“I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter turnout machine.”
Chairman of the Republican Party in Franklin County, Ohio, amidst a state battle over early voting hours.
I guess they’re assuming that none of the servicemen and women are African-American. For Shame, Republicans.
That was my 700th post.
from a Live Journal friend, but it isn’t hers originally, so I’m hoping she’ll forgive me.
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:
When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination – Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this?
Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? – Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.
Your devoted fan,
Jim
Former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist has come out – in favor of President Obama. “President Obama has a strong record of doing what is best for America and Florida, and he built it by spending more time worrying about what his decisions would mean for the people than for his political fortunes. That’s what makes him the right leader for our times, and that’s why I’m proud to stand with him today.”
The thing that really bothers me is that people will vote Republican anyway, voting against their own best interests because they are unable to reason and think rationally and critically. My country…Brain-Drained R Us. I probably shouldn’t say this, but I really think the main reason people will vote Republican is because it just kills them that a black man is President. Prejudice lives, and not just against blacks. Sad, sad country.
Oh, here’s an example:
ADDENDUM: (May not be correct, but fun to say) Anyway, found this, too:
‘Nearly 50 years ago in the pages of this magazine I warned that “when religion rather than reason dictates legislation, do not expect logic with your law.”’ Hugh Hefner I agree with Hugh Hefner. Who knew?
This is to remind me, when I feel like whining about my life. You know, like yesterday.
Well, is me, anyway. “The unexamined life isn’t worth living.” Someone said this once, but I have no idea who it was. I agree, however. So I have been examining why I have been so down lately. Aside from the whole ‘the world is going to pot and my country has turned into a hate machine, and I had the a/c on for nine days straight, which is a new record for me.
So anyway, I spent several days at a friend’s home last week. Several lovely, lazy, peaceful, didn’t have to lift a finger, beautiful home in lovely setting in gorgeous part of Massachusetts days. Then I came home. To my little prison-box dump of an apartment which has never felt like home in the twelve years I’ve lived here. I realized, not for the first time, that I don’t go out for a lot of reasons, but partly it’s because I don’t like going into the dark, often smelly hallways. I don’t sleep well and night and wind up sleeping all day for a lot of reasons, but partly it’s because there is nothing and no one to get up for. Even for the cat, since they are nothing like dogs, who want attention. And walks. I spent almost all of my time reading, messing about on the computer, or occasionally watching something on my Roku. There are not a lot of reasons for that. Just one, really. Focusing on reading, computer, Roku means I don’t have to focus on where I live. I can shut out my little prison-box from my conscious awareness and not deal with the angst it causes me that I can never get it to feel like home, I can never even get it to any degree of pleasant to be in. Avoidance is my new middle name.
I’m stuck. I can’t think of any more ways to rearrange the furniture, I can’t redecorate, because there is too much I am physically unable to do, and money does NOT grow on trees, no matter how much I would like it to. Indoor trees, since I have no outside to call my own. Not even a balcony. There are very few apartments available in my area, and none I’ve seen on-line recently take pets, or are on a floor I can get to (Stairs R NOT Us. This building has an elevator.)
Then there’s the whole ‘rental assistance’ bugaboo. Lots of landlords don’t want to mess with that, because it means they have to actually fix things that don’t work, or not get paid a certain portion of the rent.
I’m open to suggestions, dear readers. I know you’re out there. Not just my friends and family, but other, anonymous and unknown to me personally readers. Help? Please? I need ideas.
As a reward, here is something that made me very happy:
So here finally is the thing that I found so disturbing today. How can this happen in my country? Where has my United States gone? If you are blatantly cheating, where are the repercussions? Where is the law? Where is the outrage? I seriously am really starting to feel afraid. This is America. We are supposed to be better than this. People are supposed to be smarter than to allow this to happen. The worst thing is, this is one example of what is going on all over this country. I am at a loss as to what to do, what to expect, what to think. This is just wrong, on so many levels. I think my America is, if not dead, certainly on it’s last legs. What is wrong with people that they will stand by and let this go on? I don’t understand. I find it exceeding depressing. Here’s what I’m talking about:
And one really depressing one from today. (More next post)
First, a whole bunch of my favorite quotes:
– I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word and thought throughout our lifetime.
– Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Fuckety fuck fuck
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When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you melons.. you might be a little dyslexic.
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Memento mori – “Remember to die” (i.e. remember your mortality)
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“You do it because you have to. It breaks your heart, but without them… Without people to love and care for and to love you and care of you in their own little ways, you’re not living. Not really.” Doctor Who
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Enlightenment is a very ordinary thing.
It is nothing extraordinary, it is nothing special – because the special is the search of the ego.
There is no demand, no hankering for anything, no clinging.
Simply you are, and you are happy – happy without any cause.
Osho
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, was executed by the Nazis in 1945. He famously said, “First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”
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I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
“We are nearer to Spring”
Than we were in September.
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
Oliver Herford (1863 – 1935) writer, artist and illustrator
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My memory’s not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory’s not as sharp as it used to be.
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‘The surest sign that there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.’ Calvin and Hobbes
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Dad, how do soldiers killing each other solve the world’s problems? – Calvin and Hobbes
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It only makes sense that every facet of our daily lives should depend upon the position of celestial bodies hundreds of millions of miles away. – Calvin and Hobbes
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98% of us Americans are hard-working people. It’s the other 2% that give us a bad reputation. Then again, we did elect them.
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If I had half a mind, I would be a Republican.
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Every country has the government it deserves. – Joseph de Maistre
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If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure. – George W. Bush
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More and more of our imports come from overseas. – George W. Bush
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In politics, stupidity is not a handicap. – Napoleon Bonaparte
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Worry is a misuse of the imagination.- Sean Maher
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98% of the population is asleep. The other 2% are staring around in complete amazement, abject terror, or both.
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A dyslexic, agnostic insomniac – one who lies awake at night wondering if there really is a dog…
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Freedom *OF* religion includes freedom *FROM* religion.
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Here’s to the sun God, He sure is a fun God, Ra, Ra, Ra
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Morality is doing what is right no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told no matter what is right.
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Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy.
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Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.
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My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.
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“The philosophy of minimalism, as I see it, is having exactly what you need, when you need it, for as long as you need it. It’s not about just less, it’s about just right.”
– Patrick Rhone
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I’m so out of my element, I’m not even in the same periodic table.
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I don’t just have issues, I have the full subscription. Paraphrased from Teleen’s Fiction Journal
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‘This is a large crisis. In fact, if you have a moment…
It is a twelve storey crisis, with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, twenty-four hour porterage, and a sign on the roof saying “This Is A Large Crisis”.’
Edmund Blackadder – Blackadder Goes Forth
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The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
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Ninety-nine percent of your problems are created by you because you take life seriously. Seriousness is the root cause of problems. Be playful, and you will not miss anything.
Osho
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“You have to keep pushing yourself when you don’t want to anymore, or even when you can’t anymore. You have to keep going.” Joseph Gordon Levitt
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I’m slightly more productive now than previous because…
I’m slightly more efficient than I previously was…
Doing things is what I like to do, YES!
-Dunkin Donuts
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Never take life seriously.
Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Unknown
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Nothing Disappears Though All Is Rearranged
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Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. Dr. Seuss
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The Theology Shop: All Your Gods Are Belong to Us
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When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
Bishop Desmond Tutu (b. 1931) spiritual leader,activist, writer
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In spring, hundreds of flowers;
in autumn, a harvest moon;
In summer, a refreshing breeze;
in winter, snow will accompany you.
If useless things do not hang in your mind,
any season is a good season for you.
Ekai
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“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people, and monkeys do too (if they have a gun).” ~Eddie Izzard
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“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.” — Gandhi
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“People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey… stuff.”
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President Obama: “You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.”
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“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
— Anthony Bourdain,
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“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be.. It’s the way it is..
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference.
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“You have to take what you’re given in life. Nothing is guaranteed, and the end could be tomorrow. It’s best to enjoy what you have. That much I know.” Ianto Jones
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Science adjusts its views based on what’s observed, faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved.
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— Tim Minchin
Or linking to it, anyway. It’s a good post about money and attitude, written by someone I know personally…my oldest daughter. She makes me proud.
<—My kid.
And yet, people on the right side of the image will vote for him anyway. What? 
strangely peculiar 