't easy. It came with a lot of bumps and bruises. However, the elements miraculously came together and she announced that she would be honored to accompany me to my Rose Formal Dance<br />
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We talked a lot between the invitation and the dance. I told her how I felt about her and that the look in her eyes when she looked at me, sometimes, revealed a promise of wonderful story for us. I told her that it reminded me of the song, "Almost Paradise." She gave me a nervous smile and I changed the subject. A few weeks later, we were at the dance and we were having a great time. Then, about halfway through the night, the DJ announced, "This song is for Jeff." And so it was that "Almost Paradise" filled the room and with it almost all my fraternity brothers and their dates swayed to "our theme." I bent over and said, "How about that! This song is special to another Jeff in my fraternity." She said, "It is you, silly, I had it played for you." I was silly. I was silly to think "Almost Paradise" was going to be my love theme for my life.<br />
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It's been years, and other loves have come and gone, even a wife - not without great effort from me to keep the embers of love to still warm my life. So, it came to me this week, the song I would really need to claim as the theme song for my love life. "Doing the Best that I Can," by Elvis Presley. The lyrics are uncannily a perfect fit. If you aren't familiar with them, and you have any interest in this post, give it a listen. You simply can't get the message from the title.<br />
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So, what's your theme song?<br />
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-3012854428606219582018-01-01T09:43:00.001-06:002022-01-01T11:46:26.151-06:00The Hallmark Life<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuW3c946_1alHe8EzSVqaKYDYaqXde8FExWQoDJXdPnjo7GPnEjaM0XbwGGpi-3JsVRO59FrJmMd7YT_Jd9E91hG5p0n0zwopnkFYB8LyUAPpFT5cYcmp-KA9W-CxJVoY_oaq/s1600/Hallmark+Christmas.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuW3c946_1alHe8EzSVqaKYDYaqXde8FExWQoDJXdPnjo7GPnEjaM0XbwGGpi-3JsVRO59FrJmMd7YT_Jd9E91hG5p0n0zwopnkFYB8LyUAPpFT5cYcmp-KA9W-CxJVoY_oaq/s320/Hallmark+Christmas.jpg" width="240" /></a>The last of the Hallmark Christmas Movies has just ended. For the sappy among us, they take us down a road of warm family and friends, a challenge, a Christmas miracle, a true love discovered, and a happy ending. <br />
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It can be quite the wonderful experience, watching these feel good movies. Do you ever have a Hallmark tale in your life? I don't. I am not sure other people do. Perhaps there are exceptions that prove the rule, but sometimes rainbows show up after rains. That doesn't mean we live on a planet of constant rainbows.<br />
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Perhaps why the dreamers among us are so attracted to these movies is because we don't have stories like those in our own lives. We live vicariously through the actors on the screen - not ever entertaining the thought that those actors leave the stage and return to their real lives absent of the magic they left on the sound stage. They are just like us, just more visible - I'm pretty sure.<br />
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Why do these stories exist? We don't live these stories. I think I just answered my own question.<br />
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People write these stories because they need them. Sitting at their laptops, they can control the narrative. They want that for their lives so they make them come to life on page and screen. We all go for the ride because we, too, need them.<br />
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It is 2018 today. Write your own Hallmark script this year and then LIVE IT!<br />
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-77741952378151230862017-01-21T09:52:00.000-06:002017-01-21T09:55:40.191-06:00Lost Our Step; Lost Our WayThe thought came to me today. Maybe it is time to give up. I no longer recognize the world I live in. This has been building up for some time but hit the crescendo today.<br />
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I was looking at Facebook . . . just scrolling. Most of it was hate. Hate for Donald Trump, hate for religion, hate for people who think differently. Just hate. I am scrolling and in the background from the other room I hear "Landslide" from Stevie Nicks and the somber tones and her haunting delivery made the experience surreal.</div>
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What is it all for? Why am I here? To what end is all this hate pushing us. We lost our way.</div>
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I have always been an idealist. I like to think that my idealism was tempered with some pragmatism, but I guess that is for others to judge. I don't think my ideals are that difficult. Is it so hard to treat others with respect even if you don't agree with them? Is it too much trouble to have love higher up in your holster than hate and venom?</div>
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I look at this world and it dawns on me that I have nothing to offer it. I speak a different language. When I tried to talk to people about it, they look at me like I am from outer space. I don't know what else to do. I can't join in; I just can't.</div>
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I have seen the world burn before. I was always the first to try to rally the bucket brigade. I don't see any more buckets. I just see torches - torches and pitch forks and I no longer want to be here to watch it burn.</div>
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Let me give you and example: When I look at Donald Trump, I don't see Beelzebub. I don't see the savior, either, and I certainly don't see someone that is going to "make America great again." </div>
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You know what I see? Just a man - a man for a complication of reasons has found himself to be the leader of the free world. I didn't vote for him. As a matter of fact, of all the people that ran for the president, he was probably last on my list. But guess what, I don't think he is out to destroy us. I think he is out to do the best he can - even if his path and experience makes that a long shot. His values are not like mine, but I don't hate him. He is going to make mistakes, but I won't crucify him. </div>
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I see a fellow human being. When I look at his eyes, I see some fear and the weight of responsibility. I honestly think the job is bigger than his abilities. I don't think he is properly equipped. BUT I DON'T HATE HIM and I won't.</div>
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Don't misunderstand, this piece isn't about Donald Trump. He is just an example. If it wasn't him or his opposition (they both get the hate), it will be and IS something else - just constant discord and strife. We just can't seem to work for our values without hating the other guy. To what end?</div>
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Which brings us back to this world. It is not beautiful to me anymore. It is so disappointing. The sniping and the negativity over every manner of things - it just wears me to the ground. It is SO very lonely now. We are lost . . . or maybe it is just me. </div>
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Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-10033243808391954432016-10-05T16:27:00.001-05:002016-10-05T16:39:13.500-05:00Facebook Discussion Groups: A Survival Guide<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">As a person who loves to discuss and exchange ideas with folks about important or at least interesting topics, I have drifted into a number of Facebook discussion groups. I don't recommend it. However, if you do decide to wade into the deep, here are Psychosomatic Wit's Rules for a Stepford-ly happy experience:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Find out who the administrators are and make every effort to agree with them. Facebook group administrators have finally found a place of power and they love it. They look for a chance to wield it. So, in order to remain active in the group, learn to parrot the masters. As soon as you disagree, you become a troll. Trolls are not long for this world. If the first two administrators don't get you, the third will knock you off the bridge and make the group the safe echo chamber that it should be. You are banned! Which brings us to rule number two:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. The group isn't REALLY a discussion group, it is an echo chamber. If you manage to get into a group where the administrators are not megalomaniacs, then it reverts to majority rules. Brace yourself for The Lord of the Flies! You need to learn to pivot to the side of the majority or become the pig that they strive to kill. Of course, the Internet translation of "pig" is "troll." They throw that word around a lot. If you are dubbed the pig, you get slaughtered. And if you are a worthy pig, then there are always a few little snitches who run to the administrators with their troll accusations.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">3. Finally, learn to use the emoticon buttons. If an administrator posts something, whether you agree with it or not, "like" it. The same thing with a post from the majority. "Like" it! You can always "unlike" it after it gets a little stale and no one will be the wiser. If you want to be a little bold, you can "like" a comment that disagrees with the company line. Usually they let that stuff slide - especially if you don't have a track record for being a "stupid troll." It is these little tricks that MAY allow you to live with yourself as you navigate the group social structure. It is the same as rubbing zombie guts all over you so as not to be detected by the other zombies (Walking Dead Reference).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you have read this guide and you are wondering what technique is right for you, just close the lid of your laptop or put your phone down. Go for a walk. Watch the sun set in the west. Listen to children laughing at the playground. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Curl up with a good book (I don't recommend Lord of the Flies). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The point is, life is too short to waste on the narcissistic society of the Facebook discussion scene. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now if you will excuse me, I can see I got three fresh Facebook notices while I have been writing this. Wait till my politics group gets a hold of this blog post!</span></span></div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-86178735455187504842016-08-09T18:12:00.003-05:002016-08-09T18:12:40.065-05:00Lilly King Reminds Us of the America We Want<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVhHM7xgARe7TzWfOqlYaeWJFNsrmoBb879RqtqN2-84VTiw5xRJ5AeG5XDevGtbG0LxDX1qPv6IRShyy2q2ZPbBp1V0yVjPXNp_7Di3ltot2JJ4fCWJ3emOZwFeiWHyX2pmi/s1600/GettyImages-587556674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVhHM7xgARe7TzWfOqlYaeWJFNsrmoBb879RqtqN2-84VTiw5xRJ5AeG5XDevGtbG0LxDX1qPv6IRShyy2q2ZPbBp1V0yVjPXNp_7Di3ltot2JJ4fCWJ3emOZwFeiWHyX2pmi/s320/GettyImages-587556674.jpg" width="320" /></a>I can’t help but to swell with pride when I see Lilly King
at the Olympics. The 19 year-old from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Evansville</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">IN</st1:state></st1:place>
is the picture of what we dream our kids and our country should be.</div>
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Not intimidated by Russian powerhouse swimmer, Yulia Efimova,
King challenged her in and out of the pool.
Efimova had been found guilty of doping but was allowed to compete in <st1:place w:st="on">Rio</st1:place> because she won a last minute appeal – despite coming
up dirty in a recent drug screening. King
made it clear that she was not a fan of athletes that use banned substances
before her 100m breast stroke final, then backed it up in the pool by taking
the gold away of Efimova.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hFPt4Jxm13rxJiMKkerFowHWWkq6R1gcq56vmnanNl41aMocKEB4ZmGJAVZYGjfm47oqih3ZMQlu06GFcjR9TOjH3W75WKGxAIkmKglipWEwJJ8AllzMcZF6KroovH5BKk_Z/s1600/Donut+King.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hFPt4Jxm13rxJiMKkerFowHWWkq6R1gcq56vmnanNl41aMocKEB4ZmGJAVZYGjfm47oqih3ZMQlu06GFcjR9TOjH3W75WKGxAIkmKglipWEwJJ8AllzMcZF6KroovH5BKk_Z/s200/Donut+King.png" width="139" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hometown Proud - Sign from a<br />business saluting Lilly King in<br />her hometown of Evansville, IN</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It is King’s gallantry that inspires all of us to remember
what <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region>
is all about – or what it should be. It
is about hometown heroes. It is the good in the good vs evil narrative. Lilly King has given us an injection of
American pride at a time where politics has soured us, and the threat of terrorism
has left us overly cautious.</div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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Thank you, Lilly, for allowing us escape the appalling
stories of the day, and lose ourselves in proper patriotism – if only for a
moment. We appreciate you letting us know that there is still a such thing as an American hero and a fantastic role model for our kids.</div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-30653443386321446592016-02-28T11:01:00.000-06:002016-02-28T17:23:43.960-06:00Ahead of Super Tuesday, PW Endorses Bernie Sanders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-l0w34SN2MJdRgd75-5ytXBmbN9H0UNeoKgd2oUUypDtSW4lIF-ZQl2TEMoIIkm3FIObaIR6fIhgU9zHYTL2cysG8ZXXYZ8JoekAQboVewbRBdB3O2ocRTDAmVgWFwDd3ci5h/s1600/aaa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-l0w34SN2MJdRgd75-5ytXBmbN9H0UNeoKgd2oUUypDtSW4lIF-ZQl2TEMoIIkm3FIObaIR6fIhgU9zHYTL2cysG8ZXXYZ8JoekAQboVewbRBdB3O2ocRTDAmVgWFwDd3ci5h/s320/aaa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, in the Democratic primary, we have Hillary 2.0, “It’s My Turn” versus Bernie Sanders, whose “Enough is Enough” campaign has excited people who normally don’t think about politics. </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clinton and Sanders both offer compelling cases. Clinton brings experience and pragmatism to her campaign while Sanders wants a more transforming government. Since they both agree on the issues roughly 90% of the time, it is their approach to how to best run the executive branch will decide in the end for most voters who they will support. As for Psychosomatic Wit, I believe Bernie’s approach to be the most compelling and serves the best interest for this season and for the future of this country. Let me lay out my case.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2016/01/time-again-for-presidential.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #e69138; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2016/01/time-again-for-presidential.html" target="_blank">To See The Republican Nomination Endorsement Click Here</a></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I originally was in the Clinton camp. I didn't think that anyone should even bother to challenge her in the primary. As we all have heard before, many believe that Hillary is the most qualified candidate that has ever run for president. She did meaningful work while being associated with the executive branch as first lady and received hands on experience of government from the legislative branch side of it as a senator from New York. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She has also spent four years as Obama’s secretary of state which is probably the most impressive qualification she has. Many may argue that she didn’t do anything significant, but she certainly was busy cleaning up a lot of diplomatic messes in the Middle East which is a result of a broad military presence there. Despite the right wing talking points that the US has a worst reputation around the world under Obama, the facts do not back them up. According to the three polls I could find (BBC Polling, Pew, and Gallup), the US has improved its standing around the world compared to the Bush administration. Clinton can sincerely take credit for a big part of that.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Issues</span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn't easy to look at Clinton’s credentials and decide to go in another direction. However, the issues help tell the story. Both candidates claim to want to bridge the gap in economic inequality. Bernie Sanders wants to address this by raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour slowly over the next several years. Clinton wants to raise it to the twelve dollars per hour which she deems “sensible.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both realize that we have farther to go in providing health care. Sanders wants to transform our healthcare system to something similar to the rest of world - a single payer, everyone is covered system he calls Medicare for all - borrowing from the popular system already covering senior citizens and the disabled. Clinton wants to build on ObamaCare, (the Affordable Care Act) that President Obama worked hard to pass that is the centerpiece of his presidential legacy.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The third leg of bridging the gap between the rich and the middle and working class has to do with accessibility of education. Sanders believes that public education should increase from K-12, to K-16. He claims that a Bachelor’s degree today has about the same bargaining power for employment as a high school diploma fifty years ago. He claims that in order to stay competitive and give the middle and working class a chance to keep up with educational requirements for most gainful employment, the time has come to revise the extent of public education bridge the educational gap. Clinton wants to take that notion as far as an associate's degree (2 year) at a community college. This is concept that was introduced by Obama. She also wants to make borrowing money for tuition more affordable.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clinton’s main arguments about why she should be elected over Sanders is three-fold. One is her experienced which I have already touched on. The second reason is her electability. She believes that she is the only one that has a chance defeating the Republican in the fall. Finally, and the reason she emphasizes the most, is that she is the only one that can get her agenda passed through Congress.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Decision</span></b></span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When analyzing these and other arguments, PW has decided to endorse Bernie Sanders. In addressing her experience, it is true that, no matter how you slice it, Clinton has more qualifications based on experience. Although Sanders has served in the legislature longer, Clinton’s experience as Secretary of State cannot be matched by Sanders or anyone else. However, if this was the main qualification to hold the office of president in this country, we would have a number of former secretaries of state holding the office throughout history. Sanders argues that his judgment is more sound than Clinton’s. He points to his opposition to the Iraq war and the numerous trade deals, such as NAFTA that he opposed while Hillary supported them. Still, judgment aside, it is hard to minimize her experience. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clinton argues that because of her experience, she will be ready on Day 1 to deal with anything that arises on the foreign policy side. The saving grace for Sanders, in addition to his judgment, is that starting in November, the president-elect, while putting a team together is kept apprised of all security situations. As long as the team is good, the foreign policy is good and Sanders will have the opportunity to use his judgment based on the information he is given.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clinton claims the edge on electability but the facts really don't bear that out. The right wing absolutely despises her. She has had over 20 years head start acquiring that level of contempt compared to Bernie, a relative newcomer on the national scene. Unfortunately for Clinton is that hate spills over to mainstream America because of the success the Conservative Entertainment Complex (CEC) of pushing their views. Fox News and AM radio have butchered Hillary for years and some of the metrics associated with her establish this. She is running a high deficit on trust issues as the CEC will not let her email issues and other scandals disappear from the public eye. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition, the most recent head-to-head polls for the general election show Sanders in a much better position to win in the fall than Clinton. In polling reports provided by <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/" target="_blank">Real Clear Politics</a>, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Clinton narrowly defeats Trump but loses to the rest of the field. In the same polling, Sanders beats the entire field. When figured on average, Hillary loses in the fall no matter who her opponent is, but Sanders beats the entire field by an average of 9 percentage points.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In examining which candidate can push an agenda through Congress, Bernie still makes the most sense. Hillary is running on a pragmatic platform. She keeps saying that she won’t make promises that she knows she can’t keep. What that means, is that she is the candidate of increments. She knows we need a universal healthcare single payer system in this country, but she doesn't want to push it, so she says that she just wants to build upon ObamaCare which still gives insurance companies control over our health care. Bernie wants a revolution. He wants to take the populist capital that he has and continues to acquire and put pressure on the system. That is what a revolution is all about - championing the grass roots with the threat of “throwing the rascals out” if they do not bend to the will of the people. A revolution will have bigger coattails and have a better chance bringing lower level democrats into office with the huge excitement and turnout it should bring.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHuP6Limo9nXiiF9PppOpCwJF4eSge3BXI7_vmADWxM4RP4qU3igeeryckvJgS0PMaiTiP55xtXKQdIw9hRZxjNhJ6BQWwBKanIEYNtefbo_7Ar6QcmWfq51iOG2L6eUx-JM3/s1600/Bernie+Strong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHuP6Limo9nXiiF9PppOpCwJF4eSge3BXI7_vmADWxM4RP4qU3igeeryckvJgS0PMaiTiP55xtXKQdIw9hRZxjNhJ6BQWwBKanIEYNtefbo_7Ar6QcmWfq51iOG2L6eUx-JM3/s320/Bernie+Strong.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That brings us to the number one reason why Bernie is the only choice to get Psychosomatic Wit’s endorsement. He is committed to getting big money out of politics. Without that, “the one person, one vote” concept of our democracy is only a myth. This is a battle between the people and the establishment. Hillary tries to tell us that she is not establishment, while taking millions from Wall Street and other interests. Bernie is funded by the people. He has no PAC. He doesn't get Wall Street money. He gets his funding through the folks - those of us that want our vote to count whether we have $20 or $20 million in the bank. Bernie would rather have our donations (which he boasts only averages $27), than any check from special interest that will always want special favors. He wants to for and with the folks, not special interests with deep pockets. Clinton says that she has never changed a vote because of big money. Maybe she hasn't; maybe she hasn't needed to because her agenda has been shaped by those gifts in the first place. All we know is that Bernie makes sense when he proclaimed at a recent debate, “Let’s not insult the intelligence of the American People. People aren't dumb. Why in God’s name does Wall Street make huge campaign contributions? . . . I guess for the fun of it.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bernie knows that with the big money in campaigns, he isn't going to get the great things passed. That is why it is his number one objective to reform campaign financing. If we can’t get money out of politics, it really doesn't matter who wins, does it?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, yes Bernie Sanders wants to do great things and Hillary wants to be pragmatic. To borrow a sports metaphor, Hillary might be a good game manager, but Bernie is a play maker. The time has come to stop throwing a few crumbs to the masses in an unseemly attempt at pacification while preserving a system of big money corruption that flies in the face of our very democratic national identity. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Republican party is not going to work with ANY Democratic president. We have seen that over the past seven years and the election of Hillary Clinton will not change that. It will take a revolution to change the government from one of stalemate and stagnation to one of progress. Because of this, Psychosomatic Wit is forced to shout, “Go big, or go home!” And in that spirit, PW whole-heartedly endorses Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for president.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2016/01/time-again-for-presidential.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2016/01/time-again-for-presidential.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: small; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.72px;"><a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2016/01/time-again-for-presidential.html" target="_blank">To See The Republican Nomination Endorsement Click Here</a></span></span></div>
<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-198540262759757182016-02-02T14:13:00.000-06:002016-02-02T14:23:02.985-06:00MSNBC, Chris Matthews, and Hillary Clinton, An Exclusive Club<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdb1ywywuFL9pv-gQ0n85t9NkCV4o_02skfp7gVNYHRpqxq83b8IXkTPmhPcluzgpYRnRMVebi1Au6IfacGV2Xn_KzNuFG266sv2N_srtdE4bWWHq9z__hj4y8yT1IJdbtxoLW/s1600/20160202_133013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdb1ywywuFL9pv-gQ0n85t9NkCV4o_02skfp7gVNYHRpqxq83b8IXkTPmhPcluzgpYRnRMVebi1Au6IfacGV2Xn_KzNuFG266sv2N_srtdE4bWWHq9z__hj4y8yT1IJdbtxoLW/s400/20160202_133013.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have seen that look before. He is completely smitten by her!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<span data-offset-key="b2bl4-0-0">There was an interview between Chris Matthews and Hillary Clinton after the Iowa Caucuses on the following day. It was the most lopsided interview I have seen in some time. I thought I was going to see Matthews blow her kisses. Let me paraphrase the interview for you.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="b2bl4-0-0">_________________________________</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="do98g-0-0">Matthews:<span style="color: red;"> Hillary you are great! Not like that looney tune, Bernie Sanders.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="90kke-0-0">Hillary:<span style="color: blue;"> Yes, I know. And you are right, there is a lunatic running for the nomination against me but I won't name names.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="7dfja-0-0">Matthews:<span style="color: red;"> How does that guy think he is going to win? He isn't as great as you. He doesn't smell as good as you do, either.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="7c8bm-0-0">Hillary:<span style="color: blue;"> I don't know why anyone would listen to him. Everyone knows that the status quo is what is needed. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="64hpj-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="9iac0-0-0">Matthews:<span style="color: red;"> Of course the status quo is what's needed! He is talking about a revolution. FDR who gave us Social Security and JFK who put Americans on the moon would turn over in their graves if they knew someone would try to be as bold </span></span><span style="color: red;">under the Democrat banner </span><span style="color: red;">as that nutjob. </span><span style="color: #141823;">(Note: I am not even embellishing this line much at all) </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="37tr0-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="9b9jd-0-0">Hillary:<span style="color: blue;"> Agreed. Bold ideas will never work. He won't get anything passed by Congress. The Republicans will block everything. It is such a good thing that the Republicans love me so much. I can work with those guys. They have always been willing to listen to me and treat me fairly.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="av3tq-0-0">Matthews:<span style="color: red;"> You know he isn't really a Democrat. He is a socialist. A SOCIALIST, I tell you!</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="75t2s-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="d1i0t-0-0">Hillary:<span style="color: blue;"> I know, right? Just because he caucused with the Democrats in the Senate, supported every Democratic policy for all the years he has served, and publicly praised Barack Obama's policies including ObamaCare and closing the gun show loophole, he thinks that is enough to be able to give Democratic voters a choice to support him! Just sickening!</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fpcus-0-0">Matthews<span style="color: red;">: Well, best of luck, Madam President! You are a lock!</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="3fkn7-0-0"><span style="color: #141823;">Hillary: </span><span style="color: blue;">Thank you, Chris. The check is in the mail, er uh . . . I mean . . . uh just thanks! </span></span></div>
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______________________________________</div>
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This interview was put on the air during the day time when MSNBC is trying to establish their straight news brand, in contrast to the Democratic leaning night time fare. I guess Bernie has another name to put on the establishment list: MSNBC. With all the sentiment in the country hating how the system is rigged against people who aren't in the establishment, this interview did nothing but provide a boost to Bernie Sander's campaign as well as to the ratings of CNN - well that is what it did for me, anyway.</div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-23792043656159354212016-01-24T13:17:00.001-06:002016-01-25T10:11:25.060-06:00Time Again for Presidential Endorsements - The GOP PrimaryThis is my snarky take on the GOP nomination derby. Although some of it is tongue-in-cheek, if you look hard enough, you may find the substance.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-WBu6r2HsWGsUNvWY2xr0swudwDQnPj1P-XyNjOiV0VEjmQMu9Kcll2bwfdUHrTIpua5oqZVG1fnOKYd0ytwQIrsUnDL2cijgWb4uBYoAPw69cwlhn98Apojw4_9P83Biaty/s1600/GOP+2016+Debate+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-WBu6r2HsWGsUNvWY2xr0swudwDQnPj1P-XyNjOiV0VEjmQMu9Kcll2bwfdUHrTIpua5oqZVG1fnOKYd0ytwQIrsUnDL2cijgWb4uBYoAPw69cwlhn98Apojw4_9P83Biaty/s400/GOP+2016+Debate+%25285%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The 2016 nomination derby might be the most interesting in history. The Republicans boast of a virtual herd trying to position themselves to face-off against the Democrats in the fall. For the sake of time, space and interest, I will only touch on a few that many think have a chance. I will spend the most time on the overwhelming front runner because it is important to understand what currently has the most support.<br />
<h3>
<b><br /></b></h3>
<h3>
<b>Donald Trump</b></h3>
Mr. Trump is a fascinating candidate. What is more fascinating than his candidacy is the fact that he has so much support. People like to be mad and Trump gives them an opportunity to represent their anger. He gives them an outlet for the "It's simple folks; we just have to keep Mexicans and Muslims out of the country and we will be fine" camp. Trump gives the "we against them" drive a place to light. He also just tells them that he can make all the deals that overwhelmingly favor the US and the other countries will go along with it. Trump tells the masses that everyone in Washington are idiots and he is the only smart guy around that can save the country. For whatever reason, they believe him.<br />
<br />
Let's look at his specifics - that which we can find:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Trump's tax plan favors the poor and very wealthy. It messes over the already shrinking middle class. For instance, a person who makes $151,000 pays the same rate as billionaires. Also, a person who makes $50,100 pays the same tax rate as someone who makes $150,000. These may look like small differences to a billionaire, but it certainly isn't to the folks who make those amounts.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>His stance on 2nd Amendment rights is ineffectively stagnant. He leaves too many people to able to get guns without the hinderance of background checks as long as they get their guns from a non-federal dealer of firearms. I am surprised he doesn't draw them a map of where they can obtain them.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>His immigration policy is insulting to anyone that is not Anglo.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In his presumably strongest issue, trade policy, he is very presumptuous about what he thinks he can get other countries to do.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
In summary, we don't know that he has the best interest of the citizens. He doesn't operate with principles because he brags about how he gamed the system as a businessman. He doesn't have the ethical backbone to do what is right because if he had a penchant for ethics, he wouldn't have gamed the system for personal profit. There is no reason to think that he is influenced by ethics at all but by only what makes him successful - and success is defined by him. He is just too dangerous to trust with the country's welfare.<br />
<br />
He also doesn't seem to understand that there is a difference between a business deal and a deal made by countries that have other agendas besides profit which often implies the intricacies of diplomacy and the relationship with allies.<br />
<br />
Finally, I don't think he takes the quest for the White House seriously. It is like a hobby to him or a sporting match. He is obsessed with his poll numbers rather than being concerned about pursuing a harmonious country. It makes me worry that he believes it is okay if we all lose, as long as he wins.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<h3>
<b>Ted Cruz</b> </h3>
No one likes Ted Cruz except people who do not understand what governing entails. These are the same people who also like Trump; it is just that Trump is more entertaining. When a respected person like Bob Dole said he would rather have the clueless Trump in office over Cruz, that should tell you all that you need to know. Cruz comes off like a televangelist in his speech and mannerisms which is a turnoff to most people not glued to TBN.<br />
<br />
Cruz is the candidate of no. He isn't as interested in governing as he is obstructing. If he can't compromise in a republic, he isn't fit to govern in a republic because that is what democracy is all about - giving everyone a voice and a choice.<br />
<br />
In addition, it turns out that there is a legitimate concern that he may not even be eligible to be president - and I am not trying to be funny here.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Marco Rubio</b> </h3>
He, like most of the other GOP candidates, believes that he is running against Barack Obama instead of his fellow Republicans or even the Democratic candidates. As Americans, we were scolded by the Republicans if we insulted the president of the United States. To do so, made critics of GW Bush un-American. Of course, that only applies to Republican presidents, I guess. To rational thinkers, that seems pretty disingenuous. <br />
<br />
Rubio also is against unions at every turn. I am not saying that unions haven't had their faults over the years, but unions are the backbone of labor. Because of unions, even non-union shops have to treat their workers more favorably. Killing unions would lower wages and make the wage gap even larger. <br />
<br />
Rubio also seems to not have the kind of work ethic necessary to be the POTUS. The presidency requires someone to be on the job 24/7 including vacations. Rubio has a poor voting attendance record which is bad enough, but he downplays the importance of it which means he isn't too concerned with carrying out the job that he was elected to do. Is it really a good idea to elect a president with that attitude?<br />
<h3>
<br /><b>The Also-Rans</b> </h3>
When considering the others, <b>Jeb Bush</b> seems to be in a daze like he can't believe he is losing. He spends a whole lot of time bashing Hillary Clinton which isn't going to do him any good if he can't leap over the five or six Republicans ahead of him. He is one of the only candidates that is nervy enough to attack Trump, but that has been ineffectual. In fact, he has slidden so far now that Trump, formerly his greatest adversary, now ignores him for the most part.<br />
<br />
<b>Chris Christie</b> has a hard time telling the truth according to Politifact. Besides, he doesn't even have the sense to go by his middle name, "James". Chris Christie should only be forced on him; it shouldn't be his first choice. You have to pick the name that is most flattering. Let "Chris Christie" go by the way of "Steve Stevens" and "Dick Dixon." At least go with the hip, "Topher." He should put his best name forward. You don't see Barack Obama going by Hussein or Barry now, do you? James Christie sounds a lot more presidential to me. <br />
<br />
<b>Rand Paul</b> just can't seem to get any traction. He has some sensible ideas from his libertarian side, but it also provides some idiotic ideas so that is a wash. He slid his way out of the prime time debate in South Carolina. Not wanting to be relegated to the "kid's table" debate, he just took his ball and went home. He might as well stay there.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
AND THE ENDORSEMENT GOES TO . . .</h3>
<h3>
<b>John Kasich. </b> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6PqcCxwgqsUbHubtKM4jmN4f8DRrcrpc1ZXC1ottl4_gV04VQj3ripdVUmA7JLjP00I6VTt6vcl4cQwFz-XwoZW0HE2NrqbDTzc7JR_VTtEaeL7BTeW2HBeiNIXtdycoGMEZ/s1600/Kasich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6PqcCxwgqsUbHubtKM4jmN4f8DRrcrpc1ZXC1ottl4_gV04VQj3ripdVUmA7JLjP00I6VTt6vcl4cQwFz-XwoZW0HE2NrqbDTzc7JR_VTtEaeL7BTeW2HBeiNIXtdycoGMEZ/s320/Kasich.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Sensible, successful and compassionate makes John Kasich </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">the best choice from the large Republican field.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</h3>
Kasich has a different attitude compared to the other candidates. As governor of Ohio, he had the sense and the courage to adopt ObamaCare. He, like the rest of the field, says he wants to repeal and replace it, but he is the only one talking about preserving access to health care to do it. He states that the Ohio model "provides the path forward to the nation." The thing is, the Ohio model is an expanded Medicaid program - which is also part of the Obama plan. Be that as it may, Kasich does recognize that it is unconscionable to kick millions off of medical coverage for political expediency.<br />
<br />
The other candidates are content to end the ACA and worry about replacing it at some later time (or more likely, not at all). To illustrate this, the new Congress has already had a repeal bill pass and sent for Obama's veto, which he predictably executed. With all the hollering of "Repeal and Replace," the Republicans have tried to repeal ObamaCare over 50 times without a single replacement offer. At least Kasich has seen first hand the need and allowed it to be met in his state. <br />
<br />
The people of Ohio, who knows him best, love Kasich. He enjoyed record approval ratings going into his presidential campaign. This shows the success he has achieved as chief executive in a heartland state.<br />
<br />
In addition, Kasich has been the most open to governing instead of perpetuating the feud that has been going on in Congress for far too many years. He champions a hopeful and positive campaign. He has demonstrated compassion driven by his faith that is determined to not leave "the least of these" behind. That attitude isn't getting him very far so far in the GOP, "I got mine, let them get theirs" subculture, but it does provide the reason that Psychosomatic Wit endorses John Kasich for the Republican nomination for president.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-91385425277178680862015-11-20T17:55:00.000-06:002015-11-21T10:06:33.439-06:00Jesus and the Presidential Election<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDvtAnxHWT13N25GPTgdbaiYe2O06hI1ckUipQlkFWXyxQKAlOLpNc1eEq0LjhKW1_icTm4a2Rz_qdbFoRbPR1uB1xbQJltB63pChDqbPlBhrAI6i400-fIL5nc5GWYeSqjO1/s1600/Jesus+vote.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDvtAnxHWT13N25GPTgdbaiYe2O06hI1ckUipQlkFWXyxQKAlOLpNc1eEq0LjhKW1_icTm4a2Rz_qdbFoRbPR1uB1xbQJltB63pChDqbPlBhrAI6i400-fIL5nc5GWYeSqjO1/s320/Jesus+vote.png" width="320" /></a>This has always been a fascinating topic to me. The right wing seems
to champion the founder of Christianity and claim to v<br />
ote with their
faith on their sleeves. On the other side, the left wing can sometimes
appear hostile to Christianity and those who adhere to the faith.
Jesus, not being a respecter of persons, would not be swayed by any of
that. So, the question is: Who would Jesus vote for in the upcoming
presidential election?<br />
<br />
I'm sure that the answer to this
would vary depending on who you ask. I could take a pretty educated
stab at it. However, to try to leave as much bias out of the question
as possible, I decided to leave it up to <a href="http://isidewith.com/">isidewith.com</a>
to determine the answer. This site helps people determine which
candidate shares the same values that they do - regardless of party. I
did my level best to answer the questions based on what the Gospel
accounts attribute to Jesus' views. Sometimes, I had to expand the
search to other parts of the Bible, but I stuck mostly to the synoptic
gospels.<br />
<br />
There were a number of questions that I had to
simply leave blank because there was no way I could determine the
correct answer by the Bible. These type of blank answers typically came
from very specific questions such as those concerning "common core," or
term limits, or other specific contemporary issues. I had to skip more
questions than I had hoped, but I would rather leave them blank than try
to editorialize an answer for Jesus. Still, there were plenty of
questions to paint a pretty clear picture.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Results</b></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjOUpyXxvaQ9cGmSz7TnBu5dHsAJIydoC0q3lkxiBmh_goZkK0XoHj1C30B71m609DgTH0jMLD32arstIDrbiIJfwgvD82ZRW5NQl3imohs3xkf2AOtADS5UMAICTkB9yX1RK/s1600/politics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjOUpyXxvaQ9cGmSz7TnBu5dHsAJIydoC0q3lkxiBmh_goZkK0XoHj1C30B71m609DgTH0jMLD32arstIDrbiIJfwgvD82ZRW5NQl3imohs3xkf2AOtADS5UMAICTkB9yX1RK/s320/politics.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Here
is a summary of what the gospels teach us of Jesus' values. The
results of the quiz show that Jesus finds that standing up for the
oppressed and those that are taken advantage are very important to him.
Few could argue that this is a common theme in his ministry.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Jesus
also sides toward the traditional which means that he believes in a
civilized society that honors traditional morality and values. The gospels point out that even though he has compassion, he remained "sinless." He also quoted Old Testament scriptures a lot and read them in the Temple.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The
results also show that Jesus strongly believes in showing compassion,
empathy, and rehabilitation for small time criminals. The way he dealt with the prostitute and thief on the cross would support this claim.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It
also shows that he slightly sides with regulation to ensure that
business doesn't take advantage of the system and consumers. That
conclusion made me picture the anger that he showed at the money
changers and how he converted two cheating tax collectors into honest followers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Other items of note in the summary include being against social inequality, corruption and being an environmental centrist.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Drum Roll, Please!</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Jesus
is more aligned with Bernie Sanders than any other candidate. His
beliefs and values are consistent with Sanders' on a 79% of the issues.
The closest Republican was John Kasich with a 64%. So these would be
the two men he would vote for in their respective primaries.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The
conclusion makes sense for a number of reasons. Sanders is against
corruption of banks and is the champion of the "least of these" as Jesus
called them. It probably didn't hurt that both Jesus and Bernie are
Jewish.<b> </b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Check out isidewith.com and see who you line up with and see if you see the issues like Jesus does. </span> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4CPp2SwxKuNxhg5d316-vYuqp_FztEHcXv1iYcVpVP2ljdncPRGbtrQgvVMBglA8VYAjVcLD0wx8V478BXbyVyiAUN2UZ-jhNhQr6yq3IH7eg-JBXXa_WrYriB5AMj5j02aB/s1600/Jesus-and-Bernie1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4CPp2SwxKuNxhg5d316-vYuqp_FztEHcXv1iYcVpVP2ljdncPRGbtrQgvVMBglA8VYAjVcLD0wx8V478BXbyVyiAUN2UZ-jhNhQr6yq3IH7eg-JBXXa_WrYriB5AMj5j02aB/s320/Jesus-and-Bernie1.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-43074000954763250132015-07-18T19:03:00.002-05:002015-07-18T19:03:42.889-05:00The After-life is like Schrödinger's Cat <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">. . . or How Blaise Pascal was actually the first pioneer of quantum
mechanics.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheN2U3l_x4pdWjXWaPitn2BcQQGzAstD4PS8KicmXL8MG6gZnabiJSjjGyL7dNJI9qEgkceVeFhzA4n9cR4kenh4alWgvMKvRKRCFkZ-x-nUsRTEstX_1XayCdVV4YhnFGpNvK/s1600/angel-kitty-238x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheN2U3l_x4pdWjXWaPitn2BcQQGzAstD4PS8KicmXL8MG6gZnabiJSjjGyL7dNJI9qEgkceVeFhzA4n9cR4kenh4alWgvMKvRKRCFkZ-x-nUsRTEstX_1XayCdVV4YhnFGpNvK/s1600/angel-kitty-238x300.jpg" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal;">Whether or not there is an afterlife and/or a god or gods
that rule it is a debate that has been going on for some time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, just search bulletin boards, chat
rooms or Facebook groups and you will have more than your fill of choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, being one that is not shy about
debates, I thought I would weigh in here with a different perception.</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Enter: Blaise Pascal</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Pascal was a 17th century genius<b> -</b> a jack of all intellectual trades, one might
say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His work advanced both mathematics
and physics. In addition, some of his philosophical arguments are still discussed
today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of these is known as Pascal's
Wager.</span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
The Reader's Digest version of Pascal's Wager states that no one can know for
sure about the existence of God and/or the after-life but everyone bets their
life on one or the other - they have no choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The safe bet would be to believe in God and live like He does exist
because even if one was wrong, he would lose nothing but a few years of
inconvenience and then vanish into nothingness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If the believer is correct, thus winning the bet, he gains eternal
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it is a not much to lose and
everything to gain proposition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compare
that to the person who bets that there is no God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he wins, then he lives as he pleases and
vanishes into nothingness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if
he is wrong, he is subjected to a horrible and eternal afterlife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Pascal, the smart bet would be to believe
in God and live like it because one would have very little to lose and
everything to gain.</span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
<b> </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Schrödinger vs PETA</b></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Fast forward about 270 years. Erwin Schrödinger was<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> a Nobel Prize-winning <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physicist" title="Physicist">physicist</a>
who was instrumental in the development of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_field_theory" title="Quantum field theory">quantum theory</a>. </span>Schrödinger's<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> cat is a thought experiment that deals
with possibilities and outcomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
original concept was based on whether or not a radioactive atom is decayed in
an hour's time. It is a complicated explanation dealing with the half life of
the atom in question. Since I don't want to lose anyone in the explanation of
it, I will modify the scenario in a fashion that will make it more likely that people
will stay for the ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here is Psychosomatic
Wit's version of the </span>Schrödinger's<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> Cat thought experiment.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">A cat was closed
in a box with some food laced with deadly poison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After an hour, it was assumed that the cat
had either eaten the poison and died or did not eat the poison and is alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until the box is opened, the cat can be
considered both alive and dead at the same time.* This explication (known as
the Copenhagen Interpretation) holds that it is the act of measuring (or in
this case opening the box and observing) that changes the dual reality (both
the alive and dead cat) into one conclusion. That is just one of the many
interpretations of this thought experiment.** As nonsensical as this sounds to
some, many reputable theorists still assign validity to this interpretation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<b> </b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><b>The Afterlife has Gone to the Dogs - or in this case to </b></span><b>Schrödinger's
Cat.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Whether or not
there is an afterlife is something that cannot be determined with any certainty
until after one crosses over from this life into . . . well, that remains to be
seen, doesn't it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if we are to use </span>Schrödinger's
thought experiment as a model we can conclude that while we are living, waiting
for us is both an afterlife AND a state of nonexistence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we depart the living in this physical world
one of those conclusions will remain a reality while the other will no longer
be viable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How then shall we live in the
meantime?</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Well, if it was your beloved cat in Schrödinger's box, you
would anxiously cling to the living cat until you are finally able to joyously reunite
with it or sorrowfully say goodbye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
not, you would have said your goodbyes at the point the cat was placed into the
box.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Why would we treat the afterlife any differently?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The choices are that one could embrace a
hopeless destiny or a meaningful life full of hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the former, we might muddle through this
existence looking for some kind of meaning and only finding it by assigning
purpose to helping a few fellow hopeless souls who also have a meaningless, finite
existences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
Or, one could choose the equally viable option of the afterlife. With that
choice we could look forward to unending bliss in reunion with loved ones and embrace
being part of an eternal plan that gives meaning to life by being a part of something
much bigger than only a finite, random existence offered by the alternative.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I know that some would argue that even if the afterlife
exists, it may be unpleasant no matter how one chooses to live and a<b> </b>seemingly infinite
list of other negative possibilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is a discussion all its own and should be given its own space. I
will leave factoring the probabilities of the characteristics of the afterlife
for another time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So keeping it simple,
one can choose which direction he wants to go in consideration of his appointment for death. The beauty of it is that there
is no wrong answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is just a
question of choosing what kind of life you want to live and what kind of gamble are you willing to take<b>.</b></span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I know what reality on which Pascal would have wagered . . .
and he was a genius.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">*No cats were harmed in the making of this blog post</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">**</span><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Schrödinger's Cat tho</span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">ught experiment was based on<b> </b>sub atomic particles, half life<b> </b>of a<b> </b>radioactive atom and a mechanism to determine whether or not the atom had decayed to the point of emitting radiation that would cause a vial of poisonous gas to be broken therefore killing the cat. I explain this to hopefully dissuade egg heads from coming after me about quantum mechanics which would really just be a distraction that misses the plot.</span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span></div>
</span></b><br />
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-46126074930820847822015-06-21T13:06:00.000-05:002015-06-21T13:06:34.924-05:00Memories of Dad<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXy9RFqkiiJPMJSaDNLVDBuQZ09jat9Zc12MtqiaUhHW2IT3cvNS63MZIXHzCo1fhoSaMIvA78XXbvLAXxOUwKiKJkbYKmeSrZESQu2USlngve7YcoAGVVyfAMwhBebHTi_KVT/s1600/memories+of+dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXy9RFqkiiJPMJSaDNLVDBuQZ09jat9Zc12MtqiaUhHW2IT3cvNS63MZIXHzCo1fhoSaMIvA78XXbvLAXxOUwKiKJkbYKmeSrZESQu2USlngve7YcoAGVVyfAMwhBebHTi_KVT/s320/memories+of+dad.jpg" width="240" /></a>Today, of course, I am thinking of my father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He passed away when I was 18 - just six
minutes after my birthday expired. Life was crazy then and the whole thing was
surreal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched him waste away from
cancer the preceding months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone
told me that he waited to pass so he wouldn't foul up my birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to think that is true, but who knows?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If so, it was a nice present.<br />
<br />
I didn't have the same experience with my dad as my siblings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They knew a man that was gone a lot. They
remember a father who probably drank too much and was prone to be a little
scary as a result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am glad that isn't
my memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my years with dad, he was
a nondrinker who made my dinner every night because my mom worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was the guy that took me to every little
league game and even coached a little for my team.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dad was responsible for giving me my first friend of another
race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He helped a black man that he
worked with get his son into the little league I was in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few times he and I, his friend and son went
together to the games and got a bite afterwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thank him for showing me how normal life
should be.<br />
<br />
My father had a keen since of humor which involved his own vocabulary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had names for everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called orange juice, "Simpson,"
water was sky juice, and because we always tended to leave the vacuum cleaner
(the tank kind with the hose), in the hallway as a hazard, Dad called it an
automatic tripper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were MANY more
names he had for stuff, I wish I could remember them all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dad loved corn bread and made it practically every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never cared for corn bread as a child, but
dad was determined to change that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
would change up the recipes and add stuff to it just to try to win me
over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember one day he took some
out of the oven and there were pools of butter on the surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said, "Jeff, take you a bite of
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know you'll like it."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I responded, "Dad, you know I don't
like corn bread, why do you keep offering it to me?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His response was, "That's not corn
bread; it is buttered corn cake!"<br />
<br />
When I was 16, I got into a car accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It wasn't my fault - REALLY!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
guy backed out of a Pizza Hut across three lanes of traffic and hit me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was really scared to call my dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't know why; me being 16, I just thought
somehow everyone would figure it was my fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My dad showed up and made me believe right away that it was no big deal
and it wasn't my fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He even fixed
the fender in our driveway with his auto body expertise.<br />
<br />
Anyway, that is the father I remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am blessed with those memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do
miss him more than most people realize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
miss you, Dad. And dad, I like buttered corn cake now.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-23680045907819199522015-06-21T12:00:00.000-05:002018-01-17T13:50:26.627-06:00Leave it All on the Field<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHF2TVwTqbBKwdhic1iljefm6GlGeElfoCd0YfPOqVO5vA_MeWpz8Mg1WNOcmsS0vs_Cc31FllFechbq32a4_Lo2esek3bTa8nppj-KhvhXEWWH3lAgrNcnpKaJjN9HoaJMc2q/s1600-h/loneliness.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="262" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5149930492073916802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHF2TVwTqbBKwdhic1iljefm6GlGeElfoCd0YfPOqVO5vA_MeWpz8Mg1WNOcmsS0vs_Cc31FllFechbq32a4_Lo2esek3bTa8nppj-KhvhXEWWH3lAgrNcnpKaJjN9HoaJMc2q/s400/loneliness.jpg" style="float: left; height: 253px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 303px;" width="361" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>he heard him say it a thousand times over the years. “Leave it ALL on the field,” Eric would bark at his players at the practices and games for the Freemont High School football program. That was his mantra and all on the team knew it well. Its aim was to make it quite clear that every tiny bit of effort, every ounce of strength should be expended in the attempt to win the game. He loved that phrase, but seldom believed it was accomplished.<br />
<br />
Gina grew up with definite ideas about marriage and her duties as a wife. She was always there for Eric. She would run errands and provide drinks and fruit to the players. Every now and again, she may even cross the nourishment line and bring cookies. Whatever was needed, whatever she could think of to make things better or nicer, Gina was there to serve her man.<br />
<br />
Although she took her role in the marriage quite seriously, she did have her own ideas and dreams. She did quite well as a kindergarten teacher at the neighborhood elementary school. She served in the PTA and had just published her first children’s book. Gina was a real go-getter and she knew what she wanted. She was successful at every endeavor, except for the one she wanted the most.<br />
<br />
Gina was able to juggle marriage and career through love and conviction – the conviction of just doing what was right by her husband. In addition to her supportive duties at the field, she also tried to exhibit her dedication at home. She was always there to bring him a beer, chips and plenty of back rubs. She did love him and frequently told him so. But more than that, Gina gave her love hands and feet. This was just Gina.<br />
<br />
However, this was NOT Eric. He was a perfectionist and was never able to find perfection. No matter how well his team performed, there was always something they could have done better. They won a few regional titles, but had yet to make it to the state finals. He would not be happy unless they brought back the state title, he thought. What Gina knew that Eric didn’t was that even THAT would bring only a fleeting smile. Eric was not happy and it seemed to Gina that he was determined to stay that way.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, Eric had this same attitude at home – particularly with his ever loving, and ever trying wife. He tried to do his part in his own way. He helped out at the house, especially the maintenance and outdoor chores. He would even manage to muster out a “thank you” when Gina was being her serving self. However, he never showed his love for Gina and seldom voiced it. He didn’t really understand it or what it was or wasn’t, but Gina knew. She felt it go right through her every day, sometimes every minute.<br />
<br />
Gina felt that Eric’s affection was token as if he was hugging an old aunt that he hadn’t seen for years. When they shared intimate moments, Gina shuttered because she knew that she was a mere object to ease his frustration, not a wife to be loved or cherished. He was not always that way. Gina wondered how the change ever came about. She dealt with the temptation of blaming herself, but deep inside, she always knew that she could only do what she could do.<br />
<br />
Day after day she endured this marriage, most of the time with a smile. She, in faith, kept serving him, loving him, being there for him at home, at the games, and in the bedroom. She was there, but she felt it dying. She wasn’t sure what it was that was dying. Was it the marriage? Could it be her love for him? Perhaps it was her life, itself. All she knew was that something important was dying and she was slipping, ever so assuredly, into survival mode.<br />
<br />
One crisp October Friday morning, Gina started her routine. Knowing that there would be a game that night, she prepared for her husband a big, healthy breakfast. This got her up a full hour before him to clear out of the bathroom and have coffee and breakfast at the ready when he opened the morning paper at the table. Her preparations were made with conflicting emotions. She was excited to again go the extra mile for him out of faith and love, but at the same time, was agonized that it would be accepted with unloving apathy.<br />
<br />
After breakfast, she sent him off full and awake ready to face his day. In return, he kissed the air a good two inches from her cheek and drove away. She noticed his game folder left on the oak secretary by the front door. She scrambled to ready herself for her day in a fashion that would leave her barely enough time to stop by the high school to “save his day”. She saw Eric outside the gym and rushed the folder to him. Her reward was a not-so-angry, “if you would have reminded me at the door, you wouldn’t have had to rush over here.” Tears welled up in Gina’s eyes as she turned out of the parking lot.<br />
<br />
At lunch, Gina stopped by the supermarket and grabbed the makings of his favorite meal. Because her planning period was back-to-back with her lunch, she was able to get the meat and potatoes home and pre-prepped so she could have it ready and on the table after the game. She also managed to grab three cases of soda and four bags of apples to be put on ice in the back of her van.<br />
<br />
She was there in the front row, when the Freemont Roughriders won in overtime that night. She cheered until she was hoarse. She supported her man. She presented the apples and soda to the players after the game and dashed off to make his meal.<br />
<br />
Eric thanked her but never diverted his eyes from <i>SportsCenter</i> as she trudged up the stairs to bed. Somehow, she mustered enough hope to exercise her love and duty one more time before crossing off another hapless day on the calendar of their marriage.<br />
<br />
She waited there for him in bed with a new gown that flattered her thirty-something body. Her wrists and body had the light scent of her most luring perfume. Anxious tears filled her eye wells as she heard him finish up in the bathroom a few feet away.<br />
<br />
Eric knew what to do when he slid into bed. With not as much as an “I love you” or a mouth kiss, he finished his business with her and rolled over and fell into dispassionate slumber.<br />
<br />
Saturday morning arrived not unlike other Saturday mornings. Eric slept in while Gina got up early. Normally, she would do laundry and prepare breakfast. Today was different; her chore was only for herself. She filled two suitcases, gathered her laptop, books and other important papers. Gina was nothing, if not consistent - always thinking of her man so she let him sleep. While he was snoring upstairs, she wrote him a note so as to not wake him on his cherished day off:<br />
<br />
<i>Dear Eric,<br /><br />I devoted the last twelve years to you and our marriage.<br />I was there for you and I gave to you all I knew to give. I never asked<br />for anything in return, but I did need a husband - you know, Eric, a husband<br />to care for me, partner with me, but mostly to love me. Unfortunately, you can’t see that YOU need to be a husband for your own good as well as for the<br />prosperity of a marriage pledged to each other and to God.<br /><br />I don’t know what else to do; I have nothing more to give to bring about<br />the kind of marriage I know that WE deserve and God wants us to have. You<br />should be proud of me, though, Eric. For our marriage, even though we<br />lost, I want you to know that I left it ALL on the field.<br /><br />Your wife,<br />Gina</i>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-43238912324377033922015-05-25T07:40:00.003-05:002015-05-25T07:40:50.020-05:00On this Memorial Day, We Want to Pay Honor to Those Who Serve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5sAS_uZcRrbQBuPZfX7V8nimekyXGd-PadZDr-yKS8rbTxM2lGppFDXe9y0wcRMERO76nJgeYlOd4r7XZTnrk6LuPfsz5iJSr40U-zt7XLvhJfvgDfilD6nbKqyLd-dWqSCQ/s1600/wait-staff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5sAS_uZcRrbQBuPZfX7V8nimekyXGd-PadZDr-yKS8rbTxM2lGppFDXe9y0wcRMERO76nJgeYlOd4r7XZTnrk6LuPfsz5iJSr40U-zt7XLvhJfvgDfilD6nbKqyLd-dWqSCQ/s640/wait-staff.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
All kidding aside, my sincere thanks and respect goes to all those who have answered their country's call to defend and protect us. I would also like to thank the families who have sacrificed and lost loved ones in order to make and keep this country strong. We are in your debt.<br />
<br />
No matter how certain military actions have been viewed or supported, these brave individuals do not have the luxury of asking questions. They just answered the call. Respect should be given to them from EVERYONE.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxMaO272mFT7Soxv9X_siTJqlSdMF8VlMtSzCxRWGawtpRDHHygXz8xdGP7y9Py21Hs92RBfXRzL0OAUFQst4ZauZPWqbkmZN7cQoso5eULKZ_rj-xV07ZBMGBBOCFsDBsA20/s1600/eagle+on+tombston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxMaO272mFT7Soxv9X_siTJqlSdMF8VlMtSzCxRWGawtpRDHHygXz8xdGP7y9Py21Hs92RBfXRzL0OAUFQst4ZauZPWqbkmZN7cQoso5eULKZ_rj-xV07ZBMGBBOCFsDBsA20/s1600/eagle+on+tombston.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-57764546382988893922015-05-17T12:48:00.001-05:002015-05-17T12:48:54.843-05:00Why I Could Never be an Atheist<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfuyl9_TPRVa2_sZxbc4Bv_cFLdq_TpQLE0h0UtmhM02wWEeRQwX2NS_t2x5_zwZGd7ehwmNf9tcKiVaAO-lxpkdnRFav9722cfRzjt2rVLEafwtci5Nc17JcmI-JPHaXGqHC/s1600/Fountain+of+Eternal+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfuyl9_TPRVa2_sZxbc4Bv_cFLdq_TpQLE0h0UtmhM02wWEeRQwX2NS_t2x5_zwZGd7ehwmNf9tcKiVaAO-lxpkdnRFav9722cfRzjt2rVLEafwtci5Nc17JcmI-JPHaXGqHC/s400/Fountain+of+Eternal+Life.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fountain of Eternal Life, Cleveland Ohio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-56403027-62ca-1fe4-1769-9c618bc43047" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don't let the title fool you. I am not out to bad mouth those without faith. I am merely telling you why I cannot be one of them.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-56403027-62ca-1fe4-1769-9c618bc43047" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>"For in my faith, I stay connected."</b></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-56403027-62ca-1fe4-1769-9c618bc43047" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-56403027-62ca-1fe4-1769-9c618bc43047" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have been a Christian just about my whole life. I realized more recently that even when I was doubting and searching, I was still in the fold of God’s mighty hand. That is one of the things that is so amazing about Grace. God's Grace was sufficient - even in my doubt and anger.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It dawned on me this morning how thankful I should be for that. For in my faith, I stay connected. Connected to God, humanity, and to those I love.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There was a time recently that I wanted to break away from my faith. I felt a need to cut off ties to an unfair God, and to join the masses of God detractors. I was ready to take my place in the grand <a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2014/08/atheism-and-god-ostrich-paradigm.html" target="_blank">ostrich paradigm</a> of spiritual reality. <a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2014/08/gods-will-vs-free-will-epilogue.html" target="_blank">You can read about it here</a>.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am so glad that God's Grace was bigger than my doubts and resentments. For by that grace, I am still connected. I am grateful that there is not a storm so fierce that it can overcome the divine walls that protect His children.</span></div>
<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A mother's love is not made of this world nor dissuaded by wound or strife. </span></i></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No house, no city, no world can contain it </span></i></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nor can the constraints of this life.</span></i></b></div>
</blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This thankfulness hit its PEAK on the morning of Mothers Day. I lost my mom last year. Because of the role she had in my life as parent, dependent, and best friend, she gave my life meaning. At some point after a period of serious grief, I realized that if we were on our own with no God, we would be permanently disconnected with our parents, our spouses, brothers, sisters, grandparents and friends that have passed on before us. It would be almost as if they had never existed at all - or had the same reality of a movie we once saw. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What if you lost a child or the baby in your womb? There would be no connection; no present reality. We would have to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">pretend</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> that temporal things or beings could give our lives significant meaning rather than not being any different than the roadkill we pass on the freeway on our morning commute. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In atheism there is the admission that we cannot disprove the existence of God. However, we must also admit that the faithful cannot prove that He does exist - not in a transferable way. Whichever way we go in matters of the spirit, we must have faith in the path that we choose</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I had a preacher one time who loved to say "If I could take Jesus out of my heart and put Him into yours, you would never give Him back." The older I get and the more I grow in faith, the more I understand that. That </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the nontransferable proof that atheists lack. But even if I did not have that, I would still choose hope, because no pretending in the world can keep connections with those we love if we profess that those connections could not possibly exist.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So, I would still choose faith and hope because of love. My parents, grandparents, and other dear family and friends that have gone ahead of me are counting on it. I count on it, too.</span></div>
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</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;"></span><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Brothers and sisters, we want you to be fully informed about those who have fallen asleep in death so that you will not be overwhelmed with grief like those who live outside of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">true</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i> hope.</i> --1st Thessalonians 4:13 (the Voice)</span></div>
</blockquote>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-42051026213851563522015-05-09T09:01:00.000-05:002015-05-09T09:01:29.499-05:00Mom, Just Mom . . .<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzooH2iM8NILXYiVh1AqowyWAitBnKqxEJVHdJ8o_e_bTfe73DLHm3Cl0NweBvHw6VFLVrza1kDSFMGaO4nzFRNM42RfpxG3tgDTRg7U0ZzxsKIRKNkC6W_W_fIuqkosrrjtxA/s1600/mom+80+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzooH2iM8NILXYiVh1AqowyWAitBnKqxEJVHdJ8o_e_bTfe73DLHm3Cl0NweBvHw6VFLVrza1kDSFMGaO4nzFRNM42RfpxG3tgDTRg7U0ZzxsKIRKNkC6W_W_fIuqkosrrjtxA/s320/mom+80+cake.jpg" width="179" /></a>Yesterday was my mom's 80th birthday. I made her a cake. </div>
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First I got some fried chicken and made up some mashed
potatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom loves drum sticks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she got older, the legs were something she
found was suited just for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could hold
on to them, there wasn't a lot of work involved and no unnecessary bones to
dodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That and some good mashed
potatoes made up the ideal meal for Mom - as long as she had a dessert!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is where the cake comes in. It was chocolate fudge with
milk chocolate icing. In the cake batter, I added some peanut butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was my hack because my mom always loved
the chocolate peanut butter shakes at Sonic. I also added a packet of Dream
Whip to the batter because I know how important a moist cake is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When everything was ready, I sat down in my empty
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ate two chicken legs, a little
mashed potatoes, and for dessert I had peanut butter-chocolate fudge cake
custom made for the woman I owe everything I have sweet in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love you, Mom.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaw-zdIDBxQpZlPS1WXCk_0H-NGkXXWhXJ2gWqdxYts5j0uzWYeUdbv2mCCuORAx-VJ1R7shcLaihymfaqZDxw7ihxgMAE9NFnd1RjCrnxncMgFfPDk8jJrT0mEkampt2br7D7/s1600/mom+80+birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaw-zdIDBxQpZlPS1WXCk_0H-NGkXXWhXJ2gWqdxYts5j0uzWYeUdbv2mCCuORAx-VJ1R7shcLaihymfaqZDxw7ihxgMAE9NFnd1RjCrnxncMgFfPDk8jJrT0mEkampt2br7D7/s200/mom+80+birthday.jpg" width="111" /></a> </div>
The following message I have is widely considered a
platitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People tend to smile
thoughtfully and nod their head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then,
most go on their merry way without it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But let me urge you to take it with you and hold onto it tightly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let it become apart of your values and who you
are:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
LOVE AND CHERISH YOUR MOM WHILE SHE IS HERE OR<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>SOME DAY YOU WILL WISH YOU HAD.</div>
<br />
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-34132686624060274302015-05-04T17:38:00.000-05:002015-05-04T17:47:09.165-05:00The Blog that Relaunched a Thousand Words (or more) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_TsjNCqbH0r523xR7yW8VLN2xI0gBga4-922llT8OKqL40wt2PmbRrSnHmiDGmndRt9F0jYDe3E3kcgD4c-EPReUVBlZIb4EOU13YA4VRrtpBHWqm-RZi8C7khtTf6GxPFkw/s1600/Fotolia_65729945_M%C2%A9-momius-Fotolia.com_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_TsjNCqbH0r523xR7yW8VLN2xI0gBga4-922llT8OKqL40wt2PmbRrSnHmiDGmndRt9F0jYDe3E3kcgD4c-EPReUVBlZIb4EOU13YA4VRrtpBHWqm-RZi8C7khtTf6GxPFkw/s320/Fotolia_65729945_M%C2%A9-momius-Fotolia.com_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-c8dc6a25-20ee-ffde-df62-ce97e2f4f46a" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What a great time for a blog launch – or in this case, relaunch. There have been some things happening to me lately concerning my writing that makes it an exceptional time on a personal level, but that isn’t the only reason. This is an interesting time we are living in. With politics and other news, sports, and just everyday craziness that is afoot this season, there will be enough things to explore and laugh at for some time. By the way, it is also a great time for you to go and “like” the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/psychosomaticwit" target="_blank">PW page on Facebook</a>!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Presidential campaign season is officially underway. Both parties should provide some interesting blog fodder. On one hand, we have Queen Hillary and the Pips. And what’s a discussion about the Democratic Party without the mention of socialism? Thanks, Bernie Sanders!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On the other hand, the Republican primary seldom disappoints when it comes to providing a fascinating cast of characters and this year is no different. YET ANOTHER Bush wants to fill out a change of address form for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In addition, the field includes an ousted business woman, a retired surgeon, a really thirsty guy, and a couple of guys with really bad hairdos. We could discuss for hours.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Then there is the rash of police/minority issues that have plagued the country the past couple of years. This page will have plenty to say about that.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One thing that none of us can escape is the influence of God in our lives OR how the lack of a belief system puts those of us without faith on a specific path. This blog is always concerned about this aspect of life.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In addition, PW will look at some sports issues. Traditionally, there hasn’t been much of that here, but lately (for those that have been perusing the site) that has changed. With the NCAA tournament recently closed for the 2015 season, all fan eyes are looking at transfers and reloading for the upcoming season. This site will touch on many teams, but be primarily concerned with Indiana University. Baseball and football are also gearing up at the pro and college levels.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There will be something of interest for most people (if not one post, perhaps the next one). Some of you will agree with what you read; others will be irritated. Then the following post may have the opposite effect. As always, comments are always welcome - at <a href="http://www.psychosmaticwit.com/" target="_blank">Psychosomatic Wit</a> and on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/psychosomaticwit" target="_blank">Facebook page</a></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/psychosomaticwit" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. I look forward to responding to comments. Without interaction, I will never find out that I am wrong!</span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So, what do you want to talk about?</span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-7570177166155736062015-04-29T08:31:00.001-05:002015-04-29T08:31:51.644-05:00Should Christians Call for the Death Penalty for the Boston Bomber?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NqKcSH9c2bLd26BpE3Mu__6IvSfMTr_9-iPpDBwJD99pq3UsRkE5zvBe3hAfpxdx0CwwynIFI6VUEY07n8N7rD_JX64BrQrdmljT5nRlnpv7hE1EwNEDHhpY3NOtIB9vORFY/s1600/Boston+Bomber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NqKcSH9c2bLd26BpE3Mu__6IvSfMTr_9-iPpDBwJD99pq3UsRkE5zvBe3hAfpxdx0CwwynIFI6VUEY07n8N7rD_JX64BrQrdmljT5nRlnpv7hE1EwNEDHhpY3NOtIB9vORFY/s1600/Boston+Bomber.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Recently,
I read and reviewed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Uno<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">ffendable</span></i>, by Brant Hansen. Written from a Christian point of view, it deals with anger and, of course, being offended. You can read the review in the <a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2015/04/can-we-be-unoffendable.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>. In it,
Hansen talks about the MYTH of righteous anger and how it has no place for a
follower of Christ. I wondered in light of the Boston Marathon bombing
and the guilty verdict that was reached against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, how this “righteous
anger” principle applies when considering the concept of capital punishment –
especially for the Christian. The trial is in the sentencing phase so I think this is a timely topic. The issue now is whether Tsarnaev should be
put to death for his part in this horrible crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When people think of a capital offense, this surely would be a
good fit. Tsarnaev and his brother used pressure cooker bombs to destroy the
lives of race participants and a crowd of onlookers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the smoke cleared, three people lost
their lives and 264 people were injured - some very seriously including the
loss of limbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, it stirred up a
great deal of anger from all over the country and the world. Here are some
examples of that anger that I picked up in news stories and comments: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Fight
the good fight prosecutors and give this child-murdering Islamic terrorist the
death penalty he so richly deserves.”<br />
<br />
</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“<span style="color: black;">Just kill the scum and get it over with Boston”<br />
<br />
</span>“<span style="color: black;">So the Boston bomber kill 4 and injured over
200 and we are gonna give him a quick death? If it was up to me I would water
board him”</span></span></i></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These are natural reactions, aren’t they?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christians and nonbelievers alike are
sickened by such a crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, how
does God expect His followers to respond to this, with capital punishment?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently 75% of conservatives and half of Christians
say, yes. I would guess that for evangelicals, it is much higher since the
Catholic Church is against it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God has authorized capital punishment all over the Bible . . . oh
wait, or is it just in the Old Testament?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is troubling, isn’t it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Christians don’t like it when nonbelievers throw Old Testament laws in
their face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Old Testament laws bring up
death penalty for any number of things including prostitution, and being a
rebellious son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we are going to let
the Old Testament be our guide for our capital punishment views, how can we
ignore other Old Testament rules and punishments?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Christians like to look at the New Testament instead because it is
about Grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ fulfilled all the
rigidity of Old Testament rules and laws and if we hitch a wagon to his star,
then we can rest in that Grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
shouldn’t we also extend that grace to others?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should not that be our model? Does the new Testament support the idea of
capital punishment?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The simple answer is no. Christians like to point at a passage in
Romans that tells us to be willingly subjected to government authority. The other
passage is one in Acts where the apostle, Paul, subjects himself to government
authority even if it means his death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nowhere did it say that capital punishment is right and just under
grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Christians use this verse to
justify their clanging for capital punishment, then they also have to admit
that slavery is justified also because it is a comparable element under the
law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just because Roman law had the
authority to put prisoners to death does not mean that the practice was
endorsed by God. Only the authority of the government was endorsed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Getting back to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unoffendable</i>,
Hansen doesn’t discuss capital punishment at all but here is what he did say:<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 40.5pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“(Vengeance
is) His, and it makes senses, too, that we’re not allowed vengeance. Here is
one reason why: We stand as guilty as whoever is the target of our anger.
But God? He doesn’t. . . . Whatever anyone has done to me, or to anyone
else, I stand just as guilty. People have lied to me, but I’ve lied too, People
have been unfaithful to me, but I’ve been unfaithful too, People have hurt me ,
and I’ve hurt them. I get angry toward murderers, and then here comes Jesus,
telling me if I’ve ever hated someone - and I have <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am the murderer’s moral equal.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Does this concept not ring familiar?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
John, chapter 8, the Pharisees and Scribes brought a woman to Jesus. She was caught
red handed in the act of adultery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
law was clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This woman was to be
stoned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus told them that whoever was
without sin should cast the first stone at the woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Temple officials departed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since all of the accusers left (because they
were not clean themselves), Jesus pardoned her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Keep in mind, Jesus was the ONLY one that had the authority to cast that
first stone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He chose to extend grace,
instead.<br />
<br />
How then can Christians be for capital punishment?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where’s the grace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not saying that horrible offenses
shouldn’t be addressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many
reasons that, as a society, we cannot allow the offenders to walk freely on the
street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, doesn’t the death
penalty take that concept too far?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently,
Jesus thought so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes were recently married. They each
lost a leg during the Boston Marathon bombing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They made this statement regarding a potential death sentence for
Tsarnaev, “We must overcome the impulse for vengeance.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Also Jennifer Lemmerman, the sister of an M.I.T. police officer
who was killed by Tsarnaev, said she thought that the death penalty would bring
neither peace nor justice. She wrote on her Facebook page, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Whenever
someone speaks out against the death penalty, they are challenged to imagine
how they would feel if someone they love were killed. I’ve been given that
horrible perspective and I can say that my position has only strengthened,’’</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I don’t know if Kensky, Downes, or Lemmerman are Christians, but
they sound more like what I would envision someone being influenced by Jesus
Christ, rather than those with torches and pitch forks that tend to shout some
modern day version of, “Crucify Him!”</span></div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-9447782045649264992015-04-09T15:34:00.002-05:002015-04-09T15:34:52.924-05:00Can We Be Unoffendable?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxGZpf0y_3RI9CQi5XFYfFPHAYcO-ynBEILalJbSG68a0kyX7TbBPdNn8zCVYhJu51MsWi-yYXVcoEze_AM4LkpTkfe37eeFhPg15M2nscI17PUV-45h9b4TwFv8RCwfLuL-4/s1600/Unoffendable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxGZpf0y_3RI9CQi5XFYfFPHAYcO-ynBEILalJbSG68a0kyX7TbBPdNn8zCVYhJu51MsWi-yYXVcoEze_AM4LkpTkfe37eeFhPg15M2nscI17PUV-45h9b4TwFv8RCwfLuL-4/s1600/Unoffendable.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a><span style="color: black;">If you
just look at the title of Brant Hansen's <i>Unoffendable- How Just One Change
Can Make All of Life Better,</i> it appears to be another self help book
designed to teach the reader how to develop a tough skin. That assumption
couldn't be further from the truth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">The book
is written from a Christian point of view, but even skeptics will be able to
get something out of this book and enjoy it in the process. Hansen isn't
preachy or teachy. He doesn't even come off as an expert on the subject.
In fact, each page is laced with humility which is very appropriate for
the subject matter because through the pages, we discover how important
humility is in being unoffendable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">The
author exposes “righteous anger” for what it is, problematic and even an illusion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: black;">I used to think it was
incumbent upon a Christian to take offense. I now think we should be the most
refreshingly unoffendable people on a planet that seems to spin on an axis of
offense.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: black;">Forfeiting our right to
anger makes us deny ourselves, and makes us others-centered. When we
start living this way, it changes everything.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Hansen chides those that want to
cherry-pick scriptures justifying their anger and has a firm answer to
them, but of course he does it without taking offense.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">The
unoffendable message is given to the reader packed with humorous and heart
touching stories told in Hansen’s quirky, but charming way. He draws on
Christian authors and artists and isn’t shy about picking on evangelical
culture, as much as he does himself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">I have to
admit that I was skeptical about the book going into it. Sure, I bought
into the premise - which perhaps puts me a step ahead of the crusaders in
our midst, but I wasn’t sure about the pragmatic quality of the thesis.
In other words, while I agree anger and offense aren’t good ideas on many
levels, there doesn’t seem to be a choice in the matter for most of us. I
thought of it as a traveler going down the road looking for Unoffendable City.
If he stops at a local filling station to ask for directions, he would
probably get the unhelpful response, “Sorry, buddy, but you just can’t get
there from here.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">Hansen
agrees with me AND also disagrees:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And while I thought the ideal of
choosing to be “unoffendable” was ludicrous,<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’ve tried it. And I'm not
perfect at it, but I’m much, much better than I used to <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>be. I just let stuff go. I go into situations thinking, <b>I’m
not going to be offended. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>No
matter what.</b></span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">What I
found out as I approached the end of the book was that Brant Hansen is right. I
was not as prone to be offended in my daily life as I was before reading.
Sure, I had times where the gut reaction of offense wanted to surface,
but from reading the book being unoffendable wasn't quite as difficult as it was before and will
probably get even easier day by day unless I turn loose of the concept. I
do not plan to do that because I prefer peace in my life rather than strife.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="color: black;">I whole-heartedly recommend <i>Unoffendable </i>by
Brant Hansen. Although it helped me a great deal, it doesn’t come off as a
self-help book. It is more like a memoir or an amusing conversation with
an interesting friend at a coffee shop. It was so enjoyable that I was always
ready for another cup.</span></div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-18851995663115281262015-04-04T15:14:00.000-05:002015-04-04T15:14:15.768-05:00Thomas Bryant Answers the Call from the Hall<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOOub5nJnV9bxxdVqvl6-Ox59JGUzfsPHTugpU-hHFpGZCE85d-zAX9-yVvyOm5Y3F24jQVDQlpdADSQfj0AbeABLcLaZ6ffxYCpzGHX-gE9XbsPxsvGe0HUaCV-mxwEGZCMo/s1600/crean+meme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOOub5nJnV9bxxdVqvl6-Ox59JGUzfsPHTugpU-hHFpGZCE85d-zAX9-yVvyOm5Y3F24jQVDQlpdADSQfj0AbeABLcLaZ6ffxYCpzGHX-gE9XbsPxsvGe0HUaCV-mxwEGZCMo/s1600/crean+meme.jpg" height="400" width="385" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">As a follow up to my previous post, <a href="http://www.psychosomaticwit.com/2015/03/will-thomas-bryant-help-crean-keep-his.html" target="_blank"><i>Will Thomas Bryant Help Crean Keep His Job at IU</i></a>, 5-star prep standout Thomas Bryant is officially taking his talents to Bloomington. Coaches, fans and most of the team are celebrating. However, those players</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> on the bottom of the totem poll are probably biting their lips about now.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetJN8GdXmS0uvaGAk9j3Z67_LQQEJMpPfbcDI2CQv_4_F2Zw8-hoK1ehpTFM4UXXj07Xhe5pWy1zCg9ftkGgOnKXbJmzPu8qaZEy4hQxbXyWP-CZQdhBBQjQ-F9xcINru2mnv/s1600/thomas-bryant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetJN8GdXmS0uvaGAk9j3Z67_LQQEJMpPfbcDI2CQv_4_F2Zw8-hoK1ehpTFM4UXXj07Xhe5pWy1zCg9ftkGgOnKXbJmzPu8qaZEy4hQxbXyWP-CZQdhBBQjQ-F9xcINru2mnv/s1600/thomas-bryant.jpg" height="465" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you love me THIS much, Coach Crean?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-79420572519971192112015-03-30T21:27:00.000-05:002015-03-30T21:38:31.075-05:00Will Thomas Bryant Help Crean Keep His Job at IU?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9mqlIiUuaPwrFQfrPSFyDYQ8OzBfZkpvPmZeQ6zc0ZN6bGDdaVwGexFV0PtXBy0NKE6IS6ydc3uCJfql5v9kURUN7tjdJn1S2DIwJjw1daTqDNyzw86hueAdNPWm2fcCaUdR/s1600/Thomas+Bryant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9mqlIiUuaPwrFQfrPSFyDYQ8OzBfZkpvPmZeQ6zc0ZN6bGDdaVwGexFV0PtXBy0NKE6IS6ydc3uCJfql5v9kURUN7tjdJn1S2DIwJjw1daTqDNyzw86hueAdNPWm2fcCaUdR/s1600/Thomas+Bryant.jpg" height="320" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps the fate of Tom Crean at Indiana University rests in the hands of a 17 year-old man-child. Of course, I am talking about the program's latest crush, Thomas Bryant.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bryant is a 6-10, 240 pound center out of Huntington Prep, Huntington WV. He is a four-star prospect rated 27</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in this coming recruiting class. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It looks like it is a two-horse race between Syracuse and the Stripes to obtain Bryant’s services. Two things that make me think that he is leaning toward Syracuse is that A. He still talks about them despite the fact that they haven't contacted him in a couple of months; and B. this comment that he made to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inside the Hall</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, about his Hoosier recruitment included, “They send me a ton of damn letters,” In addition, the Crystal Ball from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">247 Sports</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> also has the Orange edging out IU for Bryant's services.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With all the axes falling on coaches around the country, Crean's job security is still ambiguous at best. IU AD Fred Glass seemingly gave Crean an endorsement to remain the coach of the Hoosiers, but pay attention to what he actually said to the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Indianapolis Star</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> last week (bold emphasis mine):</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"My goals for this program are to perennially contend for and to win multiple Big Ten championships, regularly go deep in the NCAA tournament and win our next national championship - be elite, if you will. As a lifelong Hoosier and IU basketball fan, alumnus and current AD, nobody wants that more than me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Coach Crean's status should be based on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">his ability to achieve those goals going forward</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, not what he has or hasn't done in the past.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because I believe in the team</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> he has assembled and is assembling, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">his leadership of it and their ability to start achieving our program goals, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I continue</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to support Tom Crean as our coach." </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This statement by Glass looks carefully crafted. When he claims that he “continues,” that implies “at the time of the statement.” He didn’t say, “I will continue . . .,” nor did he give a time frame or include the words "next season" in that statement, It seems that Crean’s ability to “achieve those goals going forward” and the team he “IS assembling” necessarily involves Bryant, or at least a similarly qualified big man. If not, IU is destined to have another undersized, under-performing team. </span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-a73768d9-6d94-34e9-1932-6b678b5730ba"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bryant is poised to make his decision by next week. It just may be that if Crean wants to keep his job at IU, he needs to do more then send Bryant “a ton of damn letters.” If Crean survives the Bryant recruitment without signing a quality big, then the next chapter of this saga may take place the first week of July, when the coach would be paid $4.5M less than if he was terminated today.</span></div>
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615740.post-84335846204511929232015-03-20T23:33:00.001-05:002015-03-20T23:33:16.257-05:00Indiana University Basketball is a Passion Play: The Fate of Tom CreanThis time of year is filled with passion. The NCAA tournament brings it all out. Underdogs and big dogs show up to flash their wares to fans in arenas and to the millions at home that are surfing the four channels carrying the games. Like every good passion during Lenten season, there must be a crucifixion. Tom Crean, Indiana's beleaguered coach, is this year's sacrifice.<br />
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I like Tom Crean. He seems to be nice guy. He cares about his players. He brought IU back from the disaster that was the Kelvin Sampson fiasco. He was the Moses that brought the program out of the bondage of NCAA sanctions and a pillaged roster to the edge of promised land of basketball prominence. But just like Moses, Crean is not to take them across that river. That position is reserved to IU's next Joshua - whoever that turns out to be.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTDZA4N_OgNL78xS_2uPUL4kbuWFXBXEN6cEWExo1Ue5wus7SPCujRzqmhkPXt2z0g1H_ASl8Y9FlpwTOeHq6dZSo9Ekpvlpo7g8SgPTFaQRBIeGvvxvz7VtjiD_8S-0eHL1w/s1600/tomcrean_sbj6vybd_elyc27x7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTDZA4N_OgNL78xS_2uPUL4kbuWFXBXEN6cEWExo1Ue5wus7SPCujRzqmhkPXt2z0g1H_ASl8Y9FlpwTOeHq6dZSo9Ekpvlpo7g8SgPTFaQRBIeGvvxvz7VtjiD_8S-0eHL1w/s1600/tomcrean_sbj6vybd_elyc27x7.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a><br />
IU fans are rabid. That is good and bad. They care about their school and particularly the basketball team. No one would ever debate that. However, their rabidity can sometimes be unjust. Crean isn't the villain many of them would have you believe. He took a team that was full of walk ons and eventually turned it into the number one team in the country. He did the program a great service. He should be thanked, given a cake, and be told that he is always welcomed back in Bloomington . . . as a guest.<br />
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If Coach Crean has been that effective with the program, why should he be shown the door? It is a fair question. Every good thing that he did for the program was a double edged sword. Sure, he had a number one team with two NBA lottery picks. BUT, he couldn't make it passed the Sweet Sixteen with two NBA lottery picks on his team - and an impressive supporting cast. Syracuse beat the Hoosiers with a stifling zone in that sweet sixteen game. Red flag courtesy of the Orange. Okay, that happens. However, the very next season Syracuse beats them again. Coach Crean didn't change or adapt to win the game. He tried to beat Syracuse with the same failed game plan that bounced them out of the tournament the year before. That was another red flag.<br />
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From that point on, IU sank into mediocrity. They lost important players either because they were ran off, left for the NBA, or transferred on their own, They also had players get into legal trouble. One was even hurt in an incident that should never have happened. As the team traveled through the shards of a damaged program, the coaching suffered. The team had atrocious defense and seemed to lack discipline. They even appeared to lack respect for their coach. After a strong start to the season, they slid finishing 5-10 with those five victories being over sub par teams. Still, they backed into the NCAA tournament because apparently the selection committee isn't allowed to use the calender when determining who is allowed to get in.<br />
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Still Tom Crean will not be fired. I think he will walk away of his own accord. The IU job comes with a lot of pressure. Coaching in the shadow of those five National Champion banners can be daunting. Although Crean seems to handle pressure okay, himself, it seems that his family has felt the weight as well. Crean describes his wife as having anguish when it comes to Tom's and their son, Riley's games. Riley is a player for a local high school. I guess that is illustrated with the "Tom Crean Sucks!" cries at Riley's games when young Crean takes the floor. Tom, the Christian family man, probably is through with subjecting his family to that kind of atmosphere while trying to win back a fan base that used up all their patience the first few years of Crean's tenure. He also probably realizes that a civil, dignified departure is a lot better than sacked which would probably be coming sooner rather than later. I believe he will negotiate a decent severance package and move to a school where basketball is just another sport.<br />
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Don't be too sad for Coach Crean. He will be given a chance to coach at a decent school and he will arrive at his new digs with millions in the bank. It is unfortunate that he couldn't make it in the basketball capital of the world. However, coaching jobs are usually fleeting. It comes with the territory. It is a rare program that has a coach for the long haul. Even then, it sometimes ends badly. Hoosier Nation certainly knows about that. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060441484392165488noreply@blogger.com0