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Confessions of a Homeschool Dad
Nov. 30, 2006
We Never Realize How Little We Know
We're still figuring out how they did things before computers were around. Apparently, we forget that there were plenty of extraordinarily smart and talented people around before our own lifetimes.
Here's a device that could track the sun, moon, and all visible planets through their irregular orbits.
Keep in mind that the Earth, which is itself orbiting the Sun, is constantly changing its position relative to all of these cellestial objects and, since they are orbiting the Sun in a different track, so are they.
About this device (apparently), Cicero "wrote that Posidonius had made an instrument 'which at each revolution reproduces the same motions of the sun, the moon and the five planets that take place in the heavens every day and night.'"
In the never-ending conceit that "we're smart and everyone before us is a cute, well-meaning, ignorant Neanderthal", the LA Times article concludes with, "Historians have generally dismissed Cicero's words as extravagant or even mythic, but the new discoveries suggest he may have been correct."
Hmmmm....I wonder what, or who, else that the "ancients" wrote about might be correct...
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Nov. 28, 2006
Childrens' Innoculation with the American Virus Keeps Us Safe!
With all that's going on in our world, it's understandable that some folks get a bit jumpy at the thought of terrorism. Particularly local terrorism.
While I understand that "only 1%" of Muslims ascribe to any radical, bomb-your-way-to-96-virgins sort of theology, that still numbers somewhere around 10,000,000 people.
And how do I know that my next door neighbor isn't one of them?
The answer, if they have kids, is that the American Virus is keeping us safe.
THE AMERICAN VIRUS
I have been to a number of devout Muslim homes over the last few months. I don't mean the ones where the women are wearing just a headscarf as a tribute to their religion. No, they're so caught up in "Western" fashion (it's interesting to see the headscarf with a tight shirt and tight jeans) that they obviously aren't going to be bombing anyone or raising little bombers.
I mean the full-on, burqua-wearing, "can't be seen outside my house by a man" Muslims. Even these housholds are infected by the American Virus.
What is the American Virus? It is everything about the culture that people cross hundreds of miles of open water in a raft to get to. It is the freedom to do more or less what you want without a government official snatching you in the night. It is the hyper-availability of everything, all the time.
WHAT INFECTION LOOKS LIKE
In these devout Muslim households that I've visited, I've noticed that the children have been infected and have started to infect their parents.
There are 3 TVs blaring "Dora the Expolorer" while children on some sort of sugar high chase each other around with Light Sabers. The kids rooms are wallpapered in SpongeBob SquarePants / My Little Pony wallpaper and filled to the gills with Barbie and Transformers toys.
Their parents might not like parts of the culture (heck - *I* don't like large parts of the culture!), but they love the freedom. The love the junk. And they've been infected with the American Virus.
These are not people who are going to strap on a bomb tomorrow (even a "My Little Pony" bomb) and end it all.
So, feel free to worry a little less, America. More effective than anything Homeland Security can come up with, The American Virus is keeping us safe in our own country.
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Nov. 20, 2006
Debate Test: Your Take on Gay Marriage
I've seen folks of all stripes weighing in on Gay Marriage. And I've seen people of all political / moral leanings on every side of this issue.
Judging from the "Marriage Amendments" that 19 states have approved, It's obvious that the majority of the population of America isn't in favor of it. However, the predominant reasoning seems to be, effectively, "I don't like it, that's weird, they're a buncha freaks!"
So, being against gay marriage myself, what is my problem with this? My problem is that I'm not hearing much "reasoned debate" on this. On one side, "It's weird". On the other, "Homophobe! Hater!".
The result is, as soon as more people for whom gay marriage "feels okay" come of age, we will have gay marriage. And, given the attitudes of most teens / college students on this issue, it's just a matter of time.
So, here's my challenge: Can you, in a reasoned way, tell me why gay marriage is wrong? Assume that you're in Congress and you're speaking to a majority of non-Christians about the reasons why our society will benefit from not having gay marriage or, the converse, why society will fall apart (how could you tell?) with gay marriage.
Ready? Go!
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Nov. 17, 2006
Do You Want to be a Desperate Houswife?
I must be completely out of touch with society.
I mean, I knew I don't agree with most of society's values and mores, but I at least thought I knew what they were.
Recently, I've seen a spate of advertising involving Desperate Housewives and at least the implication that you, American Women, want to be a Desperate Housewife.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES SHOP HERE
Just the title in itself (divorced, so to speak, from the show) doesn't say really good things, does it?
Does anyone want to be "desperate"?
The above title was on an antiques shop. I was tempted to check in and see if they actually got an increase in business.
If so, I'm going to rent out a store front, but some cheap junk, and put out a sign saying, "Idiotic Morons Buy Here!" Perhaps there's something to this...
SHOP LIKE A DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE
After all, if someone has such a negative view of themself as someone in a terrible, tempestuous marriage while pretending to be friends with their neighbors, who are trying to stab them in the back - perhaps these are people that are easy to sell this.
After someone comes into my "Idiotic Morons" store, they'll be met with an "associate" (we'll actually call them an "abuser") with a random piece of junk in their hands.
The abuser will tell the customer, "Buy this now, you moron, or I'll beat you over the head with it." Certainly, these already-cowed folks will buy whatever you present them with, right?
The above title was from a tourism ad for Palm Beach, Florida.
ARE YOU A DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE
These signs (and others I've seen) were repellant to me. I wouldn't go and buy anything from these places if they were paying me to do so.
What I'm wondering is if you consider yourself, on some level, to be a desperate housewife, and these ads are speaking to you.
Feel free to post anonymously to protect your reputation and the abusive follow-up posts (from me). But tell me where I'm missing the boat on this one! Please!
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Nov. 13, 2006
This is Just Plain Cool
Nov. 8, 2006
Resist the Money!
Nov. 6, 2006
My Last Post on Voting
Okay - maybe it's my last post in voting for this election...
Anyway, since I'm the Confessor, I have a confession to make. When I posted about Why Women Shouldn't Vote, I was intentionally provoking you (a little).
If you care, let me explain the reason why I did it and, again assuming you care, let me tell you what I found.
And, true to me, this is apparently going to be a long post. You can just skip to the end for the conclusions BUT don't you dare post a comment about what a meanie I am without reading the supporting facts that make up the rest of the post.
THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT!
So, lately, I've been concerned about the post-modern (or, more accurately, the post-post-modern) direction that U.S. society / culture is taking. Even more disturbing is that much of the Church is following that downward slide.
If you've ever heard some Church try to explain away the Bible (Female leadership in the U.S. Anglican Church? Gay Bishops? Deciding that there really is no "sin" except not being true to yourself?), you've heard this in progress.
But how far has this come? How deeply has our culture penetrated the Church?
As you may or may not know, I consider you to be the best hope for our future. A group of people so fed up with the poor academic education and the excellent anti-Christian eduction that they are willing to go against the flow to fix the problem.
In other words, you are people willing to take a stand for Truth, regardless of what your surrounding society says. In my opinion, this is the nest from which the most promising cultural change agents will take flight.
So, I thought to myself, how different is the education these little birdies are getting from the rest of the culture? Hence, a post was born.
FIRST CATEGORY OF RESPONSE: OFFENDED!
Before I get into what I found, let me say that I know there were a lot of people who read my post and didn't comment. I can only base my findings on the response that I received.
The responses fit into two main categories. The first category of response was (predictably) one of offense. There is nothing wrong with that, incidentally, but let's look at why people were offended:
- I am a Sexist / Racist and the Women Cited are Morons - Keep in mind that, while provoking, I did so from a base of facts. An organization not kindly to conservatives determined why women didn't vote.
Well, the reasoning that came out of the survey was apparently more than some people could take. I was a very bad man for even citing it. And the women in that survey were just stupid.
- The Title is Offensive - And it would run women off and they wouldn't get to experience my gloriously offensive arguement.
Really? The title? Of all things to get excited about, you pick the title?
- My Tone Is Mean - Assuming that I'm just trying to get women to vote, I went on and beat up on you too much. I am, in other words, a big meanie.
- Yeah, well, Men are Just As Stupid! - I would be the last one to suggest that this isn't true, but what does this have to do with why women shouldn't vote? If anything, it should mean women should vote more.
Has anyone noticed a disappointing trend? Yes! You're exactly right! Every single arguement made is Post-Modern!
Whether it is attacking me or men or just saying I'm a big meanie for posting / citing / wording the way I did, nobody actually decided to take on the arguement made.
Nobody cited any contrary facts, nobody cited why my facts might be wrong, and nobody attempted to explain why it is that women don't vote much.
THE SECOND CATEGORY OF RESPONSE AND MY FOLLOWUP POST
Others who were not so offended that they couldn't think straight posted about their own voting experience. These posts were mostly in the vein of, "I do vote, but some of the issues are confusing / beyond me / uninteresting enough for me to understand, so I lean on my man to understand these issues."
Again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, it inspired my second post, What is a Husband's Responsibility When Voting?
Keep in mind that this post was in direct response to the answers I was getting on the other post, if also slightly provocational. And, to this post, there was basically the same split of comments:
- Offense - For instance, how could I insult a woman's intelligence, the title was still mean, etc.
- In My House... - An interesting and educational look at how many people team up on an understanding of the issues to go vote.
Again, those offended were primarily emotional about what a bad, bad man I was and not what I had suggested.
THE SURPRISING AREAS OF SILENCE
Throughout all of this, I was waiting for someone to be offended about the actual facts. Namely:
- Women vote significantly less than men - That Scientology lady must be rolling over in her grave. All the fighting for the right of women to "be their own person" and vote, only to find that it's too much trouble.
- Women not voting for frivolous reasons - The reasons cited (not created) by me were pretty solid nationally. Women are too busy, they aren't interested enough, and they don't know when an election might happen.
- Maybe I'm a crackpot - In my research of this issue, I found enough contravening evidence that anyone could have cited. Perhaps the Women's League of Voters used a tiny sample to make big conclusions. Of course, if that were true, it might have hurt the "women should still vote" arguement.
- We've wasted an amendment - All of the work, lobbying, voting, and re-voting in order to get the 19th Amendment passed is lost a little more on every new generation of girls. If it ain't about lip gloss, they don't want to know about it.
Any of these areas could be patently offensive. I'm pretty offended at all of them. And yet, nobody attacked these wide-open areas. Instead, I was just a bad, bad man.
POSTMODERNISM AND THE CHURCH
For those who don't study such boring topics, Post-Modernism is the replacement of "the facts" with, more or less, "what feels good / right". Thus if a title of a miniscule, insigificant blog posting by an obvious blowhard offends you, you should skip actually reading it and post about how offended you are.
And if you feel like a law was meant for a different situation than yours, you don't need to obey that law. Heck - it's those other people that it was created for - go get them. They're probably doing something wrong right now, anyway.
And if you feel like something in Scripture is just there as a lark and meant for a different people and/or a different culture and/or a different time, you don't really need to consider that "Scripture". Just do your own thing.
And, frankly, I haven't seen God down here cooking, cleaning, educating kids, and trying to make a husband happy, have you? So, really it is more important to you have some "you time" and recharge than worrying about God. Heck - He (or She) knows how hard you work and wouldn't want you to get too stressed out.
Welcome to the theology of the 2000s.
THE IMPACT ON YOUR FAMILIES
So, why am I going to so very, very long?
Because this has a direct impact on your kids.
If your kids are unable to take a fallacious arguement based more on emotion than fact and rip it to shreds, they will have major problems not falling into the habits of a post-modern society.
The devil is a very smart guy. He approached Jesus with Scripture (which is Truth) and slightly mis-applied it. But, to those who don't know Scripture, his arguements might sound good. And he will approach your kids the same way.
The most successful con artists are the ones that follow the example of the devil. Take some verifiable facts, mix in some base emotion (greed is most common, but others like revenge, feeling good about yourself, and recognition work, too), and take whatever you want from people.
Not coincidentally, this is what politicians on all sides do every election season. They tell half-stories based on truth to get you to either vote for them or at least drive enough doubt and/or confusion into your head so that you don't vote for his opponent.
So, are you going to vote tomorrow? Or is it too much trouble?
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Nov. 2, 2006
What is a Husband's Responsibility When Voting?
Some of you have noticed that I've been talking a little bit about Why Women Shouldn't Vote.
And by that, of course, I mean "shouldn't be allowed to vote" since they pretty much don't anyway....
During that calm and reasoned discussion, a point has come up that I wanted to discuss separately.
Many of the (female) respondants have noted (and I have seen this with our friends, too) that they don't understand many of the issues involved or just don't know why one candidate is better than another, so they rely on their husbands to tell them.
My wife does this, too. She'll ask me who / what to vote for and then will (usually) make it to vote. She freely admits that she probably wouldn't vote if she weren't married to me.
SO - WHAT SHOULD THE HUSBANDS DO?
While all of this serves to make the 19th Amendment useless, we saw the need to tack it onto the Constitution and, unfortunately, it isn't likely to be undone.
So, that being said, what is the God-honoring thing for us husbands to do? Here are the options that we have that I could come up with.
1) Explain the "straight ticket" vote, tell her to pick R or D, and send her on her way.
2) Just tell the wife how to vote, drive her to the polling place, and point her in the direction of a voting booth.
3) Explain the main differences in the candidates and let her make her own decisions. Obviously this would be biased towards the husband's views, but I'm assuming that she knows this going in.
4) Have several sessions between now and voting day (That's November 7th - Next Tuesday, by the way) explaining the issues and the different sides involved. Then explain where each set of candidates stands on those issues.
5) Let her sit at home and cackle gleefully knowing that his vote will count for another person.
What happens in your house? What should happen?
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Oct. 30, 2006
Is Stem-Cell Research Illegal?
Let's admit here, first of all, that I'm weird. I like to find these odd issues to ask my friends about. Okay, I'll ask just about anyone...
I like to see what "typical, everyday people" think / know about certain topics. Pick a wierd topic. Joseph McCarthy. Ken Lay. Living on One Salary. Teacher's Unions.
Well, recently the topic is Stem-Cell research. Probably because of the Michael J. Fox ad for a Missouri politician.
The question is, "What, relating to stem-cell research, is legal in the United States?" Most of the answers have been "nothing". In other words, people think that stem-cell research is illegal in the U.S.
The reality is that President Bush is the first president that has provided some government funding for stem cell research, but eliminated any government spending on any new stem cell lines.
In other words, researchers are free to spend their own money on anything related to stem-cell research that they want to. And how much are they spending?
Check here for the answers. They may surprise you.
They certainly surprised folks I've talked with.
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Oct. 24, 2006
Illegal Heavy-Handedness
Can someone tell me why school districts do this?
Drugs, School Shootings, Poor Attendance Rates, Poor Test Scores, and all they can think about is mimicking the thugs in their schools?
Ridiculous!
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Oct. 23, 2006
Why Women Shouldn't Vote
You know, I've always been rather leery of a woman voting. I mean, they're such emotionally driven creatures that most of them don't have a logical bone in their body.
Don't get me wrong - the way that women were created is just right. I'm just saying that there is a reason that they were created as helpers to men.
And some of those reasons become pretty evident when it's time to vote. The first impact of women voters was really felt after the televised Nixon / Kennedy debates. Nixon, the superior statesman without question, looked "old" and "sweaty". But Kennedy? He was "cute"! The same thing was true for Clinton.
And, after all, isn't that the best reason to vote for someone?
I remember the psychologist women that they used to have on Fox News on their morning show said that women look for specific character traits in a man more than they look for someone good looking. However, when they see a good looking man, they automatically assign all those positive character traits to them.
THE GOOD NEWS
The good news is that women understand this problem, too. And, instead of foisting their ill-considered choices on the country, they just don't vote.
The women of Great State of Texas understand this particularly well as we are 49th out of 50th in percentage of elligible women voters who actually vote.
The detailed survey results from the Dallas area League of Women Voters also proves some additional reasons why women shouldn't vote:
1) They Lie - 53.1% said that they were "voting in every election" and 94.3% reported that they are currently registered to vote. Obviously, these are two bald-faced lies engineered to make these women look good.
2) They're Ditzy - 17.2% of them are "unaware of when elections occur". Yeah, because the political ads plastered everywhere are just informational - they don't mean an election is coming up.
3) They Can't Be Bothered - 33.4% of them say they don't vote because they "lack information about the issues". Hmmmm....let's see here.... If there were a huge sale on your favorite brand of cosmetics / clothes / shoes, but you didn't know where it was, what would you do?
4) They're Self-Centered - I know that's almost redundant, but bear with me. 10.5% of these women said that "issues that matter to me [are] not addressed". "Mr. Senator! Mr. Senator! Where do you stand on Farragama vs. Gucci?!"
WOMEN NOT VOTING - A COMMENDABLE TREND
Again, the good news is that most women are realizing that they shouldn't vote. While women turn out in greater numbers than men for the last 3-4 presidential elections, overall they vote in much smaller numbers.
And when you move to so-called "off-year" elections, the numbers are even smaller. Apparently, women aren't really concerned with state and local legislators. And why should they be? Do they have a stance on breast cancer (an actual concern from a "why women don't vote" survey I can't find anymore)?
If they don't have a stance on the important "women's issues" like breast cancer, they obviously won't be helping out women and there's no need to vote. For women.
And lately, many school districts throughout Texas (probably your state, too) are having bond referendums to the tune of $200 million and above. They know that today's busy woman just can't get to two voting locations to vote on huge bonds.
Frankly, it's probably not worth their time, anyway. At least, not if there's nothing about breast cancer on the school district ballot.
I'M PROVEN RIGHT AGAIN
While there may be some of you denying reality right now and saying that I'm all wrong about this, the best part is that I'm right.
How do I know women shouldn't vote? Because they've virtually done a voluntary recall on the 19th Amendment by not voting. Especially in my state (Go, Texan Women!).
Wanna prove me wrong? Wanna put me in my place? Then go vote at your mid-term elections. Go vote down your local school board bonds.
I'm not going to make it easy on you, but here's a hint: Election Day is November 7th. That's everywhere in the US, so no excuses. And, if you're in the Great State of Texas, early voting starts today, Monday, October 23rd.
Now, let's see if you can find a polling place. I bet you can't. Women....
CONFESSOR'S EXIT POLL
If you do choose to prove me wrong, and have actually voted (not "I intend to vote!", but you have pulled the lever / pushed the button / punched the chad) post here and let me know about it.
After all, I could be wrong...
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Oct. 18, 2006
Oh Yeah? What will you do if I poke my *other* eye out?
Imagine this scenario: You're running a business. It doesn't matter what it is, but let's say it's Dandy Doily Paper Manufacturers- The Fanciest Little Papers West of the Mississippi.
Overall, doilies have been selling like hotcakes. I'm not sure why - perhaps the new "in" thing is "Old Lady Chic". But, whatever the reason, there's a lot of people buying doilies, and you're supplying a lot of the Doily Makers with their doily paper. Business is good.
There's only one problem. About 2/3 of that special doily paper that the doily makers use is manufactured overseas. And the state that you live in is concerned that too much of the state's residents money is going overseas.
So, being in government and all, the state decides that some sort of tax incentive should do the trick. After all, 1/3 of the doily paper is manufactured in their state, why not the rest of it?
Now, what kind of tax incentive would you suggest if you were working on the "State Doily Committee"? Probably something that would encourage doily paper manufacturers to produce doily paper in your state, right?
Ah, but suppose I told you that the state was California. That changes everything, doesn't it?
Being California, they decide to tax you, the existing doily paper manufacturer in California (I told you not to set up shop in California, but noooooo....you wouldn't listen!) in order to fund a "Doily Paper Manufacturer Initiative" to get other doily paper manufacturers into the state.
Effectively, they are taking your money and using it to get your competitors to come to town. That sounds fair and reasonable, doesn't it?
WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA - THE LAND OF THE BLIND WHERE THE ONE-EYED MAN IS KING
Well, California is actually doing that in a way. No, it's not with Doily Paper Manufacturers (though there certainly aren't enough of those), but with the Oil Companies.
You see, they've got a initiative called Proposition 87 on the ballot. What this measure does is tax in-state oil producers in order to fund alternative energies.
What's the rationale for this? Well, as I say, it's in California, so I'll do my best to explain...
As Al Gore says in a commercial for Prop 87, "Here is the truth the oil companies won't tell you. Half the foreign oil they import to California is from the Middle East. As a result, California is dangerously dependent on foreign oil."
Now, what Al doesn't tell anyone is what percentage of the oil is foreign. He is <.i>trying to make you think that 50% of the oil pumped in California is from the Middle East, which would support his "dangerously dependent on foreign oil" statement.
However, what he actually says is that 50% of the foreign oil is Middle Eastern. So, if say 40% of the oil in California is from foreign sources (which it is), 20% is from the Middle East. Hence, 20% of the oil in California came from the Middle East.
DANGER: MORONS AT WORK
Is 20% "dangerously dependent"? And, if it is, how is taxing the people you want to encourage (companies that produce oil in California) going to help that dependency?
It won't, of course. But taxes on oil is something that Californians can't pass up. Frankly, if you proposed "Prop 300: Taxing Oil Companies Because We Don't Like Them and Think They Make Too Much Money", it'd probably pass.
And so, we end up with a measure that taxes in-state oil producers, encouraging them to leave the state. And encouraging nobody else to bring competition to the state, which would do the most to reduce what has to be paid at the pump. And we make gas even more expensive for the average Californian, who will end up paying this tax.
Think gas prices are too high? Just wait until the government gets through with them. They'll tax you into oblivion creating an alternative energy souce that will cost even more. Go, California!
No, really. Go. Away.
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Oct. 2, 2006
It's All The Jews Fault
Here's a video of an Islamic Imam spreading the "religion of peace".
It's a quick 4:00 minute diatribe the should clarify what is being preached in the Middle East. In the open. And made available publicly.
Yeah - we should just apologize to these guys and it'll be all better.
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Sep. 11, 2006
On Killing Americans
On 9/11, I thought I'd spread this thought that I received in e-mail. (Instead of SPAMming everyone I know, I just put it on my blog!)
Written by an Australian Dentist....and too good to delete....
To Kill an American
You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.
So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they found one.
"An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.
An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.
An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim.
In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.
An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.
An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.
The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.
An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.
When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!
As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least.
The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty , welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.
Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from a t least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.
So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American. |
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Sep. 4, 2006
Joseph and Katrina
We were just reading through the story of Joseph with our kids and, with all of the Katrina "rememberances" going on, something struck me.
For those of you who haven't read about Good 'Ol Joseph, let me summarize what happened with him in Egypt. The first part, you'll remember. The second part, not so much.
You probably remember that Pharoah had a dream that nobody could interpret. But Joseph told him it meant that there would be 7 years of abundant harvest and then 7 years of famine.
As everyone learned in Sunday School, Pharoah put Joseph in charge as his #2 to collect grain so that people didn't starve. He built a ton of storage facilities all over Egypt and filled them up during the 7 good years.
Then in the 7 bad years, he would sell the grain to Egyptians (and others from countries surrounding them) so that people wouldn't starve.
THE PART YOU DON'T REMEMBER
Here's the part that I didn't remember and I'm guessing you didn't, either:
The Egyptians came to him and bought grain with all of their silver. This wasn't a hand-out program, it was a place to buy grain. So, they did.
Then, when they were out of grain, they came to Joseph and said, "We don't have any more money, but don't let us starve to death!" So, Joseph took all of their animals in exchange for grain.
Then, when they were out of animals, they came to Joseph and said, "We don't have any more money or animals, but don't let us starve to death!" So, Joseph took all of their land in exchange for grain.
Then, when they were out of land, the came to Jospeh and said, "We don't have any more money, animals, or land, but don't let us starve!" So, Joseph took their labor by sharecropping. He gave them seed and had them plant it on (now Pharoah-owned) land and they were to give 20% of the crop to Pharoah and keep the rest for themselves.
So, at the end of the famine, Pharoah had all the money, all the livestock, and all of the land in all of Egypt. And the people thanked Joseph for being so kind to them.
HOW THINGS CHANGE
Being in Texas, I'm still hearing about all of the Katrina folks. They keep saying, "You have to keep paying for our housing or how will be live!?"
The Federal Government has put together a $6 or $7 billion grant (not loan) program so that Katrina folks can get up to $150,000 to rebuild their homes in New Orleans. To that, the Katrina people say, "How will I get there? And there's too much paperwork!"
I can only imagine what would happen if Joseph were running Katrina aid. I imagine he'd either buy their land at depressed rates or offer to help them rebuild if they work for the state for a number of years.
Both the Egyptian Famine and Katrina were (mostly) unexpeced Acts of God that devestated the region. In both cases, the people sought help from their government.
However, one group gave all they had, including their labor, to survive. The other group demanded more no matter how much they were given ($110 billion from the Federal Government alone - another $100 billion+ from private charities) and refused to walk more than a couple steps to get it.
How we've changed over the years.
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Aug. 30, 2006
Note To Self: Don't Send Kids To Lafayette College
By now, you've probably heard about the young man who brought dynamite onto a plane.
This young man, it turns out, was in South America for a little 3-week "summer trip". He saw all of the sights including a silver mine where he got the short-stick of dynamite as a souviner.
Now, I might be able to accept that he didn't really think that it was a real stick of dynamite. Until I read what else he packed into his checked luggage and brought onto the plane.
"A Customs and Border Protection officer inspected his bags and
discovered a small stick of dynamite, a fuse, an electrical blasting
cap and a white granular explosive in a plastic bag, the complaint
states. Officers said they also found two black powder-based fuses in
his carry-on luggage."
If it's fake dynamite, why do you need the fuse? Or blasting caps?
And what kind of souvenir is the "white granular exposive"?
WHAT I LEARNED ON SUMMER VACATION
Mostly, however, what I learned from this story is that I should not send my kids to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.
You see, "Huck", as he's called, is a student there.
As it turns out, he's not just a student, he's an honors student who made really good grades, so his parents paid for part of his South American journey.
This A-earning genius from Lafayette College not only decided to bring explosives on a plane, but he packed those explosives together with a fuse and blasting cap.
Earth to Huck: There is a reason dynamite doesn't come with a fuse already in it. It's BECAUSE IT MIGHT ACCIDENTALY EXPLODE! Ditto for the granular explosive and blasting cap.
But, at least he's getting good grades...
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Aug. 18, 2006
A Little Political Activism
Every now and again, I see a bill or other piece of legislation that could use support by, well, most of America.
Senate Bill 2590 is one of those bills.
This is an interesting piece of legislation that would allow you, the average citizen, to go online and quickly see where your government is spending your money. Seems logical, doesn't it?
Only, there are a few folks who don't want this bill to see the light of day. Here's the writeup in AFA.
Now, I know they're using a good deal of hype in describing what is happening to the bill. For instance, I don't know that I'd call it a "Secret Hold" - it is just a procedure that forces a committee assignment and vote.
However, it absolutely is a piece of legislation that could use your support. There is a section of the website to look up your US Senators and send an e-mail.
HOWEVER, e-mails are mostly ignored. If you take the time to call your Senator, it will make a difference. Of course, you'll never actually talk to your Senator (they're much too busy, dontchaknow), but you can leave your support of this bill with a staffer.
THEN write a simple letter in support of the citizens and sources of all of their money being able to easily see where it is spend and mail that in, THAT will make a difference.
Truthfully, there isn't anyone, regardless of party, who should oppose this. Transparency in government is always a good thing.
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Aug. 16, 2006
The Alladin Syndrome
Everyone knows the story of Alladin, right? It's one of the more popular "1001 Arabian Nights" stories.
Well, it looks like we've become a society that has taken the lesson of Alladin to heart and we're all the worse for it.
THE LESSON OF ALLADIN
Gotta keep
One jump ahead of the breadline
One swing ahead of the sword
I steal only what I can't afford
( That's Everything! )
And I've always enjoyed Disney's version of Alladin, in general, but there's one thing that bothers me.
One jump ahead of the lawmen
That's all, and that's no joke
These guys don't appreciate I'm broke
One jump ahead of the slowpokes
One skip ahead of my doom
Next time gonna use a nom de plume
One jump ahead of the hitmen
One hit ahead of the flock
I think I'll take a stroll around the block
And yes, I understand it's only fiction, but we seem to have taken the lesson from this book and applied to to our lives.
Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat
Otherwise we'd get along
BEGGARS IN EVERYDAY LIFE
It used to be that you'd see young, unfortunately bikini-clad young ladies waving "Car Wash" signs at traffic. That was bad enough.
But, these days, have you noticed that the theoretically responsible adults are sending kids into traffic to beg for money because, "Our vollyball team has been invited to participate in 'Nationals' and we're 'raising money' for the trip to Orlando" or whatever the excuse-du-jour happens to be.
So, now our public school children are being taught that begging is an honorable, acceptable way of getting money for whatever you need it for. I've even seen a fully-grown woman raising money for her divorce by holding a sign up to traffic.
Nevermind that, like Alladin, they are fully capable to work for their money (and I seem to recall a Bible verse about something like working and eating...) Begging is easier.
GOTTA EAT TO LIVE, GOTTA LIE TO EAT....
And then, there's this.
Why did this guy fake his interviews? "Freelance writer Bjoern Benkow said in a statement that the interviews,
published in Norwegian and Swedish media, were partially concocted
because of financial 'desperation,'"
In other words, he had to lie because he needed to eat. Apparently, there weren't any other actual stories to be written and he was unable to do any other work.
WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO
So, how are you combating this societal trend in your children? Or are you fitting them out with a cardboard sign and old soup can?
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Aug. 11, 2006
Bad News About Freak Boy - And The Rapture
So, yesterday, I innocently posted a prediction about how the whole Israeli / Lebanon / Hesb'Allah cease fire thing will work out in line with prophesy. It was all your nice, normal, average blogging day.
But then Suzie (of the creepy picture on her blog page) went and had to wake up Freak Boy. She posted that she was ready for the Rapture since these were the End Times and we're seemingly close to the Tribulation.
Well, 'ol Freak Boy is going to have to tell about some bad news he learned a few years back.
RAPTURE? TRIBULATION? WHATCHUTALKINABOUT?
There are a few folks I know that come to my blog that are not up to date on all of their "Christianese" (which, believe me, is just fine!). But, for the sake of clarity, I'm going to do a quick explanation of the Rapture and Tribulation period.
The Rapture is when Christ is coming back to bring home Christians. Sometime in the unknown future (we'll know the season, but not the specific time), Christ will return to Earth and Christians will be taken up to Heavan. Pretty simple, right?
The Tribulation is a 7 year period, most clearly (timewise) laid out in prophesies in the book of Daniel, that will start with a peace treaty in the Middle East headed up by the Anti-Christ. After 3.5 years, the Anti-Christ will demand to be worshipped in (the rebuilt by that time) Solomon's Temple. After 7 years is the final battle between good and evil in Armageddon.
During the Tribulation, however, it will be intensely unpleasant. There will be all sorts of nasty stuff happening (think the plagues in Egypt when Moses came, but worse and all over the world) that, frankly, I'd rather not be around for.
PRE, MID, POST - THE BIG ARGUMENT
The big question (without a whole lot of concrete evidence either way) is whether someone believes in a Pre-, Post-, or Mid-Tribulation Rapture. Here's basically what that means:
Pre-Trib - A Pre-Tribulation Rapture means that either right at the time that the peace treaty is signed or right before that time, Christians will be taken home. This is the most popular belief in Evangelical Christianity and the one depicted in the "Left Behind" series.
Mid-Trib - Mid-Trib says that once the Anti-Christ sets himself up in Solomon's Temple to be worshipped is the time that Christ will come and gather home all of the Christians.
Post-Trib - This, the least popular among anyone, says that after all hellacious 7 years of the Tribulation and right before (or right after) the Battle of Armageddon is when the Christians will go home. This is least popular because it means that we are going to have to endure all of the nastiness in the Tribulation period.
FREAK BOY SAYS, "NONE OF THE ABOVE!"
A few years back, I was involved in a study that was using the book The Pre-Wrath Rapture, by Marvin Rosenthal. This changed my view of the Rapture forever.
You see, as Marvin points out and my experience shows, most Evangelical Christian pastors, scholars, and laypeople really want a Pre-Trib rapture. And, if you bring up anything else to them, the usual response is, "Do you want to be here during the Tribulation!?!"
As he points out, what I want has very little to do with what God is going to do.
In any case, he makes and excellent case that the Rapture will be "Pre-Wraith" which, because of unclear timing in the Biblical prophesy, could be anytime from "Mid-Trib" to just before "Post-Trib".
One of the big reasons that I was convinced was his analysis of a part of Scripture that says that, basically, there are a lot of Christians that are going to be very, very upset after the Tribulation period starts. It doesn't say why, but Martin says it is because everyone thought they were going home, but are still on Earth.
If you're "all in" on Pre-Trib, I can see where it would be upsetting to find out you get to ride out at least part of the Tribulation. It's gonna be ugly.
BACK TO THE IGNORANCE DEFENSE
However, keep in mind that nobody really knows which it is. The most honest scholars will say that up front.
But this book is a good read - I recommend reading it sometime before the Tribulation!
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Aug. 10, 2006
My Prediction on a Israeli Cease-Fire
No, my blog isn't the Middle-East, All The Time - but there's a lot going on there, so you're going to get a little bit more.
I know a lot of you have read the Left Behind series. While there is a lot there that is Biblically questionable, they do weave in the major prophesies pretty well. One such prophesy is about the protection of Jerusalem.
Do you remember the part of the book where the angels are protecting Jerusalem from all of the incoming missiles and enemies? That is based on a prophesy that says (loosely - I'm working from memory here because I can't find it on short notice! If you know where it is, please post!) that there will be a bunch of enemies attacking Jerusalem, but not a blade of grass will be harmed. Anyway, something like that.
In any case, it came to me yesterday that this particular prophesy could come true very soon. Here's how:
WHAT'S GOING ON IN ISRAEL / LEBANON TODAY
You know how Israel and Hesb'Allah / Lebanon keep shooting at each other across the border, right? And you've probably heard that everyone is working on a cease fire, right? Well, in most of those cease fires, since they are being created in the U.N., it involved Israel stopping attacking and pulling their troops back to Isreal.
At this point, in "Magical, Reality-Doesn't-Matter, UN-World", Hesb'Allah will stop shooting hundreds of rockets a day into Isreal. And since reality doesn't matter to the U.N., we'll ignore the fact that Hesb'Allah was the one who started launching rockets unprovoked (and is likely to do so again) and that they're stated goal is the destruction of Isreal.
We'll ignore that because the U.N. will ignore that. So, how do you get Israel to stop defending itself unilaterally? That's a tough one, but it came to me:
CONFESSOR - THE PROPHET? NAH - JUST A GUESSER!
No, I'm not claiming to be a modern-day prophet (I'd be killed even at the "modern" accuracy rate of around 60%), but this was something that just seemed to fit.
What is going to happen is that the U.S. is going to agree (and the UN will agree to allow it) to put our brand-spankin' new Missile Interceptor System - the one we were threatening to use on North Korea if they could keep their missiles up long enough - in Israel.
That way, when Hesb'Allah launches missles into Israel, they'll be shot down with no harm to Israel. That will keep the Israelis happy since all they want is to be allowed to exist.
It will also fulfill that prophesy about a multitude of enemies attacking, but Israel being protected.
Pretty cool, eh? If it happens, remember that you heard it here first!
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