Which is More Disgusting? Daemons or Cannibals?

Lucifer: Just another Angel, only fallen

Just days after my essay, “Religious Freedom for All or Some” (1) was published, the following article appeared on the cnsnews.com website (2). The gist is this: A Satanist church has booked a Satanic Black Mass to take place at the Oklahoma City Civic Center on Sept. 21. The Catholic Church feels threatened and outraged and wants the event canceled. The Civic Center says it is a public forum, and therefore anyone can rent it for any lawful purpose. And don’t forget that the Supreme Court of the Land has said that religious practices are lawful. End of argument. The snippets below are from the cnsnews.com article with my comments in brackets:

Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley condemned the proposed anti-Catholic ritual on July 1 and called on city officials there to cancel the event.  [the archbishop wants to hold Catholic rituals, but doesn’t want other religions to hold their rituals]

Leonine Exorcism prayer. “On that day, I, in the Cathedral, and every priest in his own parish, will pray a special prayer written by Pope Leo XIII for the defense of the Church against the attack of the Enemy and his apostate angels.” [this is a prayer to exorcise deamons, in this case, to protect against the Deamon Baphomet, or Satan, and to get the Civic Center to cancel the show]

Naju after bread turned to bloody flesh

Pope Francis elevates the Eucharist, or communion host, which Catholics believe is, once consecrated, the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread. [and in other news, the Catholic Church practices anthropophagy, or, cannibalism, which many people find disgusting and would like to outlaw]

So who is the hypocrite here? Watch your answer, it may be wrong.

1.http://searchesworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/religious-freedom-for-all-or-some.html

2. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/catholic-bishop-stop-satanic-mass-orgiastic-ritual-pain-and

Image: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=54303

Image: http://www.ourlady.ca/pictures/najumouth.jpg

Cars, Dads and Wives.

Not Mine, but Close. 

A commentator on NPR (1) yesterday was talking about boys bonding with fathers with a car as the, no pun intended, vehicle. Got me thinking about my generation, pre-boomer, high school in the 50’s, and my first car at 12. That was a 1933 Pontiac 4 door sedan with running boards and duel spare tires on the front fenders. Straight 8. Eighty horsepower. Of course I couldn't drive it on public roads, so the farm roads were my world. I made an oval track on about an acre and raced around it for hours. Turned it on its side a few times but nothing major. Of course no seat belts or other safety gizmos. Mechanical brakes. Five gallon gas can in the back seat for a gas tank. Unsecured. I was lucky I didn’t burn myself to death.

Then, when I was 16, I bought the 49 Ford convertible. Saved up from paper routes and produce boy at Penn Fruit, and paid $250 for it. Beautiful hot rod.  V8, Crestline chrome, Carson top, custom grill, custom interior in black and white, skirts, nosed, decked, lowered, duel Stromberg 97s, milled heads, Mallory ignition and wicked pipes. Red. I spent days of time working on it. Over the next three years I replace or rebuilt 9 transmissions, 3 rear ends and 3 drive shafts. The drive train was just not up to the power delivered by the reworked engine, or the drag racing moron behind the wheel. But Oh My did I have fun in that car. Drunk driving, girl hunting, buddy racing, rumbling with a few gangs from out of town, driving to Florida, pissing off Mr. Canosa, the Assistant Principal at Roslyn High.

Driving, always driving. But no bonding. My father knew cars, but worked almost all the time. He would occasionally offer some advice, usually good, but never got with me on a project. We worked some together in the summers, and fished together some as well. We had one of those father-son things that didn't include much touching. So I could relate to the guy on the radio about cars, but not about dads. Still, I had a kick-ass car and a good father. When the Ford finally gave up in 1959, he helped me buy a 1959 Chevy 2 door post coupe. Basic with a 283 V8. Blue. Good transportation but never the “flash” of the Ford.

Same year, model and color. Not mine.

From there, the auto odyssey moved to a series of rebuilds that included a ’61 Ford convertible, a TR-3, a ’64 Thunderbird, a Datsun 1500, a ’66 Dodge Charger, a ’68 Roadrunner, a ’66 Olds coupe, a ’34 Ford Vicky, a ’49 Packard and a ’52 Plymouth, not in that order. Probably a few others I have forgotten.

But none ever approached or surpassed the ’49 convertible. One of these days I may get another oldie and play mechanic. But age is a funny thing. Desires and wants sometimes are transient, and what seems like a good idea today seems a bit silly tomorrow. But Sally never really knows what I may come home with. The beauty of Sally is this: whatever car I might come home with, she would accept, if not love, and what more could a man ask? Thing is, with Sally, what else do I really need?

Image:http://image.streetrodderweb.com/f/images/10979708+w195/0812sr_44_z+goodguys_ppg_nationals+1949_ford_convertible.jpg
Image:
http://www.boldride.com/image/http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8514/8504948408_a1e028c194_o.jpg?width=1024&height=770

1. http://www.npr.org/2014/08/05/338099738/complicated-cars-put-a-dent-in-an-old-father-son-ritual

Religious Freedom for All or Some?

One Logo of the United Church of Christ

Should a church and a pastor have the Religious Right to perform any ceremony within their own religion? Of course, you say. Shouldn’t the Catholic Church have the right to perform Exorcisms of Daemons, even though many people don’t believe in daemons? Shouldn't a Baptist Church have the right to perform Submersion Baptism even though it is potentially dangerous and could lead to infection and heart attack? Shouldn't many Christian churches have the right practice communion when they openly state they are feeding human body parts  to people which is illegal?

Of course, you say. So what about the United Church of Christ in North Carolina (1) that wants to perform their Sacrament of Marriage ? Of course, you say. Ah, but they want to marry same sex couples, and the State of North Carolina forbids the marriage of same sex couples.

See the problem? Religious Freedom either is or it isn’t a Right. If it is a right for some, it is a right for all. If not for all, then not for any. This is a very sticky problem for people with fundamentalist mind sets. They (maybe you?) cleave to the belief that only they have the right to do and say what they want, but others do not. They use their versions of Holy Scriptures to support their opinions and distortions.

Well people, it is probably time to get to the point of the Constitution and the Guarantee of Religious Freedom. Either it is, or it isn’t. And, the Supreme Court of the Land  said it is. Therefore it is. Period. And that means that backward and ignorant states like North Carolina are living in a bubble of prejudice. And that bubble will break, thanks in part to the United Church of Christ. Right on Brothers. If I were a believer, I would certainly follow you guys. Thanks.

Image: http://www.gsucc.org/GoodShepardChurch/files/ae/ae215ec3-b89f-4ed2-84ff-f5c4ad5d4586.jpg

1. http://www.thestate.com/2014/05/02/3423008/united-church-of-christ-sues-over.html

Retire: To Tire Again or, First Magnitude BullShit!

You know as in “Hey Babe, I am gonna re-tire the truck”.  Right? Yeah, maybe somewhere. Or maybe to get TIRED again as in “Hey Babe, after all them ribs and beer, I am tired as a whipped possum, again.”

No, here is the actual derivation:

“1590s, "act of retreating," also "act of withdrawing into seclusion," (1) So, when you “retire” you withdraw into seclusion, right? You leave the field. You retreat. You vanish without a trace. Well partners, that is really BullShit. Of the first magnitude.

Having worked and hopefully enjoyed most of the time doing so, you change directions and move out! You get busy with all kinds of crap you didn't have time for during the “career” years. You sleep less, work more, play more, move more (if you know what’s good for you) and you just plain boogie. Retreat my ass. I had a friend many years ago, Gus, who had a simple motto: Always move your piece forward. Another way to put it is to never give out and never give in, but, you can change your mind (2).

Changing your mind is what retirement is, or should be, about. For an entire career, decisions are made within the framework of the career. Retirement equals no career and no framework. So decide one day to go to the beach, and on the way change your mind and have a burger and a pitcher of IPA instead. Now that, pals, is what Retirement is all about.

BRING IT ON, BABY, BRING IT ON!!!

Image: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-and-retire-on-3.png

1. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=retirement 

2. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/billyjoel/shesalwaysawoman.html

Tom Petty: Fraud? Not a CHANCE!!!

        

“You just want to be as wonderful as everyone thinks you are and you know you're not.” (1)

What the Hell? Tom Petty? One of the most enduring performers in the last 40 years is insecure? Yes, and he is not alone. Years ago I wrote a little essay on the Fraud Hypothesis (2) and came out as a fraud. Hey, it’s Ok to be this kind of Fraud. Almost everybody has these moments of “if they only knew” insecurity.

The NPR interview with Melissa Block touched on a lot of aspects of Petty’s career, and if you are a fan you should go to the link below. His line about knowing you are not as wonderful as they think got me straight back to the Fraud Hypothesis. And I thought it was worth a reprise of the idea. And here is why: You are not a fraud unless you actually misrepresent yourself. And since you mostly don’t you are a normal person with normal anxieties who is just getting by. Nothing wrong with that.

So, don’t worry that you will be “found out”. Just go in with the attitude that you will do the best you can do, and be the best you can be, and don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” once in a while. That really gives you credibility, and proves that you are not a fraud.

1. http://www.npr.org/2014/08/04/336608432/tom-petty-on-stage-fright-cheap-speakers-and-george-harrison  

2. http://searchesworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/fraud-fake.html

Image: http://www.culturebully.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/tom-petty-heartbreakers-mojo-cover.jpg

Israel: Born in Fire and Desire

Rochelle R. was her name. I met her in 1959 when I joined the Russian Club at the University of Miami. She was a remarkable woman in many ways. A former member of both Irgun and Haganah (these Jewish organizations were sometime allies and sometime antagonists) she was by her own admission a freedom fighter for Israel. She made no apologies for her activities though often said she regretted the young soldiers she helped to kill. In the “Mandate” it was illegal for Jews to carry weapons, so one or her tasks was to carry guns or grenades under her skirts, knowing that the British soldiers were too polite to search a woman’s legs. She had a British soldier boyfriend/lover who was killed in this hell of confusion and oppression, and she never forgot him. Her ethnic roots were Russian and she arrived in America in the 50s. She was fluent in Russian, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Yiddish and English. She was married to another Israeli and had two daughters.  She tutored me in Russian and Israel.

My friend Rochelle might be in this photo of Begin with Irgun

Israel has been fighting for survival from the days before it was Israel. The desire of the Jewish people for a homeland burned then as now, and thwarted at every turn, still came to pass. During the constant fight for freedom from the “Mandate”, millions of Jews were murdered (along with my gypsy family) and millions more were displaced. They fought on and the desire for freedom never wavered. And they fight on today. Early in the history of these people the philosophy, more a doctrine really, of “Active Defense” became operational. It still is. Everybody in the Middle East knows this truism: If you mess with Israel, there WILL be consequences.

Which brings me to this point: When rockets flew from Gaza and rained on the land of Israel, everybody knew what would come next. Hamas knew. Israel knew. The whole world knew. Active Defense. Like everyone with a heart, I mourn for the dead innocents of all aggressions. In Syria. In the Ukraine. In Gaza and in Israel. The blame game is a losing game to play. The real game is actions and counter actions, and that is the reality in Israel.

The people of Israel are the descendants of Rochelle, her husband and daughters, and thousands of other freedom fighters, and of the indomitable Jews of the world. If the world has learned nothing else it should have learned this: If you mess with Israel, there WILL be consequences.

Image:Begin with Irgun Members: 1948.  http://kresy-siberia.org/hom/files/Begin-with-Irgun-members-1948_public-domain-1024x682.jpg

Image: http://freedominfo.org/wp-content/uploads/flags/israel800.jpg

Thanks NSA, FBI and CIA.

Some Muslims Somewhere Hating Us

Boko Haram, Taliban, Al Shebab, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Naqshbandi Army, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Fatah and al Qaeda.

This list of 9 Islamic Terrorist groups is just from todays, July 16, 2014, newsfeed. There are numerous other Islamic Terrorist groups in the world and many non-Islamic groups as well. The world is overrun with Terrorists. So why do we hear so much about the Islamic ones? Well, when was the last time the Irish Republican Army blew up a pub? Or the Shining Path killed a tourist, or the FARC took on the Colombian army? It seems that the non-islamic groups are more or less quiet these days, while the Islamic organizations are going crazy.

Should we be worried here, safely ensconsed in American Values? You bet we should. Since 1972, there have been 71 attacks by Islamists on American soil with 3102 Americans killed (1). Yes, most of these were in the coordinated 9/11 attacks, but the rest were none-the-less dead. And there is no way to access the number of failed attempts. (Thank you NSA, FBI, CIA and others).

We are extremely fortunate to be living in a country where our enimies, and make no mistake, there are millions out there who hate us, have not yet been able to mount a sustained campaign of terror.

We seem to respond to the threats by arming ourselves to the teeth and blaming our own government for trying to oppress us. Get real you NRA types. The threat is not from our own government, who, by the way you elected, but from the millions of people who hate us.

And while you think about Islamic Terrorists, think about how many people were killed in the last few years by wacko shooters with legal guns. Assholes. 

Image: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/15/article-2203291-1502B1D4000005DC-573_964x708.jpg

1. http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/americanattacks.htm

One God or Three? Exactly the Same.

I am confused. Christians believe in “One God”? But this god is actually three in one: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. That sounds like three Gods to me. The problem happened when early Christians proclaimed Jesus to be the “Son of God” and that meant 2 gods. So they came up with a tortuous explanation of how the father and son were actually the same god, so when Jesus was killed, the father was really killed. And don’t even get started on the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. Nobody agrees on exactly what that is. But there is agreement that in the trinity, or triune god, each one isn’t the other, but each is the same God. Confused? Look at this diagram to clarify for you:

I am not trying to be a pissant or blasphemer.  I just don’t get it. Give me one God or a bunch of Gods. That I get. This I don’t.

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H

oly_Spirit

Cortical Skipping or ," How The Hell Did You Think of That?"

Ok, so I made up the term to describe something that we all do all the time. Here is an example from this morning as I thought of things:

Old George – botany faculty- names-Joe Reidhart-mycologist-Couch-puffball-Calvatia-Calvarium?-

The question is how do you get to puffballs and skull from Old George, and the answer is above: cortical skipping.

I puzzled over the connection between the genus for the giant puffball and the name of the top of the skull, and what connection there might be. Bingo!!! Got it!!! Giant puffballs really look like bleached skulls when they are fresh, and thus were named after the Latin name for skull

Well, this is an example of what I call “cortical skipping”. The phenomenon where you can trace a current thought backwards to a seemingly impossible starting point, but the connections between jumps are logical. I am sure in the lingo of psychology or brain study this process has its own name, but what the hell? Thinking is a cortex function, and skipping from one thought to another is a basic human activity, so logically it should be called cortical skipping. See? You learned something new this morning. And, if you are really lucky, you will find a nice fresh puffball, slice same and sauté in butter. Yummmmy. 

Image: http://img1.photographersdirect.com/img/22823/wm/pd2933311.jpg

Trans* What? Gender is Gender, and that is the end of it. Not.

“...one’s self identified gender is necessarily more legitimate than the one that is rather naively assigned to them by others.”

-Julia Serano, Whipping Girl, (2009)

And so starts a great resource for information on transgender/transsexual people. This is truly a must peruse website. Why you ask? Well, because someone you know or will soon know is a transgender person. About 1.5% of the population on average. So, out of every 100 people you know or meet, more than one will be transgender. Could be you for all I know.

I heard a part of a program this afternoon on NPR about trans people, and wondered all the way through it what was bothering me. Not my identity. Not my acceptance, because you will be hard pressed to find anyone more accepting of everyone than me. No, I finally figured out it was my ignorance about this community. So I set out to learn a bit, and found a few good places to look. The Trans Awareness Project, http://www.transawareness.org/index.html, is a good place to start.The site has frank and accessible discussions on almost everything you will think to ask. Keep in mind that trans people have a ridiculously high suicide rate. A bit over 40% of trans try suicide some time, and many succeed. Why? The pressure of a society that is gender bound to think of only “boy” or “girl” and to think that anyone else is sick. Not so.

I have maintained for years, based on my biological background, that gender and gender identity is a sliding scale, with the absolutes of boy and girl at the ends and everyone else somewhere in between. I still think this is true, and hope the rest of the world will catch up with me sooner rather than later. And don’t think “sexual orientation”  and gender identity are related. They are not.

If you are at all curious about the trans community, visit the TAP website linked above, and begin the process of becoming educated. You, (and me too) are never to old to learn, and never to old to put aside old prejudices and enter the human race. Try it. You may like it.

 Image: The Trans Awareness Project website