Politics of Envy.

As I watch the story about criticism of the US with regards to its contributions to the relief efforts in south Asia I couldn't help but remember something I read by the late Dorothy L. Sayers. It was a rather lengthy essay titled, "Christian Morality" (she also did a shorter version titled, "The other Six Deadly Sins"). The part of the essay that that I am referring to is the discussion of the sin of invidia of, as we know it, "envy".
As we all know, the UN official in charge of relief labeled the US as "stingy" and suggested we raise taxes so we could contribute more to the effort. At this point you may well be asking, "What has this got to do with envy?". Glad you asked! Bear in mind, I am operating primarily off of memory as I have lost my copy of "Christian Morality" so please forgive me any errors I may make in citing Miss Sayers.
According to Sayers, "If greed is the sin of the rich against the poor, then envy is the sin of the poor against the rich" Contrary to popular belief, envy does not consist of simply seeing what some one has and wanting the same for one's self. If someone decides that he or she wishes to put in the effort to gain the wherewithall to obtain the object of their desire, then we have no problem. The problem arises when we decide that the other person should not have it either. Envy likes to masquerade under such noble-sounding names as "social justice", and "redistribution of wealth" . It is envy that says, "If I cannot have it nobody can". Here is where it gets even colder blooded as a sin. If nobody is deserving of having wealth in the first place, then nobody is noble enough to donate on their own.
The US government's initial contribution to the relief effort is going $35billion in cash. When it is all said and done, the US will have donated well over a billion dollars in cash and material, of which a small fraction will have come from the government. You see, the UN only counts what a government contributes. The voluntary contribution of individuals do not enter into their thinking. Much of the contributions will come from faith-based organizations. To the envious, however, that doesn't count. It can't because the envious don't think that people can be generous on their own, it has to be coerced by the government...hence the official (who I refuse to name so as not to legitimize him at all) making the suggestion we raise taxes.
The American people of faith will surpass the sum total of all governmental "contributions". Not because we are Americans, but because people of faith know that there are things that are bigger than us and that "as you did so even to the least of these, you did so to me"

En Memorium: Reggie White

I played defensive end in high school. Reggie White played defensive end well past high school...and played it well. He did it so well that he has become the prototype for that position. He owns the the record for QB sacks. He has more than games he played in.I can think of no one who has done the same. His Carolina Panther jersey is the only replica jersey I have ever owned that was not the black and gold of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Off the field was where he forever commands my respect. He recognized that his abilities were a gift from God and used them to glorify Him. He was unashamedly a man of God who put his heart into his work for disadvantaged youths. What's not to like?
Ask the good people of the NY Times who wrote his obituary.(warning:requires sign-in). They couldn't resist putting this in:

"White created a stir in March 1998 with a speech to the Wisconsin State Assembly. In it, he referred to homosexuality as "one of the biggest sins in the Bible" and used ethnic stereotypes for blacks and whites"

His stereotyping consisted of a quote from Alexander Solzhenitsyn regarding human varieties.

Of course the AP couldn't resist this:

"White worked tirelessly with disadvantaged youths. But his image was tarnished when he gave a speech in which he denounced homosexuality and used ethnic stereotypes. White later apologized."

I wrestled including those quotes as a number of other blogs, most notably Michelle Malkin have pointed out these hypocrytical musings by obit writers.
Reggie White has gone home to be with Jesus. He played football like he lived his life, as his tribute and witness to his love of God and his his fellow humanity. That will live on long after the little digs by the press are forgotten.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Here's wishing you and yours all the blessings of the day.

The Moderate Voice: A Politically Correct Xmas Carol

The only problem I have withThe Moderate Voice: A Politically Correct Xmas Carol is that somebody might actually try to rewrite "Deck the Halls" like this.
In other words...don't give 'em ideas!

Wesley Blog: A Word of Encouragement: 6 Reasons to Stay and Fight

Some things never change. 2005 will mark the twentieth anniversary of my commencement from Asbury theological Seminary. As I readWesley Blog: A Word of Encouragement: 6 Reasons to Stay and Fight I see that little has changed, even after I left the UM clergy. There is still the abandon-it-or-fight-for-it question amongst those who still believe in John Wesley's vision and want to see the UMC restored to what Wesley had envisioned for the former Methodist Episcopal Church.
Unfortunately, Bro. Raynor's next post doesn't inspire much confidence. Read Poll Shows 27% of UM Pastors Have Biblical Worldview.

Evangelicals Use Courts to Fight Restrictions on Christmas Tidings (washingtonpost.com)

Evangelicals Use Courts to Fight Restrictions on Christmas Tidings (washingtonpost.com) Now, can anybody honestly say this is unexpected? After decades of selective repression of religious expression by Christians, this was bound to happen.
I have no problem with diversity, but diversity cannot be achieved by exclusion...of any group be they the majority or very small minority. The naswer is not in curtailing such expression, but in increasing it.

Wanted: Six Busses to Haul Parents to the Looney Bin

I read Yahoo! News - Busloads of Kids Visit Jackson's Neverland Ranch and immediately thought, "Please tell me this originally appeared in The Onion" It is with deep sadness I must report, it didn't.
What parent in their right mind send thier children to a party with this man(?)
"Holy terror, Bat-Man! The Joker's on the loose again!"

Thanks to Michelle Malkin

White House Hanukkah: Wasn't "The Passion" Supposed to Fan the Flames of Anti-Semitism?

Dennis Prager, in an LA LA Times op-ed piece reflects on celebrating Hanukka at the White House with the President and Mrs Bush. You know, that evil Christian nutcase hate-monger that the Red Staters foisted on us.
I remember when "The Passion" came out it was supposed to make life hell for Jews in America because Evangelical Christians would feel justified in doing violence against Jews. Now if the Pres. was like he has been protrayed by the mainstream media in this country, this COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. The pres et al would be making pronouncement after pronouncement decrying the "evil influence of the Jew"
First of all, any Christian with an ounce of biblical understanding knows that Jesus himself was a Jew. There is absolutely NO biblical justification for hating Jews...period. The press does not know this, they accept the rantings of KKK types as a source authority for contemporary Christian thought on the matter when it suits their purpose. their purpose of making Christians as unthinking intolerant morons.
Which brings us to the press' hypocracy. While they decry Anti-Semitism in the US, they bend over forward and grab their ankles to justify it in Jerusalem. Now, they will argue that that violence is anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic. Folks, the only difference between the two is that anti-Zionism is nothing more or less than selective anti-Semitism. Kind of like a Klansman saying he only hates Blacks of a certain shade or darker.

FIRST ANNUAL PANCAKE AWARDS

Hey, why can't I give out awards everybody else does. JRob's House o' Opinions will publish the winners of the First Annual Pancake awards. Given to those deserving figures who exhibit insanity above and beyond the call of stupidity. Baloting is based on the "Who's Line is It, Anyway" model. Votes don't count because I make it up as I go. The list will go up on New Years eve. All that's needed to win the coveted Lead Spatula Trophy is evidence that your brain has been falttened and flipped on a hot grittle.
Watch this space for the nominees (or email me your suggestions for nominees)

Yahoo! News - Study: TV Show Negative Image of Religion: Dog-Bites-Man Headline of the Year

There is an old newspaper maxim, " 'Dog Bites Man', that's not news"Yahoo! News - Study: TV Show Negative Image of Religion is a prime example of that. People of faith, particularly Christians, are routinely portrayed a bigoted, intolerant, naieve and stupid.

Now the part that is laughable is this comment from NBC spokeswoman, Shannon Jacobs,"It is never our intention to appear, nor do we accept the notion that we are, anti-religious" All I can say is that apparently they have gotten so good at it that they no longer have to consciously try to do so.

Does this put the Losers out of Our Misery yet?

Yahoo! News - Ohio Justice Throws Out Election Challenge Maybe now super sycophant can go back to the important work of cheating on his wife.

Sorry, Mr. President, I Can't go Along with This

Tenet, Bremer, Franks get Presidential Medal.I have no trouble with two-thirds of that line-up for the medals. But George Tenet? At best he was a well-intentioned bungler...at worst he was outright incompetent. For once I'm in agreement with the Losers...W should have looked elsewhere to give this high honor. Maybe Mr. tenet will do the honorable thing and refuse to accept it.

Time to Resurrect an Old Limbaugh Bit

When I saw the Washington Times piece,"Dems to continue oversight effort "- (United Press International) I nearly hit the roof (I easily went through the ceiling) I remember right after Bush (41) defeated Michael Dukakis, Dems still acted like they won the election, so to remind them that this was contrary to the truth, Rush Limbaugh always refered to Dukakis as, "The Loser".
Well, it's time to resurrect that, and not just refer to Kerry as the Loser, but from this point forward...TFN...The Democrat Party in general shall be called, on this blog, "The LOSER"

This Has Gone from Silly to Obsessive

My Way News reports that a Kerry lawyer wants tyo inspect ballots on which no vote for president was cast.

""We're trying to increase the transparency of the election process," said Donald McTigue, the lawyer handling the recount for the Kerry campaign. But he added that several requests - such as using independent experts to check election equipment, "are trying to push the edge of envelope.""

You lost, now go home and take Teresa and do whatever it is you two do. You are showing yourselves to be sad and pathetic

This is Bound to Irritate Both Sides of the Arguement

Fellow South Carolinian, Michael Graham wrote this for his weekly column, "The Usual Suspects" This is one of his best ever:

Keeping the "X" in Xmas

By now you've probably heard about the New Jersey public school system that has banned all Christmas carols from its "Formerly Known As Christmas" concert. Even the instrumental versions of such innocuous fare as "Jingle Bells" and "Here Comes Santa Claus" have been stricken from the program because of their overt "religious" content.

The theological dogma raised while "dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh" escapes me, but I'm not a professional educator and no doubt lack their insight.

New Jersey is not the only place one can find such anti-Christmas lunacy, of course. The mayor of Denver tried to pull down the traditional "Merry Christmas" sign outside City Hall. This PC stupidity provoked a severe backlash from radical, pro-Christmas extremists (aka "normal people"), and the mayor quickly backed down.

At the same time, however, the Denver Christmas Parade ‹ oops! make that the "Parade of Lights" ‹ has chosen to exclude a church-sponsored float featuring choir members singing both secular and sacred Christmas music. Instead, the parade will include floats like one last year that featured (I kid you not) cross-dressing, homosexual American Indians participating in religious ritual and dance.

Ah, yes ‹ nothing says "Merry Christmas" like gay, cross-dressing Indians. Didn't they make an appearance in that Rankin & Bass claymation classic Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Hairdressers?

When asked why the parade association was kicking the church float out of the lineup, a representative of the event said songs about religion "made some people uncomfortable." More uncomfortable, apparently, than a truck full of gender-confused tribal holy men rolling past crowds of Denver children waiting to see Santa.

Banning the church choir is "not something where we want to exclude anyone," parade spokeswoman Susan Rogers-Kark said. "And I realize this feels like it's excluding someone, but it's about a concern for someone else watching it and not feeling that it's a specific reflection on, perhaps, what their own religion is or what their beliefs are."

So remember, kids ‹ when I kick you out, it only "feels like" I'm excluding you. In fact, I'm giving you a big Rama-Hanu-Kwanz-Mas holiday hug.

What bugs me about stories like these ‹ and they are all too common ‹ is that they are premised on the idea that there is something potentially offensive about Christmas. That's simply nonsensical. Christmas is the ultimate inclusive event.

You want a Christian Christmas? No problem. Pick up your inflatable nativity scene with the baby Jesus action figure on aisle seven.

No religion? No problem. Santa and the snowmen are waiting for you on aisle eight.

Black Santa? Got him. Asian Santa? Got him. Transgendered Native-American Santa? I'll have to call Denver for that one.

Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Druid, atheist, Rotarian, even registered Democrats ‹ EVERYONE can do Christmas. All you need is the desire for a little peace and good will in this world.

There are some in the Christian community who disagree. They believe Christmas is, and should be, a specifically Christian celebration. They're wrong on both counts.

First, one could argue that, from the time the early church swiped the winter solstice party from the Romans, Christmas has never been a Christian holiday. Jesus was likely born in August, not December. There were no Santas, snowmen or small, decorative bowls of Andes mints scattered about. Until someone can tell me what side of the manger Mary put the tree and mistletoe in, I will continue to view Christmas as a celebration that only has profound religious meaning for the faithful.

Some devout Christians insist that it is impossible to celebrate Christmas without celebrating Christ. But spending an hour in any mall shows that this is nonsense. The only religion found among the teeming masses is the religion of commerce and the holy text of the "50 percent Off All Items" coupon.

And if Christmas is impossible without celebrating the unique Godhood of Jesus, then those who are banning Christmas trees and songs from public schools are in the right. Putting Christ in Christmas means promptly removing it from City Hall as a state-sponsored religious event.

But are the Scrooges right that Christmas must be about Christ's birth or it shouldn't be celebrated at all? I understand why Christians would want all the world to put Christ at the center of their Christmases. But that is impossible.

What's left, though, is a celebration of the idea that selflessness and generosity ought to be celebrated. The specific theology of Jesus might be optional at Christmastime, but his spirit, often repackaged under the label "Christmas spirit," is still there. Is that such a bad thing?

Forget "Keeping the Christ in Christmas." If we can just keep the spirit of Christmas, that's a pretty good start.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Yahoo! News - Court: Mom's Eavesdropping Violated Law

This reeks!. So now if you want to get away with a crime. make friends with a teenager and confess a crime so the parents can hear it. No wonder some think that Washing State is where those who think California isn't weird enough go.

Advice to Dems: Lose these "owners"

In Yahoo! News - MoveOn to Democratic Party: 'We Own It', we see MoveOn's real colors. What they fail to realize is that they probably cost John Kerry the election. They honestly believe themselves to be in the mainstream. Apparently the lunatic fringe of the Democrat party is taking a page from Julian Bond's book and seek to alienate the swing voters who lean true center and realize that forging alliances is better than creating philosophical warfare.
I am not advocating that either side give up its ideals. Rather an intentional search for those things on which we can agree on for the good of the country. I know a number of my fellow republicans and conservatives are saying things like, "keep listening to them", or "yeah, more of the same". Folks, we dare not wish for opposition parties so far on the fringe as to become irrelevant. I really don't want to see us become as arrogant as the Dems were when they controlled BOTH houses.

This Kind of Thing Was Supposed to End With the Soviet Union

Who Poisoned Yuschenko? in the Times Online reads like a bad Cold War spy thriller. One has to wonder, would the Kremlin really be that stupid to try something so transparent.

Mary and Joseph Mythology

As promised in "Tis the Season" here is where I address some mythology surrounding the earthly parents of Jesus of Nazareth. First of all, Mary was not an unwed mother. Betrothal in first century Palestine required a divorce in order to be severed, so what's the difference between that and marriage?
Second, Joseph and Mary were not homeless. Bear in mind they were citizens of Nazareth in Gallilee and had to go to Bethlehem because Joseph was a descendant of David. They were travelers who found themselves with out a room for the night. I like the way Rush Limbaugh put it a number of years ago, "They had a home. What they didn't have was a reservation." Just a note, Rush. Nobody did...the inns were first-come-first-served.

Tis the Season

Oh, for those carefree days where my disgust with the perversion of Christmas (or as we have been coearced into by the PC thought police, the "happy Holiday" season.) was pretty much limited to ham-fisted, psuedo-clever crass advertising campaigns. Remember Norelco's, "Even our name says,'Merry Christmas': Noel-Co" (I have to admit that the animated Santa riding the razor head was cute though) Thanks to Dawn Eden's The Dawn Patrol, I see such have taken a new low.
First there is the "Immaculate Contraception" ad campaign for a mornng-after pill. First off, there is a long-standing confusion between "Imaculate Conception" and virgin birth. The imaculate conception refers to the notion that mary was different. Her own conception was imaculate and she was not born in sin, as the rest of us (this notion is long disputed by non-Roman Catholics). None the less this is still offensive to Christians both Catholic and Non-Catholic. The mornng-after pill is not safe and effective, and certainly not something that should be so glibly advised...even by it a manufacturer.
But think for a moment. Young Mary, approximately age 14, expecting and unmarried(I will address this a little later in another post). The Nazareth chapter of Panned Parenthood ...well you can figure where this is going. Joseph and Mary have been trotted out, incorrectly, by homeless advocates, and I do seem to remember some pro-life groups pointing out, rightly I believe, that Mary is in PP's target group...teenaged "unwed" mothers. Now before the pro-choice crowd cries "fowl", it is known that there is an extreme faction in the pro-choice camp that believes that every abortion that can be had, much be had and pressure is brought to bear.
This brings me to Elanore Smeal.
She is bent out of shape because the head of Catholics for Choice has called on the pro-choice side to at least acknowledge that there is tragedy in abortion. She even goes on to talk about the "Joy" of abortion. JOY? I guess if you are one of those self-absorbed twits more concerned with her bikini line than suffering I guess there might be some joy. They wouldn't be hard spot...they will be the ones wearing the "I had an abortion" t-shirts from the fine folk at Clamor Magazine. Ms. Smeal, even if we are talkng about an early-term abortion for an eleven-year-old victim of incest, or a partial-birth abortion, there is tragedy. There is no relief and certainly no joy. Just do us a favor and go back to reading your copy of Clamor.

Announcement!!!

I am happy to announce "Cola Towne Rugby", another blog by JRob. this one, however is sports oriented, mainly rugby, but other sports as well yu can find it at Cola Towne Rugby It's still a work in progress so bear with me.

Be Your Own Bell Ringer

I decided a long time ago that boycots should be reserved for very eggregious conduct. While Target's dumping is dispicable, it does not rise to the level of a boycottable offense. That is my opinion, I don't expect anybody else to go along with me on that. I prefer actions like the one I described the other day This, however, does not solve the SA's immediate problem, SOOOOOOOOOOO if you look to your right you will find a button that links to the SA's website. It's fairly easy to make...but it does make the more, in my opinion to help the SA than a boycott by itself.

Great Read

Ben Stein's piece in The American Spectator needs no further comment

HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE :: NAACP Head Mfume Didn't Retire, He Was Booted Out by Armstrong Williams

Fellow South Carolinian, Armstrong Williams makes a powerful statement in HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE :: NAACP Head Mfume Didn't Retire, He Was Booted Out . Now I will never be accused of being a Kweisi Mfume fan, but in my own never-to-be-humble opinion, the NAACP ousted the wrong person.
On the other hand, if they want to continue to marginalize themselves, let 'em.

John Stewart's Book Named Best of the Year.

Publisher's Weekly has named John Stewart's America (the Book), a Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction "Book of the Year. That's right, folks."Best sofa-leg evener-upper" I could see...but best book? I for one am more-than-a-little tired of seeing sophmoric attempts at political humor rewarded like this. A better candidate for the honor would be Edna the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying, or better yet, The Amazing Adventures of Captain Galdys Stotepamphlet and Her Intrepid Spaniel, Stig Among the Giant Pygmies of Beckles. Vol VIII

You're a Vile one, Mr. Grinch

Okay, so I'm becoming a Dawn Eden fan. She is a very intelligent Christian woman from NJ who writes brilliantly. Besides, she has given me a trackback on her blog.(thanks, Dawn) In her op-ed from theNew York Post entitled ,"The Grinch Who Stole "Messiah" makes a very poignant recollection of having been part of music program of Soputh Orange and Malepwood, NJ which has now thrown out some of the greatest cultural experiences available in the name of "diversity" (not her words but easily infered in the context). Having sung Handel's "Messiah" I know the thrill of seeing everyone stant as the opening notes of the "Hallelujah Chorus" are played. I know the feeling of having done something worthwhile with my time learning that complex piece of music that is part of handel's legacy.
Unfortunately, this isn't just happening in NJ. Even here in SC, the strains of "For the Lord God Omnipotent shal reigneth" are being replaced with "Dashing through the snow". Not that there is anything wrong with that song. Let's face it, musicaly "Jingle Bells" compares to "The Hallelujah Chorus" the way a hamburger compares to a full steak dinner.
Sadly, most kids thes days will not get to experience a great deal of great music because of its religious (mainly Judeo-Christian) nature. In New Jersey, South Carolina and points all over this nation, school music programs are going, in Eden's words, "...from Handel to scandal — all so that students barred from singing about a living God can instead sing about a living snowman." Could it be that one day in the not-too distant future, that our childrens only exposure to the "Hallelujah Chorus" will be the School House Rock episode about interjections . God forbid.

The Dawn Patrol: Porn Conservatives.

I found this on Dawn Eden's blog,The Dawn Patrol I was intrigued b y the phrase "Porn Conservatives" So I read. It was a delightful piece (pauses for the groans from the unintended double entendre pun). It is bad enough that conservatives are viewed as either sexist or misogyinstic ("woman-haters" for those of you in Swansea, SC).
Nobody enjoys the image of a lovely woman more than me. But when you engage in a conversation with said woman, is your thought along the lines of a)I wonder what she thinks about...; or, b)I wonder if she thinks; or, c)I wonder what she looks like in [insert "nude" or favorite fetish wear here]. Hopefully "a" comes somewhere early on. Sadly, more often than not it's "b", "c" or some combination of the two.
Which brings me back to "Porn Conservatives". As long as we are perceived as thinking of women with zero respect as to their thoughts, we can pretty much forget about being taken seriously by many women in the moderate area of the socio-political spectrum. And please don't cite the obvious examples of Whoppie "cushion" Goldberg (see, Whoopie, we can be pseudo-clever with people's names too) Susan Sarandon and Babs Streisand. They will continue to think as they always have. fact is I know a few extreme conservatives who are just as bad vis a vis being closed-minded as well as being wrong.

Bah! Humbug to you too! - Target in tough spot after banning Salvation Army bell-ringers

HoustonChronicle.com - Target in tough spot after banning Salvation Army bell-ringersI likewhat one L_dotterdid. Took a bunch of merchandise to the checkout. Asked wheres the Salvation Army bell-ringer was. After being told there was not going to be one, they left all the merchandise at the register. If this begins to be a common occurance, they might reconsider.