Books — Leave a comment
29
May 12

Book Review: When She Woke – Hillary Jordan

Just finished reading this book, a dystopian near-future story depicting an America where a third party, the Trinity Party, has come into power. The main theme of the story centers on Hannah, who, pregnant with a prominent pastor’s child, opts for an illegal abortion to protect him.

She was caught and subjected to “melachroming”, a process that colors the skin to blue, yellow, green, or red, depending on the crime. Chroming is the Trinity Party’s solution to overcrowded jails and prisons. Overcrowded due to the party’s strict fundamental laws and policies.

A fascinating read, it may be uncomfortable for fundamental Christians. Throughout the book, my thoughts drifted to the prospect of the Tea Party in power. This book explores what could happen when the line between church and state dissolves.

I give this book a hearty thumbs-up.

Business and Politics / Social — Leave a comment
27
May 12

Honor Them by Reflecting on Why We Send Them…

By James Milstid

I’m not anti-war.  But I’m not pro-war either.  When it comes to defending our freedom, our shores, our human rights, I realize that sometimes diplomacy doesn’t solve the issues.  But too many times wars are waged because a leader is determined to leave a historical legacy of his “achievements”.

Consider the following quotes from the many people who understood how fruitless war can be:

1. “Old men declare war because they have failed to solve complex political and economic problems.” ~~Arthur Hoppe, columnist

2. “After each war there is a little less democracy left to save.” ~~Brooks Atkinson, theatre critic

3. “War does not determine who is right, only who is left.” ~~Bertrand Russell, British philosopher

4. “We Americans have no commission from God to police the world.” ~~Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States

5. “No nation ever had an army large enough to guarantee it against attack in time of peace, or ensure it of victory in time of war.” ~~Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States

6. “War settles nothing.” ~~Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States and 1st Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

7. “War in the end is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of soldiers by politicians, and of idealists by cynics.” ~~Chris Hedges, American journalist and war correspondent

8. “After victory, you have more enemies.” ~~Cicero, Roman philosopher and statesman

9. “The best defense is no offense.” ~~Dr. Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at The Independent Institute

10. “Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both. “ ~~Abraham Flexner, American educator

11. “I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.” ~~Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

12. “Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.” ~~Albert Einstein, father of modern physics

13. “A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.” ~~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, writer and Nobel Prize winner

14. “Violence as a way of gaining power…is being camouflaged under the guise of tradition, national honor [and] national security…” ~~Alfred Adler, physician and psychotherapist

15. “Today the real test of power is not capacity to make war but capacity to prevent it.” ~~Anne O’Hare McCormick, foreign news correspondent

16. “All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.” ~~Alexis de Tocqueville, French political scientist, historian, and politician

17. “Make wars unprofitable and you make them impossible.” ~~A. Philip Randolph, leader in the civil rights and labor movements

18. “War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.” ~~Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and four-star general

19. “The dangerous patriot…drifts into chauvinism and exhibits blind enthusiasm for military actions.” ~~Colonel James A. Donovan, U.S. Marine Corps

20. “The failure to dissect the cause of war leaves us open for the next installment.” ~~Chris Hedges, American journalist and war correspondent

21. “We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives…inside ourselves.” ~~Albert Camus, French author, journalist, and philosopher

22. “No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.” ~~Alexis de Tocqueville, French political scientist, historian, and politician

23. “We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.” ~~Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States and 1st Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

24. “Wisdom is better than weapons of war.” ~~Ecclesiastes 9:18

25. “I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it.” ~~Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States and 1st Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

Social — Leave a comment
26
May 12

Front Page News…

The local newspaper in Statesville, NC decided to print the KKK’s flier, inviting “white people only” to a rally and cross lighting, on the front page. The flier takes up a good part of the page and dwarfs an ad for an urgent care center below it. The article is almost nonchalant about the event, like it’s a common event. Oh… and it’s “Free Admition (sic)”.

Humor — Leave a comment
20
May 12

Wait a sec…

Business and Politics / Humor — Leave a comment
14
May 12

Bill Maher’s New Rules

Uncategorized — Leave a comment
30
Apr 12

lol, rofl, :-), and brb

CD ED BD Ducks?

MR not Ducks.

OSAR, CD ED BD Wings?

YIB, MR Ducks.

 
Continue reading →

Food / Health / Science & Technology — Leave a comment
26
Apr 12

An apple a day…

Nature’s Rx: Farmers Markets Cropping Up at Hospitals

Christopher Wanjek, LiveScience Bad Medicine Columnist
Hospitals and health clinics have pharmacies for their patients, but why not add a place to pick up vegetables and fruits, too?
After years of treating their clientele for the ravages of poor nutrition — obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke — some doctors finally are catching on to the idea that prescribing carrots instead of pharmaceutical drugs might be a better option. It’s preventive medicine 101.

The Harris County Hospital District serving Houston, Texas, and its surroundings is among just a handful of health organizations that have incorporated a full-fledged farmers market into its facilities. The reasons are many: Most of the patients coming to its clinics are poor; their neighborhoods are largely devoid of grocery stores selling healthy foods and instead are filled with fast-food outlets and small shops selling snacks; and many of those people with access to supermarkets either cannot afford fresh foods there or do not understand basic nutrition.

As a result, the poor and middle class living in these murky food swamps, where unhealthy food is cheaper and more plentiful than healthy food, suffer disproportionately from high rates of obesity and related diseases. A doctor’s advice to “eat better” is essentially useless given these circumstances.

Via: Live Science

Business and Politics / Humor / Science & Technology — Leave a comment
25
Apr 12

Ahhh… so that’s what happened!

The Great and Powerful People’s Democratic Republic of North Korea is pleased to announce that, in accordance with U.N. resolutions, it has voluntarily taken action to observe the most honorable no-fly zone over its inviolable sovereign territory by shooting down the marvelous Unha 3 space vehicle immediately after a spectacularly successful launch. We took this step to demonstrate how, upon the 100th anniversary of our Great Leader, our People’s Republic is both a wildly prosperous country with superior military capabilities and a deep respect for international laws and conventions.

While shooting down such a powerful missile so soon after launch is a very difficult task, our brave soldiers fulfilled this task by firing multiple, well-timed volleys with their personal weapons from nearby mountain tops. All hail North Korea, her Army, our Great Leader, and his weanie-assed God-given spoiled brat of a Grandson!!

UPDATE: Kim Jong-Un Says “We Meant to Do That!”
North Korean leaders have just announced that they had been aiming at capitalist fish and that their launch was entirely successful. Kim Jong Un noted that the launch was merely a warning shot should Godzilla decide to leave Japan alone and attack North Korea instead.

Business and Politics / Photography / Science & Technology — Leave a comment
24
Apr 12

Leave it to IKEA…


Check out this cool cardboard digital camera made by IKEA. It was included as part of a press kit at an event in Europe recently, and apparently the “disposable” camera might go on sale sometime soon in IKEA stores. It uses two AA batteries and stores up to 40 photographs in the built-in memory. Images can be downloaded to your computer using the USB connection that swings out from one of the corners of the camera.

Art / Historical / Language — Leave a comment
23
Apr 12

Maya, Hindu Goddess of Illusion

She is Maya

An illusion; She hides truth from the unaware
A shadow; She reveals but a hint of truth, what is real
A glimpse; She teases with a brief look at truth, the true beauty of reality
A perception; She joys in teasing the senses, creates thirst for truth
A vision; She allows a fleeting awareness of truth’s loveliness

I long for Her reality, Her true beauty, seeking what She hides.
She opens her veil to me, my untrained eyes catching a hint of the truth She covers.
Oh, for the fog to clear from my eyes, to reveal all that is reality,
To know Her secrets, to penetrate Her enigma, to savor the reality She enshrouds.

She is Maya

~Written by James Milstid

I happened upon an article a few months ago about reality. I’m not Hindu, nor to I pretend to be at all knowledgeable about the Hindu beliefs, but the article mentioned the goddess Maya and it piqued my interest and prompted me to write the poetry above

Maya is the goddess of illusion, or as some would put it, delusion. Each of us perceive reality in a different way by putting our own spin on it. Our perceptions cloud what we see and think. Hindus strive to see the true reality, without the veil of human perception. Maya is all that we “put on” the true reality. Seeking Maya’s secrets and knowing of her allow us to see through our perceptions.

We shroud true reality every day. It’s simply a part of our nature.  It’s interesting that the ancient Hindus understood this and strive to see through Maya’s veil.

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