Forgiveness

toerrishumantoforgive This past weekend, I drove past a construction site for a condo complex. Now, this is about as common in Atlanta as pine trees and kudzu, but this one had a bit of meaning to me. Fourteen months ago, I was into collecting rocks from jobsites. This site had a lot of stone that had been split up by dynamite, and I got several loads from it.
This was at the same time as my first exchange with Frank "Centurion" Turk. He had posted an essay about Santa Claus, and, truth be known, I never did figure out whether he was for or against Saint Nick. What I do know was that the dialog in the comments was mean, personal, and nasty. I made the comment
" Good Grief. Is this what being a Jesus Worshipper is all about?" Before long, I was being called an atheist, and inducted into to the mudslinging.
So, I went up to the jobsite New Years Day 2006, and when I got home (with the stone) there was another Comment about me on Mr. Turk's blog.
At some point, Mr. Turk apologized to those he had offended in this dialog. But my insight last Saturday was:
Yes, he may have apologized. But did he Forgive?
You hear a lot about apologies, and sometimes you have to wonder what it means. But Jesus Worship is supposed to be about forgiveness. Apology is me oriented, and is designed to make the offending party feel better. But, according to what I have heard, Jesus did not apologize while he was on the cross. (Maybe he should have. A little P.R. with the Romans and he could have continued his teaching)
As some of you may know, I am not a Jesus Worshipper. IMO, Jesus was murdered by the Romans (not the Jews) because he was a trouble maker. It has nothing to do with forgiveness of sin, or life after death.
Nonetheless, the concept of forgiveness is a valid one. To put wrongs in the past and work together in the future has many great practical applications. It also can make you feel a lot better.
Unfortunately, while Jesus Worshippers talk a lot about the forgiveness of Jesus, they don't seem to practice it themselves. (There are some exceptions to this. Some Jesus Worshippers do forgive. The overall observation is based on my experience of living in a culture dominated by Jesus Worship)



februarysurprise On February 5, 2007, Centurion posted another apology. Apparently he didn't think he had been very kind to some of his correspondents, and had the following to say:

And in that spirit, I'd like to do something I think I have learned a lot about over the years: I'd like to apologize to anyone who, in the past, I have not treated in this way. That doesn't include anyone I have banned from this blog's comments as I have been (as the record will underscore) exceedingly patient with those I have dealt with anathemaciously, but it does include some with whom I should have taken a day off before responding to them.

Now, as one who has been banned, I am not covered by this apology.
But then, neither have I been forgiven.
And the condo complex is almost finished. They even had the gate up.

mailbox

temptohire The last saturday of the month, the checks are written, and the mailbox is waiting.
This time last year, I was freshly fired from a temp to hire job. While it was probably for the best, no one likes to be fired. I was fortunate to find another position ( which paid more ). All of this is handy at bill paying time.

pixelagetogo The magic forest welcomes. There is a post in the pipeline (PIP) about tree stumps with charisma, and I need some more pics.
There is another PIP about Gladys Knight


qualityalert Do abandoned tires have charisma? No.
Ditto rusted out 55 gallon drums.

Doe Family

allinthefamily In the latest edition, I commented on the Doe Family. There is more to the story.
The focus is the human section of Doe. A doe is a female deer.
Sha Dow is a mysterious figure. No one seems to know why he changed the spelling of his last name.
John Doe is rather slow. Not much is known about him.
The question arises, how does a man without an identity get a wikipedia article?
Jane Doe is the ex wife of Sha Dow. A mysterious figure,she is undergoing an identity crisis.



internationalfolk Juan Doe is undocumented, and prefers to remain a mystery.
The urban cousin is Bro Doe.
TaeKwonDoh is the asian end of the family. She will kick your ass.
Do Si Doe likes to dance. She takes being called square as a compliment.
According to science and legend, there was once a bird, the Dodo. This is pronounced doe-doe, not doo doo. The later is a vulgar phrase for excrement.
The Doe clan should not be confused with Dow Chemical. Some of the Does have tried better living through chemistry.
Which will bring us back to Doe.

global warming

Talktalktalktalk There is currently concern about the effect of burning fossil fuels, most notably oil and coal. While this concern may be too late to have a positive impact, nonetheless it is a good discussion to have.
Now, I have not seen "An Inconvenient Truth". I know about the basic premise...that the CO2 put in the atmosphere by fossil fuel use is going to cause "global warming". The polar ice caps would melt, the sea levels would rise, the weather would become more intense, and many other nasty side effects would ensue.
Many reputable scientists support this hypothesis. Some scientists disagree. I am not going to vote yea or nea in today’s post. However, there are a few things that I see.
Some of the anti global warming scientists are on the take. They are being paid by various sources to say what they do.
There is not "smoking gun" in this discussion. Therefore, it is easy for the loud and paid off dissenters to say what they will.
By the time there is a "smoking gun", it may be too late.
I am part of the problem, one way or another. I drive 15 miles one way to work, by myself, in a gasoline burning car. I use electricity produced by a coal burning facility.
While I don't have a firm opinion one way or another, I do draw conclusions from some of the global warming naysayers. I listen to the Neil Boortz show sometimes. He makes fun of global warming, and often says the g.w. word in a mocking tone of voice. It is possible that Mr. Boortz receives a stipend from the National Enterprise Institute, or whoever is sponsoring the naysaying.
Every time I hear Neil Boortz mock global warming, I believe Al Gore a bit more.




Theshadowknows Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of man? The shadow knows. His brother John Doe is clueless, and his exwife Jane Doe is having an identity crisis.

Oceandestroy The New Yorker magazine recently published a piece about the changing pH balance in the oceans. It seems as though the oceans are absorbing the CO2 in the air, and that this is causing the oceans to become less alkaline. No one is certain what the bottom line of this will be, but it seems like a big chance to be taking. Once you start to mess with the food chain in the oceans, you run the risk of disrupting the food supply on land.
While ocean acidification does not have the nerd cachet of global warming, it may in fact be a more serious threat.
Does anyone really think that flooding the atmosphere with billions of tons of CO2 every year is going to have a good effect on the overall biosphere on the planet?
As you may have guessed by now, I am not a scientist. I also have little influence of the way our business/government hierarchy operates, and, in fact am part of the problem of fossil fuel usage.
The pictures that illustrate this commentary were taken on a recent Sunday Afternoon in Chastain Park. This facility is 1000 feet above sea level, so the ice caps will have to do a lot of melting before this park is directly threatened. Still, it is to be hoped that I can enjoy other pleasant Sundays like this in the future.

fame

megabittage Andy Warhol needs a bit of modernizing. What he meant to say, in the future, everyonte will be famous for 15mb.

spotlightplease Ted Haggard recently claimed the spotlight to go back in the closet.
One of my favorite charactars from that affair was the "acting senior pastor" at the megachurch that Mr. Haggard
fooled led. I reckon he forgot to comment on this latest twist

conservatism On my way home from work, I was listening to a "conservative" radio show hosted by Mr. Micheal Medved. He was interviewing someone, and the recent demise of Anna Nicole Smith was mentioned. The guest made a joke about how he would always remember where he was when he heard about it.
Now, I scarcely know who Ms. Smith is. I seldom watch tv, and don't pay much attention to tabloid celebrities. Still, for a "pro life" talkmonger to make light of her demise is distasteful.
Of course, this "pro life conservative" supports the slaughter in Iraq. Which is odd, because he got a draft deferment during the vietnam killing party. That was before Roe vs Wade. Conservatives have always been for war and against abortion. Life is sacred, unless it is an asian peasant, or a child whose dictator was the next Hitler.




MercyKilling Fish sandwiches are now 2 for $4 at arby's. Panhandlers were working the line at the drive thru.

Open Letter

OpenLetter The following is a letter to radio talkshow host Micheal Medved
You were talking yesterday about taxes. You asked for anyone who thinks we should pay more taxes to call in. Now, with my job, calling in is not an option for me. I do,however, have some ideas about why we should pay more taxes.
Now, this is not economic, although that is always a factor with taxes. This is a moral argument.
We should pay more taxes as a way to participate in the war in Iraq. (I should note that I couldn’t bring myself to use the phrase "war on terror". OIF is a war on people, in a country eight time zone away.)
The burden of this war is being carried by a small part of the population. The troops, and their families, are bearing the entire load. The rest of us get off by talking. This is not right. The burden of this war should be shared more equally, and a way to do this is to raise taxes.
Maybe if OIF were affecting us in the wallet, then supporters of this war would think twice about their bluster.
I should note that I have been opposed to the War in Babylon since day one. I never believed the talk about wmds or al queda, and considered Mr. Hussein to be relatively harmless. In fact, by serving as a counterweight to Iran, he was doing us a service.
Of course, the decision to invade and occupy has been made, and we have to live with it. An abrupt withdrawal would do harm. Our continued presence is doing harm, and will need to end some day. I don't know what the answer is.
One thing to do is share the burden of this ghastly war.
One way to do this is with a tax increase.
This letter will be posted at my blog, http://www.chamblee54.blogspot.com/.
Cam Mckinnon
Atlanta GA
The spell check suggestions for this feature
Wmds…wads weds
Queda…quad quid
presense...presence prisons prissiness pretense persians persons