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Today we have the opportunity to give thanks. Thanks for what we have began, accomplished and avoided this year. We all find ourselves in various challenging situations in our daily life that gracefully builds character and on occasions tragically exposes it.
When I think back on all the things that went on this past year I can only be thankful for the grace and mercy bestowed on me. The outcomes could have be dramatically different. Early in the year I was out of a job that I hated, but had another one within two weeks. Didn’t miss paying a single bill. It’s still amazing to me.
So today I think about all of the things I have to be thankful for and it’s too long to list. But I think about what I’ve avoided and it brings me to a simple question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he speaks about service.
The greatest expression of our thankfulness should be our willingness to service. What have you done for others?
So during this holiday season I ask that you take a moment to offer an encouraging word to someone. Share sincere words of support and acceptance. Mentally place yourself in someone else shoes before offering up criticism. Be open to alternative points-of-views. Write a letter of appreciation to someone who would not expect it. We all fall short at times, but just be willing to have an open mind to the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of someone who you’ve never met. You never know, it may be the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
>>Ya see I went too long again. I’ve got to start shorten these things up. oh well.
I post this one a few days ago, but had to do it one more time for a Thanksgiving laugh. The difference in this one is that it includes commentary by Keith Olbermann who is viewing it for the first time. Enjoy.
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Happy Thanksgiving.
With the enormous task of cleaning up after the Bush Bad News Bears is the Obama Economic Team.
Monday President-Elect Barack Obama said that the country is facing an “economic crisis of historic proportions,” as he unveiled the economic team. He sought leaders who share his fundamental belief that “we cannot have a thriving Wall Street without a thriving Main Street.”
So who’s on the new economic clean-up team?
- Secretary of Commerce Bill Richardson
- Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner
- National Economic Chief Larry Summers
- Council of Economic Adviser Chair Christina Romer
- Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes
- Domestic Policy Council Deputy Directory Heather Higginbottom
President-Elect Obama said, “We have to make sure that the stimulus is significant enough that it really gives a jolt to the economy,” he said. “We are going to do what’s required to jolt this economy back into shape.”
The daunting task of cleaning up after the Bush Keg Party on the economy is one that has to be a bit overwhelming. Since the $700 Billion Bailout we’ve seen a steady stream of posh CEOs of major corporations come to Washington on their penthouse rooftops begging for the government to rescue them from the rising flood of debt caused by the levee breach of poor management and bad executive decisions.
And who will ultimately have to pay?
You guessed it, the workers. Citi is pretty much the same size as GM. Of course we can take Mitt Romney’s advice and let them fail, but what about the workers. The millions of jobs that would be lost in the process, what happens to them? Where’s their bailout?
These Corporate Poverty Pimps want Congress to act as their “bottom girl”. The bottom girl keeps their business afloat while the pimp is in trouble. Now I’m not calling any specific member of congress a prostitute, but these guys are trying to pimp you, because you got something attractive to them, money.
What’s amazing is how these guys can fly in on their private jets in their over-priced suits; spend bailout money on vacations and spa treatments while Betty the Administrative Assistant or Michelle the Customer Relations Manager has to work at Wal-Mart part-time so her children can have a decent Christmas. The guy working at the auto assembly plant is forced to decide which bill to skip this month so there’s food in the house. Where’s their bailout?
I understand Mitt Romney’s point on allowing these companies to file bankruptcy and restructure, only if it wouldn’t affect so many people. Allowing Citi, GM, Ford, Chrysler, AIG, etc to go bankrupt would endanger too many families and place millions of workers at risk of eventually being out on the street.
Obama, Biden and the economic team have a big heaping pile of crap to clean-up after the failures of the Bush Administration. I don’t know how they can manage to do it, but it appears he’s assembling the economic equivalent of a championship team. After losing on every front for eight (8) years in a row the American people need a group of people who has their interest in mind.
Maybe I need to take a trip to Washington to ask Congress for a bailout. I don’t need that much. Good luck to the economic team being assembled.
Topic Influence References:
CNN – 11/24/08 “Obama Rolls Out Economic Team”
MSNBC – 11/24/08 “Obama warns economy likely to get worse”
The Guardian – 11/24/08 “Barack Obama’s Economic Advisers”
It appears that this is become a reoccurring theme, since I’ve written on this topic a few times this year.
§ What Happened to the Christians
Last Sunday I was inspired to finally write about my thoughts on “The Americanization of Jesus Christ”. This past Friday I discovered a link to blog article titled “Recreate Jesus in their own image” on Stuff White People Do. This article had a clip of the second episode of the first season from the 1974 show “Good Times”. I was only two when it originally aired, but I remember watching a rerun of this episode when I was little.
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*** TO BE CONTINUED ***
I realize that I rarely discuss about techie topics for some reason. It’s rare, because that’s the industry that I’ve been apart of since 2001. I’m not the most technical person and believe I’ve been mentally moving towards more towards my creative side, but occasionally I find geekish things very interesting.
One of those interesting things is a mobile application called vLingo. Now this is exclusive to Blackberry users. So now you can talk to your phone and it will learn your speech patterns and begins to understand you. It doesn’t care about your cultural or regional accent. You can send a text message without typing. Just speak, verify and send.
Say, for example, “Search Apple Store in Nashville” Your phone figures out what you want, finds it and shows you how to get there. No tapping, no thumbs, just good old speaking. I’ve used it on my phone and it learned the name “Barack Obama”. Since it’s not a common name it gave me multiple spelling at first, but now it understands what I’m saying and in this case who I’m speaking of. It even makes sending text messages easy.
vLingo translates your voice into text like nothing before. How does it work — click here to see.
Vlingo has recently voice-enabled the Yahoo! oneSearch™ application, but I changed mine to Google. You can now easily search for anything you need on your mobile device. It’s fast & easy! It’s available on the Blackberry Pearl, Blackberry Curve and the Blackberry 8800 series. I’m sure once the Blackberry Storm is released it will work with it as well.
To learn more about vLingo click here or watch the online demo.
Additional Resources Blackberry Cool – 09/18/08 “Vlingo 1.1 for Blackberry Reviewed” Xconomy – 06/19/08 “Vlingo’s CEO Fires Back at Nuance Over Paten Lawsuit” Vlingo “Product White Paper (PDF)”
This is just classic Sarah Palin. Is it just me or does it seem like she just rambles on about nothing.
Um Excuse Me Sarah… They are KILLING TURKEY’S BEHIND YOU.
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Yeah this was fun. You’re in charge of the turkey. Sarah Palin 2012.
OK I will admit that we all have our favorites when it comes to opinions and analysis. Here’s one of mine. I generally always agree with Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell. I’ve seriously considered going back to school to get some of the same credentials that she and others like Professor Michael Eric Dyson and Dr. Cornell West.
This may give you a little insight to on some of my philosophical influences and overall philosophy on many subjects, but not exclusively.
It’s expected that I would agree with her analysis when it comes to Proposition 8. Professor Lacewell appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show.
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I can’t say anything except Senator Chuck Hagel has become my favorite Republican. My man served it up the way I like it. He went off on the GOP and the loud mouth of the right, Rush Limbaugh.
“You know, I wish Rush Limbaugh and others like that would run for office,” a sarcastic Hagel continued. They have so much to contribute and so much leadership and they have an answer for everything. And they would be elected overwhelmingly. [The truth is] they try to rip everyone down and make fools of everybody but they don’t have any answers.”
“Eighty-seven percent of the American people said America is going in the wrong direction,” said Hagel. “You don’t need to know another number about anything, and so the election was pretty predictable: the American people don’t like what is going on… they want us to start doing what leaders are expected to do, address the problems, find some consensus to governing. Get along. There will be disagreements, sure… but in the end we can’t hold ourselves captives to this raw, partisan, political paralysis.”
But the truly memorable bits came when — unrestrained by formalities — he deployed a sharp tongue while riffing on the GOP. Reflecting on the Bush administration, Hagel, one of the earliest critics of the Iraq war, held back few punches.
“Yes, there have been some differences and some pretty significant ones in [the Republican Party]. But when you ask the question: ‘Has [our approach] worked? I don’t think many people will say it has worked,” he said, adding later: “God knows I would never question the quality of our elected officials, that’s why I’m so popular with many of them.”
The main thrust of his critiques was aimed not at any individual specifically, but at a closed-off mindset that he believed had taken hold of Republican politics and, consequently, the GOP’s approach to foreign policy. “Engagement is not appeasement,” he said. “Diplomacy is not retreat. Somehow too many in this town and in this country have disconnected all of that.”
Later in the question-and-answer session, he offered an example to illustrate this quip, gently mocking those officials and voters who, for one reason or another, had problems with things from France or people who were Muslim.
“There is always going to be a certain know-nothing element to democracy,” said Hagel. “That is their choice. But in a world that is so vitally interconnected, it does help if you try to understand the other side… Ask them: ‘What is it that scares you about the French so much?”
AND THE CHURCH SAID…
Additional Resources:
CNN – 11/18/08 “Hagel takes aim at Limbaugh, Senate colleagues”
Huffington Post – 11/19/08 “Hagel, Unrestrained, Lashes Into Bush, Rush & The GOP”
The Americanization of Jesus Christ is my analysis on one of many things that has disturbed me for many years with Church Folk.
I’ve wanted to go into detail about this subject because it’s one of those simple things that no one seems to want to discuss, resolve or to speak truthful about. Although I use the name Jesus Christ I am not and would never use degrading language regarding Jesus Christ. I speak about the people you find standing in the pulpits and sitting in the pews across America and the world.
If you don’t understand what I’m talking about let me give you a quick example. Now when many of you see or hear the name Jesus Christ an image entered your head. If that image is like the one you see here, you have bought into the Americanization of Jesus Christ.
This is not Jesus Christ. It’s physically impossible for it to be.
This picture was painted by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. Michelangelo was born on March 6 1475 A.D. and died February 18, 1564 A.D.
A.D. means after the death of Jesus Christ.
Now we do not know for sure the exact age of Jesus when He was crucified, but He was probably 33 years old. According to Numbers 4:3 it’s reasonable to conclude that Jesus began His earthly ministry at the age of 30. Since it went on for 3 1/2 years before Jesus was crucified, it is safe to say that He was in his early or mid 30’s at the time of His death and resurrection.
Here’s the million dollar question that I can’t understand why people especially Christians don’t bother asking or finding the answer.
If the picture displayed in your church, printed in your Bibles and embedded in your psyche is said to be a picture of Jesus Christ, when was it painted? Michelangelo was born 1,475 (One Thousand Four Hundred Seventy-Five) years AFTER the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
The answer is obvious; the man in this picture is not Jesus. I can actually stop here, but I want to go further.
In a Minute Special Comment
November 22, 2008 in Media, Politics | Tags: 236.com, Keith Olbermann, Special Comment | 1 comment
I love watching Keith Olbermann’s Special Comments. 236.com compiled several of his Special Comments in a minute. I found it funny.
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