My God Space

Kneeling During The National Anthem: A Veteran's Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 21:25:00 +0000

Kneeling during the National Anthem is a big topic these days as we struggle through racial tensions in this country. Colin Kaepernick’s protest back in 2016 has restarted all over the country with a different view for a lot of people.

I see a lot of controversy about kneeling during the anthem. Mostly that it’s being viewed as disrespectful to every person who fought and died for this country. They’re disrespecting our military and our country and our flag!

Well, as a veteran of over 20 years in the military I’d just like to tell all of those people… shut up.

The military has one job: to support and defend the constitution of the United States. That’s it. That’s their job. It’s literally part of the enlistment oath they raise their right hand and say when they join the military or reenlist every 4 years, and the constitution says it’s ok to peacefully protest in any way you feel necessary.

Here’s the thing – I wouldn’t kneel during the anthem. I am a patriot and feel it’s more respectful to stand and either place your hand over your heart or salute if you’re a veteran.

However, as a veteran who is sworn to support and defend the constitution, I will walk in front of a bullet to protect someone who is peacefully protesting, because that is their constitutional right and I will not let anyone take it away from them. Agreeing with them has nothing to do with my duty.

Kneeling during the anthem has NOTHING to do with the military. It has NOTHING to do with the flag. They are COMPLETELY unrelated because the anthem is a song, the flag is an object, and the military is here to defend our constitutional right to protest.

Watching someone kneel during the anthem doesn’t bother me. Sure, I disagree with them, but I still feel it’s their right, and as an actual 20 year, active duty defender of the constitution, I feel I have a perspective that needs to be heard.

Kneeling isn’t being disrespectful to me, it was Kaepernick’s way of saying this country has let down black people and that we haven’t done enough to stop systemic racism in this country. I personally feel he chose the wrong way to get that point across because it was too divisive. But on the other hand… boy did it get the conversation started.

The facts are these: no military person ever fought or died for a song, or for a flag. They fought and died to protect the constitution because it gives us the rights and the way of life we all seem to take for granted every day.

I’m sure I’ll get a lot of grief because of this post, but that’s ok. I want y’all to know that you’re opinions are valuable, and you are entitled to them. That’s what makes this country great. But stop saying that kneeling during the anthem is disrespectful to our military… because I’m the military and I’m not offended.

So protest! Protest as much as you can to bring injustice to light… because the military has your back.

Respectfully,

J. Bret Lamb, USAF (Ret)

We're all connected

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 06:42:00 +0000

Now that I’m retired I have some time to work on some of my hobbies. I’ve been researching my family history for quite a few years, but recently I’ve put a lot of effort into investigating my roots.

It’s been interesting, I’ve found that I have family members who fought on both sides of the Civil War, including a great uncle whose nephew was Abraham Lincoln. I have family who are doctors, lawyers, and even the Attorney General of Arkansas; as well as auto mechanics, barbers, and tons of farmers.

There is of course the weird side of exploring history. I’ve seen records of blatant voter fraud with family who lived on the east coast being registered to vote in California, I found a distant cousin who was murdered by a telephone repairman in her home. There are lots of cousins marrying each other, and even someone who, as a teenager, gave birth to two sons, only to find that their father was her father.

What I’ve come to realize is that the brokenness we feel each day isn’t by chance. We’re all broken in our own way. The sin of Adam and Eve runs deep, and the enemy takes advantage of our free-will whenever possible to exploit our faults.

But even in finding all these things in my family history there is one truth that doesn’t change: Jesus loves them all. Every single one of them.

No matter how much I research my family tree, I truly understand that we are all from the same root. Whether you believe in God, or in evolution, we all had to come from the first entity that spawned men and women. We’re all connected, and we should treat each other as family.

“Be excellent to each other” -Theodore “Ted” Logan

-God, help us to show the love of Christ to others in everything we do and say. Amen.

Protesting Humanity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 21:58:00 +0000

So Trump is in town for a fundraiser and the city is going crazy. People are making big signs to “protest” him, and I’m wondering when did San Antonio become such a hateful city.

Seriously, protesting is a means for social change, like when people protest war and stuff. Protesting the existence of another human being is pointless and your hateful signs won’t change anyone’s opinion of him.

You’re not “protesting” Donald Trump, you’re just standing outside a building and saying you hate another human being and you have no manners. Congratulations, you just lowered yourself to HIS level of hate speech.

If you want to protest something try marching against gun violence, environmental issues, or equal pay for women - that is something tangible you can change. You can’t change Donald Trump or the people who want to vote for him.

Let your “protest” against the ideology of someone running for civic office be your vote for a different candidate, but I’m willing to bet none of the sign carriers have yet to donate one single minute of their time to campaign for the candidate they want in office.

So no, I won’t be at the Donald Trump “protest” today, I’ll just simply wish him well and say he won’t get my vote because he doesn’t represent the America I want to live in. But then again neither does Hillary Clinton, they’re both horrible people. So I think I’ll just make a big sign that says “Armagedon outa here.”

“Love one another.” - Jesus

How Voting Trump Defines America

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 18:59:00 +0000

It’s been an especially contentious election year, mostly because of Donald Trump. You either love him or hate him, but I’m not going to debate the merits of whether he should or should not be President (he shouldn’t).

The phenomenon of Donald Trump says two very interesting things about this country –

1. We’re Tired of Politics as Usual: It’s true, people are seriously fed up with the government and entrenched politicians who don’t seem to really give a rat’s rump about the people they’ve sworn to serve.

This was very evident here in San Antonio during the mayoral race last year. Our old mayor, Julian Castro was called to Washington to become the Secretary of Housing and Urban development. To finish his current term, the city called upon a nice lady named Ivy Taylor. She wasn’t a well-known name and certainly wasn’t a career politician so it was a surprising move.

Fast forward to the election last year. Ivy decided to make it official and see if the people of San Antonio wanted her to continue as Mayor, so she threw her hat in the ring.

Enter Leticia Van de Putte, and longtime politician who had been in the House and Senate but was currently out of a political job, so she decided to make a run at Texas government and ran for Lt Governor. She lost, bad.

It was evident she had no desire to get a real job so she immediately ran for Mayor of San Antonio.

It seemed the outcome of the election was a foregone conclusion. Van de Putte was a political powerhouse with a lot of rich, powerful friends, plus she had every major endorsement you could get, like the police and fire departments.

She lost.

The people of this city made it known that they were tired of the old guard. Career politicians aren’t being effective and the rancor between the Democrats and Republicans has reached a point that nothing gets done, and San Antonio didn’t want someone who was part of that in their city.

This seems to be what is happening with the presidential election. People are tired of the same old politics, so they’re throwing their votes at a person who isn’t a politician and says things that a lot of people are thinking. Unfortunately, he’s also saying a lot of things people aren’t thinking, and shouldn’t be said out loud in any setting.

But the fact is, people are voting for him and if the Republicans were self-aware at all they’d realize they need to regroup, restructure and remake their party.

Oh, the Democrats don’t get a pass on this either. The fact that a Socialist is getting their parties votes should tell them some things about their party too.

2. America has no Manners: I’ve been noticing this for a few years now. I do a lot of blog reading and I’ve been alarmed how the content has slowly become vulgar. People have stopped caring about how they speak and the words they use. It’s rare that I read an online article without the author using a lot of blue words.

Personally, I start reading an article and if I run into a f**k I stop reading. The reason isn’t because I’m a prude, it’s because people who use those kinds of words are too stupid to know the real words, which means they’re too stupid to write an article of any real intelligence that I would benefit from.

“Vulgarity is no substitute for wit.” -Maggie Smith

Trump says things that are ugly, mean spirited, and downright vulgar at times; but for some reason people are eating it up. Why, because the U.S. has become a country with no couth.

There are myriad problems with this, but the one that applies to this article is that the President of the United States is a world figure. A statesman. Someone who needs couth.

Conducting world affairs and meetings with Kings and Prime Ministers and other Presidents requires a great deal of formality and respect. I don’t think Trump has any of those qualities, and the fact that people are voting for him shows that we don’t either.

What the phenomenon of Donald Trump defines about America is that it’s changing. People want something different, for better or worse, they just want something that isn’t the same as what they have now, and since this is a country of majority rule all I can say is that if this is what the people want then the rest of us will have to accept it.

"God, please let your gracious spirit fill this country and let us become a people who understand that words matter. Jesus knew this and chose His words carefully. Help us do the same."

A Book and Its Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:32:00 +0000

During my 3 month stay in Ireland I met some interesting people and did some fun things. One of those things was making friends at a local pub called Bolg Bui, which is Irish for “yellow belly.” Don’t ask me why, it’s an Irish thing. I made it a point to visit this pub because it’s a very fertile place to meet people. The Irish pride themselves on their ability to make conversation, so it was a good place to talk about my faith.

The owner of the pub is a wonderful lady named Tina, and she comes up with fun things to do which the pub sponsors, and one of those events is a “Mystery Tour.” The concept is fun, you meet at the pub on a certain day and everyone piles into a bus. Where does it go you ask? Only Tina and the bus driver know, it’s a mystery!

I decided to take the tour to meet new people and see some interesting sites. So I got on the bus one night and we headed out to parts unknown. I started talking to everyone on the bus and was surprised to find a very eclectic group of people of different ages and backgrounds, and as the bus winded its way down the tiny back roads of Ireland we all joked about our chances of getting to our destination because the bus driver was a little old man who was in his 80’s! We all wondered if this guy should be driving his own car, let alone a passenger bus.

However, we reached each place safely, and they were all really interesting. We went in and stayed about 30 minutes, had a pint, talked to each other and the people in the pub, and then headed for the next place.

The last pub we stopped at was my favorite because I’m a musician and there was a bunch of people playing traditional Irish music. This is something that a lot of pubs do in Ireland. They love their traditional music, and they’re fun to sing, so on certain nights people show up with their instruments and jam. There were 3 accordion players, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a violin player, and a multipurpose musician who played percussive stuff, like the spoons.

We all had a good time, and since it was our last stop we stayed longer. After about 45 minutes I noticed our bus driver shuffle in. I remember thinking “thank God he came in, it’s freezing outside and the last thing we need is to go back to the bus for the trip home and find this little old man frozen to the steering wheel!”

The bus driver sat down at the bar and ordered a drink, and as the band finished the song they were playing something amazing happened. The violin player got up and walked over to the bus driver and handed him his violin. But it wasn’t just a hand off, the guy almost bowed to the driver as he handed the instrument to him. The guy next to me gave me an elbow and said “you’re privileged to be standing here right now.” My interest was, of course, very piqued, and I watched as this elderly gentleman raised the violin to his cheek, and suddenly the entire pub went silent. I mean totally, completely silent.

Have you ever been in a bar and had it suddenly go quiet. That happens, like, never. There are too many people in a bar and too many conversations going on for anyone to care what’s happening elsewhere in the bar, but this place came to a complete standstill.

The driver nestled the violin under his chin, raised the bow, and launched into the most amazing Irish song I've ever heard. This guy’s fingers flew over the neck of the violin faster than anything I've ever seen, and it was precise; every note perfectly played.

Everyone in the pub stood motionless while the song filled the place, and when it was over the pub erupted into raucous cheers and loud applause. The driver handed back the violin and continued to work on his drink.

The band went back to playing and the din of conversations swelled into the air again. I was amazed at the reverence shown to our bus driver, and it wasn't the only time. Several times throughout the night the violin was handed off and our driver played again, and each time the entire pub didn't make a sound. It was awe inspiring how this guy commanded the attention of everyone in the pub.

The next day I contacted Tina and asked who the driver was, and it turns out he is a legendary traditional Irish music composer named John Dwyer. Who, you say? Well take a look here for a brief bio on John at the Irish Tune Composers website. It only takes a minute to read it, so I’ll wait until you get back…

So yeah, John Dwyer is a really huge star in the Irish music scene. You can see him on YouTube at the 2012 Traditional Irish Festival here if you care to watch him play, it’s worth a few minutes if you like interesting music. He’s from a famous music family, he’s been composer of the year, he’s still touring… and he drove our bus!?

I asked Tina why this legendary musician was driving us around Ireland, and she said “because he loves me.” Wow, that’s sort of like having Van Cliburn drive the limo taking you to prom because he’s friends with your dad.

I learned a great lesson that night and what it means to be humble. John Dwyer didn't care about his fame, he just knew a friend needed someone to drive a busload of people around for a night, so he stepped up. He showed me that the cover of a book does not tell the real story inside, and I’ll endeavor to be worthy of this experience.

"God, teach me to be more like John Dwyer, and to never forget what true humbleness should look like."

Ireland Blog - Obstacles

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 15:27:00 +0000

I love to travel. It’s something my wife has nurtured in me over the past 10 years we’ve been married. I wasn’t like this before I met her, I was more of a home-body who would take car trips to different places. I didn’t really like air travel so I never really traveled very far.

But then I met and married my awesome wife who loves to jet off to destinations unknown. While my idea of a vacation was driving to Florida, her’s was going to Russia. Seriously, she’s been to Russia, and she displayed her love of travel from the very beginning as she made all of our honeymoon arrangements and took us to Fiji. The only time I’ve ever traveled that far was on military business, so the travel arrangements were a bit different.

The past 10 years of being with this well-traveled woman has instilled the same love for going to new places in distant lands. Last year we flew to Europe and spent two weeks traveling the Greek islands, Turkey, and Italy. I loved it and remember being very excited about going to the airport to start our journey.

So why am I so nervous today? I’m boarding a plane to travel to Ireland where I get to stay for almost three months. I should be jumping up and down because I love to travel! But over the past few days I’ve been pensive, even scared with thoughts of planes not arriving safely and being separated from my family.

This morning as I wait to go to the airport I’ve been more nervous than I’ve ever been about traveling. I can’t eat, I’m pacing, I’m restless and agitated. I don’t want to go.

And then it hit me… the reason I’ve been so out of sorts is because of the nature of the trip. I’m going to Ireland to tell people about Jesus.

Whether you want to believe it or not, the enemy has a very real presence in this world. He doesn’t just run around making tragedies happen, he also has the power to effect you personally. That’s right, he can push your emotional buttons and effect your moods.

A good example of this is looking at what happens in your life just before you go to church. Some of the best fights I’ve ever had with my wife have been on the way to church. That’s because the enemy doesn’t want us to go there. He knows we’ll be fed by the Word of God so he puts up obstacles to stop it. Think about that the next time something happens to steer you away from a Christian event, and don’t give in to it.

The evil in this world doesn’t want people to hear the redeeming message of Jesus, and right now they’re working overtime to push my emotional buttons to keep me from going to Ireland by instilling fear and doubt in my mind.

It won’t work.

Just identifying why I’ve been so nervous the past few days has helped to push those feelings aside this morning. I’m stepping forward to extend the ministry of Jesus Christ, and the enemy will not stand in my way.

Pray for me, my friends, and I’ll do my best to keep you informed of my adventures overseas.

In God’s space –
Bret L

Technology and why it matters to the Male Ego

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 00:15:00 +0000

As we age our bodies go through a lot of changes. Our metabolism starts to slow down, making it a bit more difficult to keep a thin physique. Eyesight diminishes so people end up in the supermarket holding food items at arm’s length trying to read the labels. We don’t have the stamina to walk or run as far, we turn up the heat a lot sooner in winter, and our short term memory seems to… what was I talking about?

Now, I can’t speak about the aging process for women, they have their own set of aging issues. But for men there are things that happen that seem particular to men, like our hair falling off our heads and suddenly growing out our ears.

I’ll never forget the day I realized my hair was thinning. I was in the Air Force and liked to keep my hair cut to perfect military specifications. To keep a clean cut I used a razor to swipe off the little hairs that grow on the back of my neck. Well, one day I decided to ensure my quick swipes were doing the job right, so I pulled out a small mirror. Turning my back to the large bathroom mirror and gazing through the small one so I could get a good look at the back of my neck I suddenly saw the top of my head, and there it was. On the crown of my skull there was a bald spot. A BALD SPOT!?!?! I stood transfixed by the hairless hole on my head and screamed like I had just seen a spider. What, I hate spiders. They’re creepy. Judge me.

Now, I’ve always thought it pretty heinous that so many women feel they have to slather themselves with makeup or shove big implants into their breasts or workout 80 hours a week to stay thin in order to look good for men. But as much as women think that’s what men want, men also think women want certain things in a man too. Men believe women want tall, dark, handsome men with chiseled features who look like they could kill a Stegosaurus with their bare hands while singing like Justin Timberlake and saving a puppy from drowning. They like a full, thick head of hair and perfect features like they belong on the cover of GQ or in a Twilight movie. These guys exist, you know them, you try to talk to them and they say, “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.” Unfortunately the rest of us have to work at it, and when a normal man starts to blow his feathers it’s traumatizing.

I spent a lot of years working on Air Force flight lines. The thing about military flight lines is they’re full of military planes. Big, noisy military planes. The first part of my career was spent on the island of Okinawa working around F-15 fighter jets. Unless you’ve experienced it, you can’t imagine the high-pitched scream these things make when they taxi out of their revetments. You feel like you’re at a concert standing right in front of a couple bagillionwatt speakers with Aerosmith, Motely Crew, KISS, Mötorhead, AC/DC, and Led Zepplin all playing at the same time with the volume on 1,000. It’s loud.

So after years of this my hearing started to diminish. Not catastrophically, just the higher frequency range. It happened slowly and I didn’t realize it until I went to the doctor at the behest of my wife who said I couldn’t ever hear her. I told the doc that I had problems hearing people right in front of me if I was in a restaurant or bar with a large crowd of people generating a lot of background noise. He tested my hearing and informed me that I needed hearing aids. HEARING AIDS!?!?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! What, I saw a spider again.

So I was given a pair of hearing aids which were small and fit behind my ears. Practically invisible, right? But then my male ego kicked in and whispered in my ear “Pssst, what’s wrong with you? You’re not 80, you’re 45! You’re too young to be wearing hearing aids and people are going to laugh at you!” Well, that’s what he would have said if I could’ve heard him, but I didn’t because I need HEARING AIDS!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Damn spiders.

So I never wore my hearing aids except when I knew I’d be in a loud environment. I’d decided I would rather take the chance of people seeing the hearing aids than sit there all night squinting at the person right in front me trying to read their lips.

But then something cool happened. I good friend brought his new girlfriend to a get-together one day and it turned out she is an Audiologist. I told her about my hearing aids, which I wasn’t wearing at the time, and she told me to make an appointment to see her. I did, and she gave me a thorough ear exam to confirm just how crappy my hearing was. She told me what the range of frequencies were that my hearing had lost and I responded “Funny, that’s the exact same range as my wife’s voice.” Mystery solved.

Anyway, she ended up giving me new hearing aids. These aren’t just any hearing aids though, they’re magic hearing aids! They have cool technology that does cool stuff, like when I answer my iPhone the audio beams straight into both ears via a Bluetooth connection with my hearing aids! And when my wife goes to bed and tells me to turn down the TV, I simply mute the set and the audio streams directly into my ears in perfect stereo. And of course, it wouldn’t be modern technology without an app! So now as I walk into different sound environments I pull out my smartphone and adjust my hearing aids to suite the place I’m at, and I can also save the settings for where I’m at so when I return the app detects it and asks me if I would like for it to adjust the hearing aids to the settings I used the last time I was there.

Its nerd nirvana for the hearing impaired I tell you!

I was really blown away by how cool these things are, and now I wear them all the time just so I can show people how cool they are! I honestly don’t mind telling people I wear hearing aids now because I have “6 Million Dollar Man” ears and I want people to know about it.

It took technology to sooth my male ego, and that’s something that shouldn’t be overlooked. Technology changed me from an eye-squinting-because-I’m-trying-to-read-your-lips buffoon to a confident man who can hear the conversations around him.

Thank God for technology and what it’s doing for our lives, especially for men who are afraid their diminished capacities will undermine their inner Schwarzenegger, and they won’t be able to impress women by saving the planet from evil aliens.

So until my next post, good friends, the answer is yes… I can hear you now.

Let's Pray Real Quick

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 19:12:00 +0000

Prayer. It’s a direct line to the All Mighty. It’s used to petition and plead, as well as praise and thank God for His goodness towards us. But so often it seems that Christians don’t give prayer the respect it deserves. I sometimes see prayer treated as an annoyance, like it’s just something we have to get through so we can dig into our Bible study or other Christian event, so we begin by saying “Let’s pray real quick and we’ll get started.”
It’s a statement I hear often, and aside from being a grammatical tragedy it also leaves me wondering if the event may not go as well as it would if we had stopped and spent time truly communicating with God first. What would our mindset be after 20 minutes of connecting with God instead of 20 seconds?

We have a model to follow in Jesus. We find Him in the Bible withdrawing often to be alone and pray because that direct communication with His Father was vital to His wellbeing, and it should be treated the same way by all of us.

Prayer is powerful. It not only revitalizes us, it’s a tool in our arsenal for fighting evil. Mark shows this in his telling of a possessed boy. Jesus commanded the evil spirit to come out, and afterward his disciples asked why they weren’t able to drive it out themselves. Jesus’ reply was “This kind can come out only by prayer.” Mark 9:29. Jesus is telling us that prayer is so powerful that it can drive out the most stubborn of evil spirits.

Peter urges us to be earnest and disciplined in our prayers. 1 Peter 4:7, and Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray ceaselessly. We’re reminded time after time in the Bible about the importance of prayer, so why do we sometimes give it such little notice. Why do we sometimes treat it as a Christian checkbox just to say we did it before we start our Bible study, or VBS, or Life Group meeting, or even a worship band rehearsal?

What would your event or meeting look like if prayer was the most important thing you did in it?

Let’s give prayer the respect it deserves and not be in such a hurry to begin our events. Don’t blow through a prayer just to get it out of the way. Start your next event, whether it be a small gathering or a large group, with a time of truly connecting with God. Spend time asking Him to join your event and let His Holy Spirit be felt by everyone there. Prepare your event for God’s presence and see what happens. Start your event by saying “Let’s ask Jesus to join us here,” instead of “Let’s pray real quick.”

God, thank you for the gift of prayer. Thanks for being a God that is available to us and for answering our prayers. Help us to better use our prayers to prepare our daily lives for your presence in them. Amen.

5 Reasons the Republican Party is going to Fail (it's not what you think)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 22:48:00 +0000

Sitting on the sidelines of politics is amusing, to me. Watching the two parties go at each other just continues to show how mean spirited Democrats and Republicans have become. But one party is getting it right while the other flounders, and here are 5 reasons why the Republican Party is going to fail:

1. They don’t know our societies social pecking order -

Today’s culture is based on youth. Everywhere we turn we see how youth is valued more than experience. We see everything from commercials about the importance of youth, to hearing jokes about how old people are more of a burden than a treasure trove of information. Steve Jobs was 52 when the iPhone came out. His grasp of innovation was built on years of experience, not youth.

Republicans know that experience trumps vigor, but what they don’t get is that America doesn't care. Our society has been programmed to believe that old people are stupid and a burden on society, but the Right continues to prop up caricatures of this mindset as their leaders and they ignore the millions of 20/30 year old Republicans who are the savior of their Party.

The Democrats spend a lot of time referencing youth with their party, and it’s working. Young people today think that if you’re going to be cool and socially relevant you have to be a Democrat. That’s what they hear and read on a daily basis. The Republicans don’t seem to get this and they’re losing the future voting base of America.

2. They apparently didn't pass high school history -

Republicans have a wealth of ammunition at their disposal when it comes to the history of the two parties. Most people today will tell you that Republicans are racist. Why? Because that’s what they've been told over and over, but the Republicans don’t fight back.

It’s odd that Republicans don’t simply open a history book and show people that in fact it’s the Democratic Party that was born of racism and continues to be covertly racist through less noticeable means, such as government handouts.

Republicans are doing a terrible job of showing the country their minority base, which makes it simpler for Democrats to shed their racist past on to them.

I wrote an article on how Democrats have changed history so people don’t know simple facts, like they started the KKK. You can read it here.

3. They don’t point out that Democrats are rich -

Democrats have spent a lot of time railing against the “rich white Republicans” and have convinced America that they’re out of touch with our society. This is mostly done by actors and singers who people seem to bow down to and believe what they say is gospel. I don’t understand why Republicans don’t point out to everyone that the very people they think are telling them the truth are actually the real rich people in this country.

Seriously, the richest segment of this country is Hollywood. Actors, singers, producers, directors… all of them make millions of dollars a year, but have somehow convinced the public that they’re just regular Joe’s who are standing beside them fighting against “the man.” People don’t see that they’re actually standing on a $2 million yacht.

People like Bill Maher sit on their TV programs and say completely unrealistic things about Republicans but he does it in the form of a joke so his audience laughs and thinks it must be true because it made them feel good. Democrats push these witty people to the forefront a lot, and it’s a great tactic because it makes the Republicans look foolish, when in fact their statements have no real substance or proof. It’s sad that a smart-ass gets more credibility than a scholar bearing facts.

But believe me folks, you will never get invited to a single party thrown by any of the people you idolize in the entertainment industry because they don’t want to get your minimum wage earning dirt in their $30 million mansion. They really don’t give a rat’s rump about you, they just know how to manipulate the masses, it’s their job.

4. They don’t use the media -

It’s true that whoever owns the media will own the people. TV, movies, blogs, newspapers… no one can argue that it’s mostly owned by liberals, and their stories are slanted in that direction. It’s a smart move though, grab the minds of the people and you get your way.

It never fails that as I read articles I’ll hit a section that skewers the Right with a subtle zinger. But add up 10 million zingers a year and suddenly you have traction in the minds of the masses.

Sometimes it’s subliminally placed in media. A good example is the picture I chose for this post. Notice that success points to the “left,” while failure points to the “right.” It doesn’t seem like much but it’s subliminally putting out a message, and you’ll find this kind of stuff in a lot of articles.

The Left says that Republicans are all rich, and if that’s true why haven’t they taken over the media? Hollywood has become as much political as it is entertaining. Why aren’t Republicans setting up their own studios with their apparent riches and hiring conservative actors they can make famous so they can convince people that conservatism is good? Instead of having people like Rush Limbaugh spouting unhelpful spooge that just incites anger, they should build an industry like the liberals in which they can influence people.

5. They can’t count -

Elections are tough, and Republicans seem to rely on grabbing the most votes, but as we’ve seen in several elections getting the popular vote won’t get you elected because of the Electoral College. It takes winning key states which garner the most electoral votes to win an election.

Democrats have spent years building a suitable base in key states to draw liberals to them. It’s a simple strategy, create liberal havens to attract your voter base to move where their votes can have the most impact. It’ll be interesting to see if Republicans can win a presidential election in coming years. I have a feeling they won’t get the electoral votes.

Republicans don’t seem to have a clue about any of this. They have a road-map for success laid out right in front of them by Democrats, but they seem too stupid to replicate it, and for that their party is doomed to failure.

Forget Priorities... Blame Someone!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 18:16:00 +0000

So recently the Affordable Healthcare Act went into effect and people can now go to HealthCare.gov (link) to create an account and find healthcare resources. Well, it didn’t go so well. The site has been plagued with problems, everything from not being able to sign in to incorrect pricing for insurance plans, and now it’s a daily headline about the company that created the site being substandard (link), or programmers complaining about unrealistic deadlines (link), or whether or not the president knew the site was faulty before it went live (link).

Wow, seriously? A website that doesn’t work as advertised? When has that ever happened? Ummm, like every day!

Back in 2000 I was part of a corporation that built and hosted websites, so I have a little background in this stuff. I can tell you that building an ecommerce site can be a very delicate thing, especially with today’s programming technologies. There are a lot of web browsers that have to be taken into consideration from Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, and many others (link) which all have their own intricacies of handling code. Programming a website the size of HealthCare.org is a really big project. I looked at the source code for the site, and there are over 1,600 lines of visible code just to make the very first page render on your screen.

But let’s get down to brass tacks – why are we having congressional hearings about a website that doesn’t work correctly? Really, why?! We’re literally paying expensive congressional mouth pieces to root out the evil that caused this ginormous website to malfunction like it’s an anomaly or something.

Think about the technologies you have, has it always worked correctly? Isn’t the fact that iOS 7.0.3 was released so soon after iOS 7 hit the streets enough evidence to prove that technologies sometimes don’t work correctly? We’re not having congressional hearings about that, are we? Why is it so important to find someone to blame with the HealthCare.org website?

Politics.

I’d love to see how much of our tax dollars are wasted every year on politics, I think it would be staggering.

But I’m not going start on the politics of this issue or I’ll be writing for the next week. There are serious problems in this country that need the attention of our government. Investigating a website issue seems like a huge waste of time when over 14 million children in this country have to rely on food banks for subsistence. (link)

Let’s get real about what our priorities should be, because I guarantee there will be another website malfunction tomorrow.

“God, please open our eyes to the priorities of your gospel: to feed the hungry, to house the homeless, and to serve the underserved. Amen.”

Keep the Change

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 18:12:00 +0000

I have a wrist watch that’s been sitting in a basket on my kitchen counter needing repair for some time. One of the pins that holds the band to the watch broke and I’ve been meaning to get it replaced for several months, it just hasn’t been a priority because let’s face it, most people don’t need a time piece on their wrist any longer since we have a very precise clock in our smartphones.

However, it’s a nice watch and I decided I would take some time over the weekend to find a repair shop and get the pin replaced, so after doing a search on watch repair I decided to visit the L. E. Estrada Watch and Jewelry Repair shop. It’s a very small business in a very small strip center in an out-of-the-way part of town.

When I got there the door was locked with a hand written note on the door instructing me to knock. I didn’t find this odd because most jewelry places keep their doors locked because the bad guys like to target places like this.

After a minute I heard the door unlock and little old man opened the door. I went in and I could tell it was a family owned business and the gentleman who opened the door was Mr. Estrada himself. There were two other people in the shop already so after locking the door again Mr. Estrada went back to his task of servicing his customers.

The shop was very small with lots of interesting clocks on the walls that reminded me of my childhood and our cuckoo clock from which a bird would spring out every hour and loudly cuckoo the number of times that matched the hour it was announcing.

After a bit Mr. Estrada came to me and I showed him my watch. In broken English he said he could fix it, and after a few minutes he returned with my watch fully repaired. I asked how much and was told $1.50. Of course I don’t carry cash, because it’s not 1998, so I pulled my card out only to be told “cash only.”

I told him to hang on to the watch and I’d go find an ATM, but instead he handed it to me and kindly said “you pay me later.” I could tell from his smile that he was basically telling me that it was only a buck and a half so don’t worry about it and just take the watch.

I appreciate people who are gracious, and I could tell Mr. Estrada was the type to give people a break, even if it cost him money. So I left and immediately pulled out my iPhone and asked Siri to find an ATM. I’m a grace filled person too, and I was going to ensure Mr. Estrada was paid for his work.

So I followed Siri’s directions to the nearest bank which turned out to be completely wrong. She led me into a residential neighborhood and then as I sat at a stop sign surrounded by nothing but houses she announced that I had arrived at the bank. “Siri you suck at directions!” I said to her and she replied “Now now, I’m only trying to help.”

Feeling a little ashamed that I just berated a non-existent person I did a manual search for an ATM and a mile later I was at my destination. It took a few seconds to recall my pin number because it’d been a long time since I needed cash, and as I stepped through the menus to extract my money it came to a screen that said I would be charged $2.50 because we’re the bank and we can do whatever we want. Sucka!

I stood for a few seconds looking at the screen and thinking that I was about to spend $2.50 to get $1.50 to give to someone who told me he didn’t need it. What was I doing!? But that answer was easy, I was doing the right thing even if it cost me.

I got the money and bought something small so I could break up the $20 bill and returned to the shop. The surprise when Mr. Estrada opened the door to find me holding two $1 bills was worth the effort. I handed him the money and said “keep the change,” and he just stood there with a confused look on his face as I told him to have a great day and walked back to my car.

It’s the simple things that can mean the most to people, and although my watch repair probably ended up costing me almost $5 in gas, time and the ATM fee, it was really worth it to know that I made someone happy that day.

“God, thanks for putting Mr. Estrada in my path, and for the opportunity to test my grace. But most of all thanks for instilling in me the desire to go the extra mile to do the best, right thing.”

Rewriting History

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:43:00 +0000

I’ve always been a student of history, and I love going places that have sites of historical value. It intrigued me to stand in Ford’s Theater just a few feet from where history changed course as Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. I was also blown away when visiting Italy as I stood in a Pompeii home excavated from the ashes of Mt. Vesuvius and realized that it was buried only 79 years after Christ was crucified, but the windows had glass in them. I didn’t know we had glass that far back. History is learning, and we can all benefit from this type of education.

The problem with history is that it’s subject to the whims of people who sometimes don’t want history remembered and so they bury it. In essence, they try to rewrite history by omitting pieces of it. This bothers me enough that I decided to write this piece about the history of Republicans and Democrats because I’ve seen things in the news lately about each party that isn’t accurate.

I don’t care for either party, they’re both corrupt and unhelpful in solving the real problems of this country, but it strikes me funny how the Democrats have rewritten their own history in order to push negative views away from them and onto Republicans. Mainly, they’re racism. It’s true, the Democratic party is a party of racism and has been since they organized.

I know you’re thinking that this can’t be true; we’ve all been taught that Republicans are racist southerners. Well, get out your history books kids, because the racist South was actually Democratic. It’s true, it was the Democrats who fought to keep slavery during the Civil War. The Republicans wanted to abolish it. In fact, back then the Republican party was known as the party for blacks, and Democrats vowed that they would rather vote for a “yellow dog” than let black loving Republicans into office.

The Republican Party was organized as the anti-slavery party back in 1854 and has always been the party of equality and freedom for African Americans. You never hear about that nowadays.

History is pretty interesting, isn’t it? The Democratic Party has been working for many years to turn their racist past onto the Republicans, and since they control most of the news media they have been able to virtually do that. But they can’t escape from history.

Look at the South during integration. Remember George Wallace? He was the governor of Alabama who swore that his state would not let blacks integrate into white schools, and he made such a racist fuss over it that the National Guard had to be called out to keep order. Well guess what, Wallace was a Democrat. It’s true, Wiki yourself to death it won’t change the facts.

You probably also didn’t know that it wasn’t President Johnson who pushed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it was actually a Republican named Everett Dirksen. He was instrumental not only in this Act, but also civil rights legislation in 1957, ’60, ’65 and ’68. Dirksen wrote the language for the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It’s ironic that Presidents Kennedy and Johnson had to rely on a Republican to get the Civil Rights Act pushed through because they literally couldn’t rely on their southern Democratic Senators. They all wanted segregation.

Another example is David Duke, the infamous KKK guy who ran for office in Louisiana, and even for President. He was one of the most racist people known in the country at that time, and he was a Democrat. But even though Duke didn’t get elected, some racists did, like Senator Robert Byrd, a southern Democrat who was also a former recruiter for the KKK. I bet you didn’t know that the Klan was actually started in 1866 to be the terrorist arm of the Democrats to terrorize and lynch Republicans as well as blacks. Whaaat?! I know you’re thinking “Wow, this can’t be true, it’s the opposite of everything we hear today!” I agree, it’s hard to swallow, but the real history is there for anyone to look up, and it amazes me that the Republicans have all this history to tell people, but they don’t. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re stupid or if it’s because they don’t know their own history. Either way I don’t care, it’s their party; they can run it however they want.

You’re probably also wondering why African Americans tend to vote for Democrats if that party is so racist. It’s simple, the brutal tactics that Democrats used in the 50’s and 60’s to keep blacks from voting couldn’t continue, so they went a new way and now they use socialism in the form of government handouts. It’s a tactic of control, which even President Obama in his book “Dreams From My Father” describes what he and the Democrats do to poor blacks by using what he describes as “plantation politics.”

Anyway, this isn’t supposed to be a political commentary; it’s about history which I love to study. It’s about how history has been rewritten and obscured for political gain. The historical fact is that how the two main parties are being reported by the media is actually the opposite of what they really stand for; at least that’s what history shows, and I have a problem with people rewriting history.

Finding the Right Direction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:15:00 +0000

In a recent interview President Obama came out of the metaphoric closet and said that he supports homosexual marriage. That’s his prerogative as an American and this post isn’t about marriage, it’s about priorities and focus.

It’s amazing to me that homosexual marriage is such a big deal in this country. Seriously, it’s a topic that gets talked about on the news almost every week, and it’s caused division in our society on a national scale.

So here’s my question: why is this minority group enjoying so much attention from the media? Homosexuals only make up about 1.7% of the population¹. So is it me, or is this miniscule number of people getting a disproportionate amount of attention?

I understand that homosexuals want to have their grievances heard and dealt with, I’m ok with that. What I’m not ok with is that we have way more serious issues in this country that we should be focusing on. Why is this topic talked about more than homelessness? Why is it talked about more than poverty and starvation? Why is it talked about more than abused children, illegal drugs, or any of the myriad other ills that pollute this country?

What does it say about us when the homeless population in Louisiana doubled in one year², but we didn’t hear about it? Instead we were bickering about Jane wanting to marry Beth.

What does it say about us when the number of homeless families in Mississippi increased 260 percent in one year², but nothing is reported on TV? Instead we’re spending millions of taxpayer dollars on litigation and legislator’s time discussing why John and Dave’s marriage in one state isn’t valid in another.

Why are we so busy servicing the complaints of this teeny tiny segment of our country when other segments are having problems just finding food and shelter?

The enemy wants our focus to stay away from the things that Christ wants us to focus on. The Bible tells us "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

It’s easy for the enemy to use the media to turn us the wrong direction. They keep us focused on things of lesser value than what Christ wants us to work on. Our priorities aren’t in the right place, and we’re not paying enough attention to the real problems in our world.

Who knows, someday it could be you or me that’s suddenly homeless. Will it feed you knowing that instead of focusing on programs to help people in need, we concentrated on making sure George and Craig could get married?

“God, your Word tells us that this world will continue to spin out of control and into the hands of the enemy. Help us keep our focus on you and ignore the enemy’s attempts to make our priorities unbalanced. Amen.”

¹ Lisa Leff, Huffington Post, 4/7/11, “Gay Population In U.S. Estimated At 4 Million, Gary Gates Says.”

² M. William Sermons & Peter Witte, January 2011, “State of Homelessness in America.” Homelessness Research Institute and National Alliance to End Homelessness

Hating Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:49:00 +0000

Politics seem to permeate almost everything these days. I remember when people just went about their daily business and were only assaulted by politics when an election year rolled around. But now it seems to be politics every day and in almost everything around us.

The sad thing is that it affects us as humans. I see people all the time shunning their fellow man simply because of opposing political ideology, or even the perception of opposing views. A good example is John Cuzack. John is a good guy, a Democrat and a concerned citizen. A couple of weeks ago he tweeted that he read an interesting article by Tom Engelhardt about how the Office of the President has become “imperial” to the point that the president can order someone killed at any time. The article wasn’t a direct slam on the president; in fact it went into detail about how the office started to change after 9/11, and how the Bush administration made changes. Obama simply inherited these new powers, but he’s also expanded them to give himself even more control.

Cuzack wasn’t saying anything bad against the president; he was just saying the article was interesting and that perhaps the Office of the President has become almost king-like instead of an office of serving the people and there needs to be accountability.

Well, the response he got was mixed, but I was really surprised at the number of liberals who attacked John because they didn’t care what the article really said, they just saw something they deemed negative about Obama so they tweeted that they didn’t know Cuzack was a Republican and they wouldn’t follow him anymore, even though he had been on their top 10 follow list.

Huh? So you love John Cuzack, watch his movies and follow him on Twitter, but he posts a link to an article saying that presidential powers are getting out of control, and you decide that he can’t possibly just be a concerned citizen, but that he must be a Republican… so now you hate him.

This is just an example of what goes on today. We have become a nation of two camps: Democrats and Republicans, and people try to force you into one of these camps even if you’re like me and claim no political affiliation. I see them on TV sizing up people by asking the hot-button questions, “are you for gay marriage,” and “do you believe in gun control.” If you answer yes to these questions they put you in Camp Democrat; but a negative response will get you put into the Republican camp. Once they have you in a camp they know whose side you’re on and whether or not they like you. They don’t care who you really are inside, they base their entire opinion of you on the camp they’ve put you in. You can be the nicest person on the planet, but once you’re put into a camp you’re labeled for prosecution by the other side.

A good example of this is the 2009 Academy Awards. Every year they present a montage of Hollywood industry folks who have died the past year. The amount of applause that occurs as each picture is displayed is a good indicator of the actor’s industry popularity. Well that year Charlton Heston’s picture was shown, and the room was almost silent. Now, this is a man who brought us iconic pictures like Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, and the Sci-Fi epic Planet of the Apes. He won a ton of awards, including the Jean Hersholt Academy Award for his humanitarian work. He was a consummate actor and good guy, but the room was almost silent. Why? Because Charlton had been put into the Republican camp and this wasn’t acceptable to mainstream Hollywood. Instead of revering him for his amazing contributions to their craft and his humanitarian work, they shunned him over politics.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: the single greatest threat to the safety and prosperity of this country is Republicans and Democrats. Well, there's the Tea Party too, but as far as I can tell the Tea Party is just a bunch of disgruntled Republicans. I have certain views from both conservative and liberal camps that I agree with, but I refuse to be pushed into a camp. Politics and politicians are all the same in the end, so I choose to not participate in a party.

I vote for the person who most closely believes in the kind of America I want to live in.

There’s no perfect candidate and it’s a forgone conclusion that the two main parties are too big and strong to not get elected, so unfortunately I have to choose one of their candidates or my vote is wasted, and I refuse to abstain from voting. It would be irresponsible of me and all of you as citizens of this free country to ignore the election process.

We can’t help but get some of the political rancor on us. It’s everywhere and I don’t think any of us will completely go unscathed. Politics, liberal, conservative, racism, reverse racism, poor, rich, black, white, media, blogging... I'm just tired of all the hatred.

“God, sometimes it’s a bit depressing to watch as my fellow countrymen spend their time hating each other instead of using their skills to help one another. I ask for patience to handle this, and wisdom as we prepare to vote later this year. Thanks.”

The Choice of Blaming

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I had lunch today in the Haven for Hope cafeteria, which I do most days now that I work there. I always try to pick someone new to sit with every day because it's always very interesting to hear their stories, and I've heard a lot of stories. Today I sat with a young man named Ryan. He seemed quiet when I sat down, and a little jittery. He looked to be less than 30 years old, but it's hard to tell people's ages in this place.

I finally introduced myself and he told me his name. We talked about the food, and how it was to live at the Haven. He had only good things to say. Then I asked him how he got here. It turns out that he was a youth pastor until his wife suddenly died. His faith was shredded and his life spiraled out of control until he ended up sitting across the table having lunch with me in a homeless shelter.

I'm surprised everyone in the room couldn't hear my heart breaking.

I asked him if his faith had been shaken, and he said it definitely was. So then I told him that I thought it was odd that when terrible things happen to people they raise their fists and rail at God, blaming him for their pain and suffering... and all the while they let the devil completely off the hook. I said God is the creator of everything that is good and pure, but Satan is the destroyer of everything good. Perhaps his anger was being directed in the wrong place.

All Ryan said was "Fair enough," and we sat in silence eating our lunch. He finished his meal and said it was nice to meet me and went on his way, alone, head down, destroyed.

It's too easy to say that God works in mysterious ways. It's almost a meaningless cliche when someone has lost the love of their life. I can only hope that God will free Ryan of this torture that he has put on himself. In the end it's his choice though.

"God, I pray for pastor Ryan. Please reveal your plan for his life and relieve him of the hell in which he has relegated his life. I know you don't want that for him. Please. Heal him."

On Brown Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:11:00 +0000

It’s been an unfortunate day having a local San Antonio business put in a very bad light on a national level. Several hours after NY decided it would be ok for homosexuals to marry each other, the owner of Brown Coffee Company, Aaron Blanco posted on his business Twitter account that “No human law can ever legitimize what natural law precludes.”

The result was a predictable hailstorm of liberals spewing hatred at the company, even so far as Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel chiming in with his two cents in a Tweet that said “Dear Brown Coffee: God called. He said you suck.” How arrogant do you have to be to think you can speak for God? Your quip is both offensive and intolerant, Mr. Bourdain.

Yes, I said intolerant. The liberal’s buzzword for anyone who doesn’t agree with their views. I submit that it’s the liberal community who are actually intolerant to other people’s Constitutional right to free speech. Mr. Blanco’s comment didn’t say “Kill homosexuals,” he simply posted that he doesn’t agree with homosexual marriage. It wasn’t a hateful statement; it was just his opinion for which I spent 21 years in the military defending our Constitution so he could voice his opinion as a free American, just as I defend the homosexual’s right to free speech too! We’re supposed to be a free society in which we can agree to disagree about anything, and voice our opinions without fear of being harmed.

Our society has degenerated to the point that only a few are allowed to have an opinion and if you disagree with them you’re vilified in the media and your livelihood is threatened. Just because someone disagrees with homosexuals they are instantly labeled as intolerant and homophobic, when it is them who are being intolerant by trying to take away people’s right to disagree with them.

What Mr. Blanco did wasn’t smart. Using his business account to give a personal opinion about a hot-button topic like homosexual marriage was a bad idea. Business owners should know their business has to be neutral unless they want to lose a segment of consumers. But he didn’t express it in a way that would cause physical harm to anyone, so the hatefulness being delivered to him and his business by the liberal community is just another attempt to chip away at our Constitution and force people to bend to their way of thinking.

Christ commanded us to love one another. He didn’t specify a race, color or politics. He meant everyone. So that’s what I do. I don’t care if you’re homosexual; my only concern is whether or not you have a personal relationship with Christ. After that, you and Him can work out the particulars of your lifestyle choices.

“God, please help us to love each other the way you love us, and to be bold enough to stand up for the truth that you have given us in your infallible Word.”

Death, food, giving and an oasis.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 21:02:00 +0000

Saturday was an interesting day. My wife read an article in the daily paper about 18 month old Jesaydin Guerrero losing his life in a traffic accident. The family needed money to have a funeral for the child so they set up a BBQ stand at the funeral home over the weekend to raise much needed funds. The accident was especially tragic because it was a family member who accidentally ran over the child, and then to add insult to injury the family doesn’t have the money to bury him.

It took about .3 seconds for us to be in the car headed for the funeral home. Although I’ve been going to school for over a year and have had no job, my wife and I still feel blessed and when God moves us to share of our finances we know we have to do it. God loves us, and would never leave us short on money, so even when we don’t think we have enough to share, we have found that if we follow God’s urging we always come out ok.

Anyway, we went to the funeral home and there was a pretty good crowd. Family and friends were busy grilling up chicken quarters and Kielbasa sausage. There were beans and potato salad and bread, packaged in the neat Styrofoam container with a picnic style plastic fork, knife and napkin in a sealed bag. Nice meal.

The gentlemen gave us our meals and asked for $12. Now, this is where God moves in my life. He continually shows me that I am blessed, and I have to say one of my greatest pleasures is giving to those who are in need. I’m the guy who stops traffic to hand a beggar a few bucks that everyone hates because they feel I’m enabling this guy not to work, or that he’ll just spend it on booze. Well, I don’t care what they think, if the guy spends it on something I wouldn’t approve of then that is on him, not me. What I handed him was a gift, and once I gave it to him it became his to do with whatever he wants. It doesn’t lessen my responsibility to try and help him.

Sorry to get off the path. My point is that I know people need help sometimes, and I’ve been blessed beyond compare. So I took my two meals, handed the guy a hundred bucks, politely said “keep the change,” and left. I heard him say “God bless you!” as we walked away, and I thought to myself “He just did.”

We left the funeral home and it was such a nice day that I drove to the other side of I-10 to Camp St and stopped at Chris Park. This little one acre green-space is truly an oasis in the ugly downtown urbanity of San Antonio. It was built by Linda Pace as a memorial to her son who died at the age of 25. The park is across the street from the Camp Street Lofts and is pretty easy to find off S. Flores. You may recognize the name “Pace.” They created Pace Picante and used to own the Pearl Brewery (Pabst Blue Ribbon).

We took our BBQ bounty and sat under a beautiful shade tree and enjoyed the beauty of the park, shutting out the sights and sounds of the city for a while, and contemplated the abruptness of life, and losing an 18 month old child.

The contrast of death and the beauty of the life in the park was a reminder to me that our world is filled with both, and we will all be touched by both at some time in our life. I don’t have the answer to the question of “why did God let this happen to Jesaydin.” I only know that He doesn’t wish us harm. Only Satan wishes us harm. God teaches us through adversity, and strengthens us through our failures.

40 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:55:00 +0000

It was Easter Sunday yesterday, and the season of Lent has ended. I’m happy to say that my social experiment in news deprivation for the past 40 days was a success. For 40 days I didn’t purposely watch the news on TV, or log on to any media outlets online, or use my iPhone to check any news stories. I also didn’t listen to any radio stations but KLOVE, or read any books except the Bible.

I wanted to see what life would be like without the negative inputs that can come from media. So I cut out everything: no liberally biased NPR radio, no conservative leaning Fox News, no news at all except for collateral information gleaned from posts on Facebook or Twitter.

What did I learn from this experience? Well, mostly that the old adage “if it bleeds, it leads” is absolutely true, especially in San Antonio. Although I never purposely turned on the news, there were a few times I couldn’t help but hear it because it was on a television at a restaurant. After not seeing the news for several weeks it really stood out that what our local news agencies report the most is bad news. It made me wonder why I needed to know that someone crashed on 1604 and died, or that someone robbed a cell phone store in Leon Valley, or that two morons were charged with drunken boating. How did these stories enhance my life? Why was this news that everyone in San Antonio needed to know?

Some people will simply say “don’t watch it, just change the channel.” That’s a problem for me because I’d like to know the news, the real news, the news that makes a difference in people’s lives; like how people are helping the homeless in San Antonio and how others can, and should get involved. I want to know what our government is doing in this city and state, and how our representatives are actually representing us. I want to know about events like festivals, and stories about the hundreds of good and kind acts that happen in this city every day. What I don’t want is 30 minutes of news that has two good stories and 25 bad.

So what now? Has my social experiment changed me in any way? I’d have to say yes. It’s helped me see what is important. Without the constant intake of injustice and inhumane acts from around the globe, I’ve spent the past 40 days not worrying about all the things going on in the world and concentrated on the vicinity around me. The place that I can really be effective.

Don’t get me wrong, I pray for the entire planet on a regular basis. But getting my stomach in a knot about how Gaddafi or some other despot is treating their citizens doesn’t do anything to enhance my life. I know there will be injustice, that’s a given in this world. But knowing about every instance of it only brings us down.

Overall, I’ve felt better the past 40 days not having the “news” in my head. I’ll probably watch some news now, but I don’t think it’ll be the same. Maybe I’ll start a “pleasant news” network where for every bad story that has to be reported, 20 good stories must follow. Ha!

My advice to all of you is to unplug like I did and see how your life changes. If you’re a media junky and think that you have to know every news story that gets broadcasted, then that’s your god. Take a break from it and see how you feel in 40 days.

“God, thanks for this experience. It’s helped me become more focused on meaningful use of my thoughts and time. And oh yeah, to celebrate Easter can you tell Jesus 'Happy Resurrection' from me. I know that was a pretty busy day and we all appreciate His sacrifice and love for us. We love Him back. Amen.”

Lent(ish) – Day 5

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:43:00 +0000

I posted a few days ago that I’ve been thinking about conducting a social experiment about how the news media affects us. I was on Twitter one day and everyone was talking about Lent, so I decided to put my experiment in motion and use the Lenten season to do it, so I’ve unplugged from all news broadcasts on TV, radio, and online outlets for the next 40 days. My only source of information is whatever I glean from conversations around me and social media posts on Twitter and Facebook (just the text posts, not the videos).

Let me just say that Lent just happened to fall at the same time I’d been thinking about doing this experiment and it helped push me into actually doing it. As I said in my first post I’m not a Lent observer. Giving up coffee or beer or chocolate for 40 days won’t bring you closer to Christ. If you want to give up a vice then give it up for good, but if you want to be closer to Christ then read His Word daily and practice what He preached.

Anyway, the basis for my experiment was brought about one day when after driving somewhere I realized I was very agitated. I wasn’t agitated when I got in the car, and there was no traffic, so I started to wonder if listening to the talk radio show I heard during the drive had affected me. I started to pay attention to my moods more closely and realized that I could definitely see how taking in the news made me feel agitated, or sad, or just plain dissolutioned with the world. We all know that news outlets thrive on bad news. They prey on our seemingly subconscious desire to slow down and look at the accident, and they skew their reporting to the Left or the Right.

So I decided to stop taking in all of this stuff and see what happened. Would I become completely out of touch with the world, but be happier?

The first few days were a little hard because I’m a news junkie. I like knowing what’s going on in the world. But I stayed on course. Then suddenly the whole experiment was put into jeopardy when the catastrophe hit Japan. I saw a Twitter post saying there was an 8.9 earthquake followed by a tsunami.

Now I was in trouble. I started to grab the TV remote, justifying to myself that this was a game changing event and I really needed to know about it. But then I stopped and realized that this would actually help my experiment. Would I be able to gather enough info from sources around me to know what happened, or would this event go unrealized?

It’s been a few days now, and the only video I’ve seen about the disaster has been a fleeting glimpse on a TV in a restaurant that showed houses being swept away. Just that small intake made me feel terrible.

I mean, really, does seeing the utter devastation make the experience of knowing there was a catastrophe in Japan any better? Having your brain constantly bombarded with those images only makes you feel worse every time you replay them in your mind.

So I have to ask myself what would be different if I watched the news or videos that people are posting on Twitter. The answer is that my actions would be the same: I would still pray every day for Japan, and I would give to a relief fund to try and help out. The only other thing I could do is go over there, which like 99% of us is unrealistic. The difference is that I don’t feel that heavy weight that would be caused by seeing the destruction and devastation or having every minute of a news broadcast dedicated to it rolling around in my head. You may not realize it, but it effects you, and you don’t need it to know that there is suffering going on over there.

So far, my experiment has been interesting. I’ve gathered all of the information I need about world and local events just through the sources around me without the 5 thousand other stories about murders and rapes and fires and every other nasty thing the news fills their broadcasts with. I have all of the truly relevant information I need without the rest of the crap. I’m experiencing a better mood, and finding that I’m actually more productive not looking at the hours and hours of horrifying news coverage of the disaster.

I’ll continue to check in as my Lent(ish) experiment progresses.

Goodnight, and Good News.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:31:00 +0000

I’m a pretty avid news reader. I like to be informed about what’s going on in the world and in my community. With my iPhone I’m able to receive a ton of information. Here’s a “short” list of what’s on my phone: CNN, Time, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Fox, Huffington Post, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Mashable, Endgadget, WOAI (local San Antonio news), NPR, Al Jazeera, and Dilbert. That last one is just to cheer me up after reading all that news.

The reason I look at so many different outlets is because I want to get an array of interpretations of worldly events. I know too many people that stick to just the news service that suits their political stance, and that’s a shame because both sides skew their stories, and unfortunately it seems that most of the stories aren’t news that makes people smile either. Actually, I find that most of the time I’m agitated after reading the news because it’s frustrating to read about the political rancor in our country that permeates just about everything we do, and the deplorable way humans treat each other all over the world.

I’ve thought about not reading the news, but I’m afraid of becoming an uninformed oaf with no idea what’s going on in the world. But now that we’ve reached the season of Lent, I’ve decided to unplug. I don’t normally participate in Lent because I feel it’s an empty ritual that doesn’t really prove anything. If you want to impress me then give up that vice for life, not just 40 days.

Anyway, the only reason I’m doing this now is because a short term experiment is really what I need, and all of the stories I’ve read about Lent today gave me the idea to do it now. So, for the next 40 days I’m going to avoid the news. I’ve deleted all of the news apps from my phone, removed the news feeds from Twitter, and installed the Charlie Sheen filter on my home computer that is available for FireFox now. I’m going to avoid all talk radio, and only listen to Christ-centered music, and the only book I’m going to read is my Bible.

It’ll be interesting to see the results. Will I be able to glean all of the news I need from friendly conversations with people around me, or will I become a social black hole? We’ll see.

Beautiful Soul

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:15:00 +0000

It was kind of a sad weekend for my family. We had to lay my aunt Jackie to rest. She was a pretty remarkable woman. She was an unassuming person with a wonderful smile and a good word for everyone. She had a tough childhood that made her feel that she was less than worthy of anything. This continued into her adult life with an abusive marriage that lasted a long time. It wasn't until she was older that she broke free from that relationship and struck out on her own for the first time. She met a very nice man who showed her that not only was she worthy of being loved, but that life was an adventure that she was just beginning.

Jackie suddenly found a whole new world in which people cared about what she thought, and what she thought was usually very sagely and delivered with perfect timing. She began going on cruises and exploring the world. She decided not to waste another moment of her life, which was personified once after tasting a rather odious glass of wine when she commented "life is too short for bad wine." She poured it out and opened another bottle.

When she was in her late 50's she decided to go to college. The new love of her life was a college professor with several PhD's and spoke seven languages. It's difficult to be around someone like that and not catch the learning bug, so she enrolled in the Texas Woman's University. She found a whole new world in academia. For most of her life she was told that she was dumb, but she discovered that not only was she not dumb, she was smarter than most of us. She took classes and got certifications and the people at the college noticed her immediately. She received so many certifications that the college had to create advanced level certifications just to keep up with her.

Jackie finished her undergraduate degree at age 61 with a 4.0 GPA. But that wasn't enough for her, she went on to receive a Masters degree a few years later, again with a perfect 4.0 average. She finally became a teacher, bringing her education full circle to do what she did best, enlighten others.

Jackie's funeral was, for the lack of a better word, astounding. The pastor began with a eulogy and some scripture, then she said they were going to play some songs that Jackie really liked, and while the music played if anyone would like to say something about Jackie they could come up and do so.

I kid you not when I say that literally for over an hour people streamed up to the podium to talk about Jackie. Women who worked for her when she was a manager at an insurance agency many years ago talked about how Jackie had mentored them and helped them through marital problems and other difficult times in their lives. Professors from the college came up and talked about how Jackie was the most incredible learner they had ever met, and that the college even began a scholarship program in her name. Friends from years past, family, and acquaintances all spoke of what a wonderful, giving person she was. It was amazing to see how many lives she had touched.

It's been said that a person's life can be measured by their funeral. If that is true, then there is no scale big enough to measure the life of Hettie Jacqueline Nye. She will be missed, and all of our lives are just a little less joyful without her presence.

Rest in peace, beautiful soul.

The Bill of Subterfuge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:24:00 +0000

I just have to weigh in on the news I've been reading about the bill defeated today in Congress by a Republican filibuster. The bill would make free medical care available to 9/11 first responders, which I think is s good thing, but the press is saying the Republicans defeated it because they didn't like the price tag.

That isn't exactly accurate. The Democrats knew this was an important piece of legislation that the American people would like, so they secretly added some things that weren't publicized, such as abortions being funded with tax payer dollars.

This kind of subterfuge happens all of the time in Washington. It's a game to them, with the ultimate losers being the American people. They don't really care about us, they just want their agenda to pass. Both sides of the aisle do it. But unfortunately for the Republicans the Democrats really played dirty pool with this one and the press is playing along and reporting the story without all of the details. So now the GOP is being painted as uncaring villains.

The tragedy is that the 9/11 veterans won't get the care they deserve, not because the Republicans don't care about them like the press is saying, but because the Democrats loaded up the bill with things they knew the Republicans wouldn't vote for.

It's appalling how politicians treat us citizens, and I continue to say that the single greatest danger to this country isn't terrorists, it's Republicans and Democrats.

"God, please wrap your healing arms around those brave people who put their lives in danger on 9/11. Heal their wounds, and comfort their hearts. Amen."

When Freedom of Speech Attacks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:28:00 +0000

There's been a lot of press about WikiLeaks lately. Somehow they got their hands on some confidential documents from the U.S. government and decided everyone on the planet had a the right to know what they said. Some of the dispatches were embarrassing, with diplomats painting other heads of state in a bad light, but some of the correspondence details important U.S. asset locations such as dams, communication pipelines, industrial plants, and other things that the U.S. see's as critical assets that could hurt the country if they were destroyed. Thanks WikiLeaks for giving the enemy a target list, with directions.

So where does the line stop between freedom of speech and just plain irresponsibility? I've read article after article on every major news web site about how WikiLeaks was putting soldiers overseas and citizens here in this country at risk, and I thought to myself "Are you kidding? You people do this every day!"

It's true, every time the U.S. does something to capture or kill high ranking enemy combatants the press details exactly how they did it. I remember several instances where coalition forces tracked down the enemy by triangulating cell phone signals, so the press tells everyone how they did it. So now the enemy knows not to use cell phones.

The enemy learns fast, and the press is their greatest asset for information on what we're doing to fight them. They learn troop movements, tactics, and how our technology works simply by logging into any of the news outlets every day.

I think WikiLeaks is doing a disservice to this country, but the news media has no room to condemn them when they are just as guilty. I'm all for freedom of speech, but I'm more concerned about the safety of our troops. I think the press should be held accountable for being responsible with their mandate of reporting events.

The lives of our military members is more important than their ratings.

"God, it's unfortunate that we can't seem to get along here on this planet. Please help us find love for one another. And please keep our troops safe. Thanks."

Rest in Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:58:00 +0000

Earlier this week I had to put my dog to sleep. Lucy was a great pet, she was mild tempered and obedient. She loved to go for walks, and she took great care to sniff out the neighborhood. My wife said it was like reading the newspaper to her.

Lucy had cancer. We did what we could, including chemotherapy, but in the end she wasn’t going to get better. It was a very difficult decision to put her down, but we knew it was the right thing to do. So I loaded her in the car and took her to the vet and they euthanized her.

Having a loved pet die is pretty difficult. For me it brought out a range of emotions, one of which was how bad I felt that I had “killed” my pet. Realizing that I had control of whether this living, loving animal lived or died, and actually naming the day and time she would die made me feel bad.

But then God reminded me of something, he gave us dominion over all living creatures. Genesis 1:26 tells us “… and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” I used to think that all this meant was that we were at the top of the food chain and we could do whatever we wanted to animals.

I see things a little differently now. Now I believe that having “dominion” over animals means that God has placed them in our care. Just like the rest of the earth God created, we are custodians of all living creatures, and how we treat them is important. It also means that we have the right to decide whether they live or die. My wife and I had to make a difficult decision with Lucy, and I was feeling bad about it, but now I realize that it’s part of my custodial rights and duties, and in making the decision to stop Lucy’s suffering I used that right in a humane way.

God has given us great power over the earth. It doesn’t mean that we can abuse it, we need to manage its resources, both animal and mineral with the principles He gave us.

“God, thanks for letting us have Lucy for 12 years. She was a great friend. And thanks for teaching me a lesson in all this. My life with you is a constant classroom. Thanks.”

Reversing Discrimination

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Some firemen up in New Haven, Connecticut filed a lawsuit a while back that was finally settled today. They said they were passed over for promotion because of the color of their skin. One of the plaintiffs scored higher than anyone else on the captain’s exam that year, but his test along with 13 others was thrown out.

I know, you’re sitting there saying it’s typical racism, that black people are being discriminated against as usual. Well, the people passed-over for promotion were 13 whites and 1 Hispanic. Their tests where thrown out because not enough minorities scored well enough to be promoted.

It amazes me how our country bends from one direction to the next. We’re trying hard not to be racist, but we’re not actually stopping the racism, we’re just applying it to someone else.

The thing that bothers me is that every story I’ve read about this over the past few years has referred to the incident as “reverse discrimination.” This ticks my clock because there is no such thing a “reverse” discrimination. There is only discrimination, it's the same no matter who you apply it to.

Saying there is such a thing as reverse discrimination implies that only one race can be discriminated against, and everyone else is racist, like they are the only people who can commit discrimination, and if the minority group does it, they’re just reversing the discrimination they’ve been suffering through.

Discrimination and bigotry are the same for everyone. No matter what race you apply it to it doesn’t reverse it.

God created all of us, and Jesus told us to love one another as He has loved us. He didn’t specify a color.

And yes, I'm bigoted... I love everyone the same.

“God, please help us to see each other as you see us, and love each other as your Son told us. Amen.”