Mr. Obama: I have had it with you

This 4th grade teacher has said it all, and she was brave enough to attach her name to it.

  April 17, 2009

 The White House

 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

 Washington, DC 20500

                   

  Mr. Obama:

                   I have had it with you and your administration, sir. Your conduct on your recent trip overseas has convinced me that you are not an adequate representative of the 

United States of America collectively or of me personally.

                  You are so obsessed with appeasing the Europeans and the Muslim world that you have abdicated the responsibilities of the President of the United States of America. You are responsible to the citizens of the United States ... You are not responsible to the peoples of any other country on earth.

                     I personally resent that you go around the world

 apologizing for the United States telling Europeans that we are arrogant and do not care about their status in the world. Sir, what do you think the First World War and the Second World War were all about if not the consideration of the peoples of Europe?  Are you brain dead?  What do you think the Marshall Plan was all about?  Do you not understand or know the history of the 20th century?

                    Where do you get off telling a Muslim country that the    United States does not consider itself a Christian country?  Have you not read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States?

                   This country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics and the principles governing this country, at least until you came along, come directly from this heritage. Do you not understand this?

                     Your bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia is an affront to all Americans.  Our President does not bow down to anyone, let alone the king of Saudi Arabia. You didn't show Great Britain, our best and one of our oldest allies, the respect they deserve yet you bow down to the king of Saudi Arabia ... How dare you, sir! How dare you!

                     You cant find the time to visit the graves of our greatest generation because you don't want to offend the Germans but make time to visit a mosque in Turkey ...  You offended our dead and every veteran when you give the Germans more respect than the people who saved the German people from themselves. What's the matter with you? I am convinced that you and the members of your administration have the historical and intellectual depth of a mud puddle and should be ashamed of yourselves, all of you..

                     You are so self-righteously offended by the big bankers and the American automobile manufacturers yet do nothing about the real thieves in this situation, Mr. Dodd, Mr.Frank, Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelic, the Fannie Mae bonuses, and the Freddie Mac bonuses. What do you intend to do about them? Anything? 

I seriously doubt it.

                     What about the U.S. House members passing out $9.1 million in bonuses to their staff members on top of the $2.5 million in automatic pay raises that lawmakers gave themselves?

I understand the average House aide got a 17% bonus. I took a 5% cut in my pay to save jobs with my employer. You haven't said anything about that. Who authorized that?  I surely didn't!

             Executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be receiving $210 million in bonuses over an eighteen-month period, that's $45 million more than the AIG bonuses.  In fact, Fannie and Freddie executives have already been awarded $51 million not a bad take.  Who authorized that and why haven't you expressed your outrage at this group who are largely responsible for the economic mess we have right now?

               I resent that you take me and my fellow citizens as brain-dead and not caring about what you idiots do. We are watching what you are doing and we are getting increasingly fed up with all of you.

               I also want you to know that I personally find just about everything you do and say to be offensive to every one of my sensibilities.  I promise you that I will work tirelessly to see that you do not get a chance to spend two terms destroying my beautiful country.

                    

                     Sincerely,

                     Every real American

                  

       P.S.  I rarely ask that emails be 'passed around'..........

PLEASE SEND THIS TO YOUR EMAIL LIST......it's past time for all Americans to wake up!

                     Ms Kathleen Lyday

                     Fourth Grade Teacher

                     Grandview Elementary School

                     11470 Hwy . C

                     Hillsboro , MO 63050

                     (636) 944-3291 Phone

                     (636) 944-3870 Fax

Interracial Marriage Trends

Liberty U. Students on Interracial Marriage Trends

Christianitytoday

I asked five female alumni whether their marriages mirrored recent sociological data on mixed-race marriages in the South. Here's what they told me.

Karen Swallow Prior

Some moons ago, my first official “date” was with a black boy. (I am white, by the way.) Technically he was half-black, but in the remote Maine community where I grew up, it didn’t make much difference either way. There was one black family in town; they had only one child around my age, so he was the only black kid in my school. We didn’t think of him as “black” or “half-black” or “mulatto,” though. We thought of him as Jeff. That experience has largely defined race relations for me.

Not so, of course, for much of our nation’s history and many of our nation’s people.

But interesting new trends are emerging from the 2010 U.S. Census, particularly in race dynamics. One finding is that a more general population shift to the southern states now includes an increased number of African Americans who, for the past century, have lived in higher concentrations in the Northeast. Perhaps related to this trend are reports that in the Deep South, inter-racial marriages are gaining wider acceptance.

The New York Times recently reported based on Census data that of all the states, Mississippi saw the greatest increase in mixed-race marriages. The couples profiled in the story, despite minor tensions over their inter-racial status, report smooth sailing in a state once home to some of the country’s most volatile racial conflicts.

We’ve come a long way, and that’s good news.

Liberty University, where I teach, is located in Lynchburg, Virginia, not far from the former Confederate capital, and the school offers a good snapshot of that progress. Its founder, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, at the same time he was growing a church and becoming a national conservative leader in the 1960s, was also gaining notoriety as a sort of accidental segregationist. In his autobiography, he wrote candidly about his formerly racist attitudes and his later profound remorse for those views, inherited honestly, if uncritically, through his cultural context. Inasmuch as one can make amends for such things, then certainly he achieved that before his death in 2007: there has long been a thriving population of minority students at Liberty, one that reflects national percentages.

I’ve seen these trends being played out among my students, a number of whom are now partnered in mixed-race marriages; I contacted five of them to see if their experiences square with the reports above. As it turns out, the answer is yes — and no.

It is clear from their experiences that great progress has been made for inter-racial couples and families in the South. The women told me that public attitudes are generally “more receptive” and “positive” overall. Rachel, who is white, says the fact that her husband is black is “not an issue at all” where they live in Virginia. They both work at a small liberal arts college where diversity is a core value and attend church with a mixed-race congregation that “appreciates” having her husband as a worship leader. Jessica, whose husband is a native of Nigeria, also lives and works primarily around communities that value diversity. She says, “Our social circles are pretty tolerant and many times, racially diverse, and this may also have something to do with the positive reception we feel.”

But all is not rosy. Each of these women cites the greatest hostility as coming from older black women, some of whom have vocally objected to a black man marrying a white woman. When Jessica and her husband are in social situations dominated by one race or the other, they “downplay” their connection. Chris-Robin says she and her husband “have experienced quite a bit of angst” because their marriage is inter-racial. Living in Virginia, they had enough “confrontations”—from tense stares to nasty comments meant for them and their children to hear — that they have a rule: If they are in a public place and either of them says, “Go, now!” they do just that, no questions asked.

Unlike the couples in the Times article, Chris-Robin, whose family is from Mississippi, and her husband simply won’t go there. “Pamela,” who also lives in Virginia, has one child with her African American husband, whom she met in high school and dated throughout college. She’s not sure if the “negativity” she experienced when they were first dating has diminished or if she simply has stopped noticing it. Some things, however, are impossible not to notice. Recently, she overheard fellow residents of her apartment complex complaining to one another about people who have children with “nasty a** n*****s." The words stung, reminding her that “words can do way more damage than we can possibly imagine.”

All the women mentioned the crucial role their families played in shaping the dynamics of their marriages, having more effect than perhaps anything else. Most experienced some initial resistance, even opposition, from concerned parents, only to have them won over with time. “Pamela,” whose father was initially opposed to her marrying a black man, says, happily, now she thinks her father loves her husband more than her. But things did not turn out so well for “Brittany” and her husband, who are estranged after a couple years of marriage. The inability of her husband’s family to accept his white wife, along with his failure to sufficiently support her, has contributed to the disintegration of the marriage, which seems beyond repair, although “Brittany” is praying for a miracle.

I am praying with “Brittany” for the healing of her marriage, as we in the body of Christ should pray for all marriages. Genesis 1:27 says that God created us as “male and female.” In the next chapter, God exhorts the man and woman to hold fast in the marriage bond. When God designed marriage, he made no mention of race. Why should we

Why I Let My Son Wear Pink

Why I Let My Son Wear Pink

Ellen Painter Dollar

christianitytoday

In case you missed the news story that Jon Stewart has named "Toemageddon," here are the facts: Retailer J. Crew sent out an online ad last week in which creative director Jenna Lyons appears in a photo with her 5-year-old son, Beckett. A quote from Jenna reads, “Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.” In her hand, she cups her son’s foot, done up with bright pink nail polish.

Well.

Out came pundits accusing J. Crew of pushing a liberal agenda in which gender distinctions no longer matter, glamorizing a transgendered lifestyle, and, according to Erin Brown of the Culture and Media Institute, “targeting a new demographic — mothers of gender-confused young boys.” Fox News blogger Keith Ablow accused J. Crew of being “hostile to the gender distinctions that actually are part of the magnificent synergy that creates and sustains the human race.” Ablow put nail-polish-wearing boys on a spectrum of disturbing behavior, including boys in sundresses and people coloring or bleaching their skin so they could appear to be of a different race.

I didn’t want to write about this brouhaha for the same reason I felt compelled to: my 5-year-old son. Until recently, my son’s favorite color was pink. He says it no longer is, which is fine, although I’m sad that the major reason is that some boys at school (sweet, lovely little boys) told him that only girls like pink. Until then, he didn’t seem to know that his love of pink, occasional wearing of nail polish, and devotion to Dora the Explorer (as opposed to her male cousin, Diego, who is marketed to boys) mattered one way or the other.

But I knew. Once, I overheard two moms in the pool locker room talking about my son’s pink flowered swim goggles. “I understand,” one said to the other, “that we need to let our kids be who they are. But that’s just too much.” People would often comment, “He must like pink because he has sisters!” I would respond, “No, it’s because that’s what he likes.” As the mother of this bright, creative boy who continues to defy some gender stereotypes, even though he now names turquoise as his favorite color, the J. Crew ad backlash hit me in the gut.

Some facts are in order.

Fact: The association of pink with girls and blue with boys was not decreed by God at creation. As Jeanne Maglaty recently wrote for Smithsonian.com, the association is a modern phenomenon. A 100-plus years ago, pink was considered a masculine color, blue a feminine color, and all children, boys and girls, wore white dresses and long hair until around age 6. Ablow asked how we would respond to a photo of a boy in a dress. Perhaps he should find a photo of one of his male ancestors at age 3 or 4, and answer his own question.

Fact: As Jon Stewart pointed out, nail polish washes off. If what we did on a relaxed Saturday at 5 years old determined our future lifestyle, we’d all be dropping our babies in the sandbox because our neighbor friend just showed up with Popsicles. Putting on nail polish is fun. Many parents of boys, particularly those who also have daughters, have fielded their sons’ requests to get in on the polishing action.

Fact: Although this particular firestorm has played out along liberal/conservative ideological lines, the association of pink-loving boys with transgendered or gay identity is not solely a conservative idea. Two Halloweens ago, The New York Times’s Motherlode blog posted a question from a mom uncertain whether to let her young son dress as a ballerina for Halloween. Of the commenters urging the mom to let her son be a ballerina, which were many, a distressingly high number also advised her to look into support groups for the parents of transgendered and gay children, assuming that an early love of pink, frilly dress-up clothes must predict adult sexual orientation.

That, to me, is the most troubling part of the J. Crew fracas. I can write off the people who are certain that a mother’s allowing her son to love pink and wear nail polish is a harbinger of doom, because I know it’s not. The problem is that we adults, of all ideological stripes, seem determined to sexualize our children from a very young age. Assuming that a 5-year-old boy wearing pink polish or a ballerina dress is a future transgendered adult is just as bad as buying young girls high heels, string bikinis, and sweatpants with words on the backside. In both cases, we impose adult sexual identity, behaviors, and motives on children who are nowhere near sexual maturity.

The creation of human beings as two genders is central to the biblical narrative (Gen. 2-3). Clearly there are innate differences between male and female — differences that add to the richness and flourishing of human life. But our innate gender differences are not synonymous with the culturally mandated differences apparent in the J. Crew controversy.

God created us male and female, but he did not decree which colors and fashion accessories are appropriate for boys and girls. God created us as sexual beings, but he also gives us children who are refreshingly free of the need to categorize and sexualize other people. Both those who claim to support God-given gender differences and those arguing for tolerance seem determined to define everything, even our kids, through the lens of our culture’s obsession with sex.

Field Manual

FM 21-20

Dept of the Army

30 Sept 1992

APPENDIX A

PHYSIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SEXES

Soldiers vary in their physical makeup. Each body reacts differently to varying degrees of physical stress,

and no two bodies react exactly the same way to the same physical stress. For everyone to get the maximum

benefit from training, leaders must be aware of these differences and plan the training to provide maximum

benefit for everyone. They must also be aware of the physiological differences between men and women.

While leaders must require equal efforts of men and women during the training period, they must also realize

that women have physiological limitations which generally preclude equal performance. The following

paragraphs describe the most important physical and physiological differences between men and women.

SIZE

The average 18- year-old man is 70.2 inches tall and weighs 144.8 pounds, whereas the average woman

of the same age is 64.4 inches tall and weighs 126.6 pounds. This difference in size affects the absolute

amount of physical work that can be performed by men and women.

MUSCLES

Men have 50 percent greater total muscle mass, based on weight, than do women. A woman who is the

same size as her male counterpart is generally only 80 percent as strong. Therefore, men usually have an

advantage in strength, speed, and power over women.

FAT

Women carry about 10 percentage points more body fat than do men of the same age. Men accumulate

fat primarily in the back, chest, and abdomen; women gain fat in the buttocks, arms, and thighs. Also,

because the center of gravity is lower in women than in men, women must overcome more resistance in

activities that require movement of the lower body.

BONES

Women have less bone mass than men, but their pelvic structure is wider. This difference gives men an

advantage in running efficiency.

HEART SIZE AND RATE

The average woman’s heart is 25 percent smaller than the average man’s. Thus, the man’s heart can pump

more blood with each beat. The larger heart size contributes to the slower resting heart rate (five to eight

beats a minute slower) in males. This lower rate is evident both at rest and at any given level of submaximal

exercise. Thus, for any given work rate, the faster heart rate means that most women will become fatigued

sooner than men.

FLEXIBILITY

Women generally are more flexible than men.

A-O

LUNGS

The lung capacity of men is 25 to 30 percent greater than that of women. This gives men still another

advantage in the processing of oxygen and in doing aerobic work such as running.

On Male Dress and Appearance

On Male Dress and Appearance John Mark Reynolds

Torrey Honors Institute

Crosswalk.com

Traveling and speaking teaches many deep lessons. One of those isn’t this observation: Christian women care more about their appearance than Christian men. My sociology friends would point out that I have done no survey, collected no data, and yet the evidence before my eyes has been overwhelming.

Try it yourself: When eating out, take a look at the difference between the married men (jeans and t-shirts, often soiled) and the married women (matching outfit, neatly coiffed).

Why is this?

Historically there are some bad pressures that have been placed on women. They have been reduced to their looks and made objects. Vanity about appearance was often one of the few “acceptable” ways of achieving social status. Men also, traditionally, had to “dress for success” in business and romance. Each generation had their “Beau Brummell” types who set the fashion bar. If a stout waistline with a gold chain draped across it used to be a sign of success, now six-pack abs prove the man has enough leisure to drink a six pack and still have great stomach muscles.

Nobody should primp and pose and by middle age most of us (certainly me!) would look absurd if we tried. Outward appearance is unimportant compared to inner beauty.

Still Christians are not Gnostics and we believe the body matters. Outer appearance can be a window to the soul. Just as foppishness demonstrates pride, so does going on a date with the beloved dressed like a swine. My grandfathers were both laborers, but each dressed neatly for church and owned several suits. They wore hats and ties when they went out to eat.

They did not dress less nicely than my grandmothers. They also were both married happily for more than fifty years. Causation? No. Mere correlation? Maybe, but dressing for the beloved seems appropriate for any romantic.

Too many men are taking romance for granted.

I found a bad habit in myself of coming home dressed for white-collar work and quickly changing into slovenly clothing. Instead of dressing for dinner, Americans have taken to dressing down for dinner. My wife would return from work dressed nicely and remain lovely, but I ended up looking like a refugee from a late-night basement Dungeon’s and Dragons game.

My rule has been to dress as well as my beloved and to work on my appearance as much as if I were courting her still . . . because in one sense I am. Shouldn’t she be glad she is married to me? Dressing foppishly would draw attention to self, no act of a lover, but dressing well will compliment her beauty. When I am slovenly, then once again I draw attention to self.

Part of the problem is the disappearance of grownup clothing. When everyone dresses as if preparing to workout, with figures that demonstrate the rareness of the actual workout, then the advantage is all to youth. Good clothes can be comfortable, but comfort in dress clothes entails dealing with reality. Most men keep clothes around that would only fit if we lost twenty pounds.

Nor does dressing nicely (not following trends!) have to cost much money. Many of my best jackets have come from Savers for less than ten dollars. A few of my nicer work jackets cost a good bit a decade ago, but will still be serviceable when I die. (God bless tweed!) What looks good on you? Don’t ask the Internet.

Ask your beloved.

If a man dresses for his beloved (and not some ideal woman), then the appropriate outfits will change with each couple. Women are not a “group” but individuals and my goal is to be attractive to the person to whom I am married not to “women.”

Writing about this will, of course, bring on justified criticism if I am not careful to say:

I am not suggesting I personally have any sense of style. I am dressing for my beloved and not for others. If Hope is happy, then I am happy.

I am not saying that a couple cannot have a grunge day.

I am not saying that one dress in a way inappropriate to the occasion. Work requires work clothing. Some days call for grungy outfits to do grungy jobs.

I am also not saying I can ever be as lovely as Hope. Thank God I am married to a person who has learned to love me even when I look unattractive. Someday, in the natural order of things, she probably will have to care for a man who is dying and nobody looks good dying. The dead look better in our culture than the dying.

But that does not excuse taking her love for granted. Each day must include gentle words and gentle deeds to demonstrate my love to her, but it also includes looking as good as I reasonably can to please her. Within the bounds of what is proper, Hope is the standard and making her eyes light up when I come into the room a goal.

So I get a hair cut, try to dress as she would have me, and keep my weight in check (usually!). Why? Not because she would not love me without the effort, God knows she would, but because I wish to please her. How could a man care less about what his beloved thinks of his appearance than his boss?

Marriage is not just about romance, but romance helps. Romance is fueled by beauty and too many of us have given up. I dress for Hope and that is hopeful for romance to come. Nobody else should dress for Hope, but many men should dress more hopefully if they still wish for romance.

John Mark Reynolds is the founder and director of the Torrey Honors Institute, and Professor of Philosophy at Biola University. In 1996 he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Rochester. John Mark Reynolds can be found blogging regularly at Scriptorium Daily.

Publication date: April 12, 2011

Navigating the Sea of Electronic Media

Navigating the Sea of Electronic Media

Ellen Painter Dollar

christianitytoday

The New York Times last week told the story of eighth grader Margarite, who “sexted” (sent a naked photo of herself via cell phone) her boyfriend. When he and Margarite broke up, the boyfriend forwarded the message to another girl—a former friend of Margarite’s with whom she was having some trouble—with the caption, “Ho Alert!” The girl forwarded it, and soon the whole school had access to the photo that the 14-year-old meant for her boyfriend’s eyes. Several students were eventually charged with child pornography for their role in forwarding the message, although charges were eventually downgraded to harassment, punishable by community service.

As my oldest daughter prepares for middle school next year, I’m pondering the best ways to equip her to handle the changes and challenges of adolescence with wisdom and grace. One of my central concerns is how to help her (and our other two children) navigate the digital world of cell phones and laptops. Sexting, distracted driving, cyberbullying—these modern scourges can leave kids damaged, lonely, in legal trouble, or even dead.

Recognizing that online activity (sexting and cyberbullying, as well as less overtly threatening Facebooking and texting) has potentially negative effects on kids’ physical and mental health, the American Academy of Pediatrics is urging pediatricians to inquire about media use during check-ups. Experts have coined the phrase “Facebook depression” to describe the plummeting self-esteem that can result from constant exposure to friends’ happy status updates and photos indicating a packed social calendar. Although it has yet to show a causal link, one study found that teens who text a lot (120 text messages or more per day) are more likely to engage in sexual activity and drug use. Experts speculate that factors contributing to excessive texting (impulsivity, a need for constant stimulation and social interaction, inadequate parental supervision) also contribute to risk-taking.

What is a parent to do? Some parents might ban electronic media altogether, but that’s not the right answer for most of us. Electronic connectivity will play a larger and larger role in the workplace and education. I am a writer for whom online media are indispensable for sharing and marketing my work (and frankly, central to both my social life and my household management). My husband is a librarian transitioning his university library from being a repository of printed material to an access point for online resources. My daughter’s middle school homework will require Internet access, as many teachers post homework on web pages, rather than passing it out in class. Facebook, e-mail, and texting can also be tools for enhanced connections between people, if used with respect for others and within limits. Forbidding my kids from using computers and cell phones would be shortsighted and, really, impossible.

But we can have rules: No texting at the dinner table. All computer use takes place in public areas of the house, not behind closed doors. Cell phones will be turned in to us at bedtime. Kids must “friend” a parent if they want to use Facebook.

It seems to me, though, that the unhealthy, sometimes tragic consequences of teen media use are rooted in something deeper than a lack of parental supervision or teen impulsiveness. Teenagers, particularly girls, inhabit a culture that constantly tells them that their worth is measured by outward things—looks, popularity, sexual experience, worldliness, the ability to post clever one-liners that elicit plenty of ROFL’s and LMAO’s from friends.

Actually, it’s not just teenagers that inhabit this culture. I do too. My own consumption of media does not always give my kids a good example of how to be part of today’s online world without letting the values promoted by that world define you. And I’m not just talking about my tendency to scroll through my e-mail while only half-listening to my kids.

My consumption of media—reading consumer magazines and watching reality TV as well as using Facebook, e-mail, and texting—often skews my self-image and tempts me to focus not on what is meaningful and lasting and healthy, but on what is superficial and fleeting and destructive.

The more I obsess over shelter magazines featuring updated, perfectly coordinated, clutter-free homes or watch TV shows such as TLC’s What Not to Wear, the worse I feel about my own cluttered, unrenovated, dust bunny-infested house, and my cardigan- and sneaker-heavy wardrobe.

The more time I spend online obsessing over my blog comments, envying other authors’ publishing successes, and wondering why I wasn’t invited to the party that friends are posting photos of, the more focused I become on myself and my insecurities, instead of on my family, my work, and my community. Media saturation has a way of skewing our sense of how things really are and what is eternally significant. Other writers get rejected. Most people’s houses are rarely camera-ready. My friends spend many weekends hanging out with their children instead of dressing up to attend parties (or, alternatively, doing errands and cleaning bathrooms instead of planning outings or supervising extravagant craft projects with their kids). But such real-life experiences rarely make it into Facebook photo albums or status updates.

As Paul reminded Christ’s followers in Phillippi, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” The fruit of such a life is not a guarantee that you’ll never be hurt by a friend, disappointed in romance, rejected in the workplace, or feel lousy when you discover you weren’t invited to the party of the year. The fruit of such a life is that, “The God of peace will be with you.”

Our rules about computer and cell phone use will likely change as the technology changes, and as we see what kind of people our children—today still so young and innocent—turn into. But I will do my best to foster a family environment that puts the real world ahead of the virtual one by both setting clear rules about media, and focusing on seeking first God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. I will strive to better model healthy behavior in my own media use. And I will say many prayers for all that is beyond my control, which is plenty

It is the solider

                           It is the solider

                               It is the solider not the poet

That gives us freedom of speech

It is the solider not the reporter

Who give us freedom of the press

It is the solider not the campus organizer

Who gives us freedom to protest

It is the solider who serves beneath the flag

And who’s coffin is draped by the flag

That gives the demonstrator the right to burn the flag

                    Father D.E. O’Brien fort Stewart Georgia

NEW School prayer

Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer

are not allowed in most public schools anymore

because the word "God" is mentioned....

a kid in Arizona wrote the attached

NEW School prayer.

I liked it....

                

Now I sit me down in school

Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God

Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,

It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow

Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.

The law is specific, the law is precise.

Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall

Might offend someone with no faith at all.

In silence alone we must meditate,

God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,

And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.

They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.

To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,

And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.

It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,

We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong

We can get our condoms and birth controls,

Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,

No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,

When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:

Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen

If you aren't ashamed to do this,

please pass this on. Jesus said,

" If you are ashamed of me," I will be ashamed of you before my Father."

Not ashamed. Passing this on . .

This is the dress of love

An old woman went to visit her daughter and she found her naked, waiting for her husband.
The mother asks the daughter, "What are you doing naked?"
The daughter responds, "This is the dress of love."
When the mother returns home, she strips naked and waits for her husband.
When her husband arrives, he asks her, "What are you doing naked?"
She responds, "This is the dress of love."
"Well," he says to her, "go iron it."

86%

 It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God.
  Therefore I have a very hard time understanding
  why there is such a mess about having "In God We Trust"
  on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance.
  Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!!

Technically Challenged

From crosswalk.com

Technically Challenged

1.     Compaq is considering changing the command "Press Any Key" to "Press Return Key" because of the flood of calls asking where the "Any" key is.

2. AST technical support had a caller complaining that her mouse was hard to control with the dust cover on. The cover turned out to be the plastic bag the mouse was packaged in.

3. Another Dell customer called to say he couldn't get his computer to fax anything. After 40 minutes of troubleshooting, the technician discovered the man was trying to fax a piece of paper by holding it in front of the monitor screen and hitting the "Send" key.

4. Yet another Dell customer called to complain that his keyboard no longer worked. He had cleaned it by filling up his bathtub with soap and water and soaking the keyboard for a day, then removing all the keys and washing them individually.

5. A Dell technician received a call from a customer who was enraged because his computer had told him he was "Bad and an invalid." The tech explained that the computer's "bad command" and "invalid" responses shouldn't be taken personally.

6. A confused caller to IBM was having trouble printing documents. He told the technician that the computer had said it "couldn't find printer." The user had also tried turning the computer screen to face the printer-but that his computer still couldn't "see" the printer.

7. An exasperated caller to Dell Computer Tech Support couldn't get her new Dell Computer to turn on. After ensuring the computer was plugged in, the technician asked her what happened when she pushed the power button.

Her response, "I pushed and pushed on this foot pedal and nothing happened." The "foot pedal" turned out to be the computer's mouse...

8. Another customer called Compaq tech support to say her brand new computer wouldn't work. She said she unpacked the unit, plugged it in and sat there for 20 minutes waiting for something to happen.
When asked what happened when she pressed the power switch, she asked, "What power switch?"

9. Another IBM customer had trouble installing software and rang for support. "I put in the first disk, and that was OK. It said to put in the second disk, and had some problems with the disk. When it said to put in the third disk, I couldn't even fit it in..."
The user hadn't realized that "Insert Disk 2" implied removing Disk 1 first.

10. A story from a Novell NetWare SysOp:
CALLER: "Hello, is this Tech Support?"
TECH: "Yes, it is. How may I help you?"
CALLER: "The cup holder on my PC is broken -and I am within my warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?"
TECH: "I'm sorry, but did you say a cup holder?"
CALLER: "Yes, it's attached to the front of my computer."
TECH: "Please excuse me. If I seem a bit stumped, it's because I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional at a trade show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any trademark on it?"
CALLER: "It came with my computer. I don't know anything about a promotional. It just has '4X' on it." At this point, the Tech Rep had to mute the caller because he couldn't stand it. He was laughing too hard. The caller had been using the load drawer of the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder and it had snapped it off the drive.

11. A woman called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer. The tech asked her if she was "running it under windows."
The woman responded, "No, my desk is next to the door. But that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window and his printer is working fine."

12. And last but not least:
TECH SUPPORT: "O.K. Bob, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager."
CUSTOMER: "I don't have a 'P'".
TECH SUPPORT: "On your keyboard, Bob."
CUSTOMER: "What do you mean?"
TECH SUPPORT: " 'P' on your keyboard, Bob."
CUSTOMER: "I'm not going to do that!"

Military Words of Wisdom

From crosswalk.com Military Words of Wisdom
"Aim towards the Enemy."
-Instructions printed on a US Rocket Launcher

"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
-U.S. Marine Corps

"Cluster bombing from B-52's is very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground."
-U.S.A.F. Ammo Troop

If the enemy is in range, so are you."
-Infantry Journal

"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit."
-Army's magazine of preventive maintenance

"It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed."

-U.S. Air Force Manual

"Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo."
-Infantry Journal

"Tracers work both ways."
-U.S. Army Ordnance

"Five-second fuses only last three seconds."
-Infantry Journal

"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid."
-David Hackworth

"If your attack is going too well, you're walking into an ambush."
-Infantry Journal

"No combat-ready unit has ever passed inspection."
-Joe Gay

"Any ship can be a minesweeper... once."
-Anon

"Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do."
-Unknown Marine Recruit

"Don't draw fire; it irritates the people around you."
-Your Buddies

"If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him."
-U.S.A.F. Ammo

if AOL were a city

From crosswalk.com

if AOL were a city...

The commute to work is just a double-click away, but every time you try to leave your driveway, the flow of traffic knocks you back into your yard.

The local post office would tell your mother you're not a known resident.

The local post office wouldn't forward your mail to you when you moved.

You would get calls like " Hi, I'm j0e hax0r from the town council. We had a database crash and lost your tax records. Please give us your address and the key to your house or we will be forced to evict you and your family."

Every time you went shopping, you'd be kicked out of the store by a bouncer screaming "WE'RE SORRY, THIS STORE IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE.”

You'd occasionally be sent home during your day by another bouncer telling you that the city has performed an illegal operation, but that it's really the Earth's fault.

The administration would build a huge, state of the art park, and advertise that children can play there free, then suddenly demand money while ripping down the swings and accosting the children playing there.

Don't forget the AOL playground, which is locked so that the kiddies cannot get out "for safety reasons," and then hordes of perverts & pedophiles are allowed in.

The police would work for free out of some sort of "duty" to the city, but would secretly only be doing it for the free food stamps.

Upon waking every morning, a voice from above would shout "HEY!! YOU DO WANT
AN AOL VISA, DON'T YOU?" To which you say "no." The   voice then replies "OK, I'LL ASK YOU TOMORROW."

U.S. stamp of a muslim holiday

 USPS 44 -Cent Stamp Celebrates a Muslim holiday.
 the United States Postal Service to
REMEMBER and HONOR the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a commemorative 44-Cent First Class Holiday Postage Stamp.
 REMEMBER to adamantly & vocally BOYCOTT this stamp, when you are purchasing your stamps at the post office.
 All you have to say is " No thank you, I do not want that Muslim Stamp on my letters! "
 Apparently they think that putting hearts and butterflies on the new stamp will make most people not realize that the rest is Arabic and probably not something we want to support.

adam and eve

God approached Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and said unto them, “There remain of my gifts to mankind only two items, but I have yet to decide how they shall be divided between man and woman.” And Adam said, “Tell me of these wondrous things, for I am the man, and by virtue of my closer resemblance to Thee, I must be given the first choice.” “Well,” said God, “the first item is an extraordinary arrangement of tubing and erectile tissue that will allow you to urinate while standing up.” “That’s it!” said Adam. “I’ll take it.” “But this other item . . . ” “No, no,” said Adam, “that’s what I want, God, and I want it right now.” The moment the item was installed on his person, Adam gave a gleeful shout, then rushed off to urinate on trees and write his name in the sand, feats that to this day have eluded every woman on earth. God and Eve stood alone in silence, looking one another in the eye. “Ok,” Eve said at last, “what’s left for me?” And God said, “It’s called a brain.” -May 2009 About the Author John Gamel is Professor of Ophthalmology