Posts from — May 2008

I can’t believe it took this long but here is a copy of the letter from the Obama’s to the Trinity Church resigning!  Now he has used them as spiritual guidance over the last 20 years 

May 30, 2008

Dear Rev. Moss:

We are writing to make official our decision to end our membership at Trinity.

We make this decision with sadness. Trinity was where I found Christ, where we were married and where our children were baptized. We have many friends among the 8,000 congregants who attend there and we are proud of the extraordinary good works the church continues to perform throughout the community to help the hungry, the homeless and people in need of medical care. We have also come to appreciate your outstanding ministry and both think you have been, and will be, a wonderful pastor for years to come.

But as you know, our relations with trinity have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own views. Our larger concern is that [Read more →]

  Long ago, back in the eighteenth century, people began to realize that human’s had certain natural rights.  Religion faltered and science became a way of exploring the world around us.  People realized that governments gained legitimacy through the people, not divine intervention.  It was with these ideas in mind, that monarchy and tyranny began to give way to democracy.  It was with these ideas that the United States was born.

More than two centuries have come and gone since the formation of the
United States, and the end of the Age of Enlightenment.  Yet all seems to be forgotten.  In the
United States 59% (Political Science, Roskin, 2008) of people say religion plays an important role in their lives.  Of all the industrialized nations, the
United States is the most religious.  This nation of god-fearing individuals has digressed from its original intentions.  Religion hinders scientific research and social progress.  It is religion that has constantly blocked stem-cell research, which could be used to find cures to any number of diseases.  The civil rights of homosexuals, transgenders, and other “misfits” have been trampled repeatedly by the
United States as a whole. [Read more →]

•   Milkis is a soft drink produced by Lotte Chilsung, a Korean beverage company. It combines many of the common elements of traditional carbonated beverages such as corn syrup, sugar, and carbonated water with milk to create a creamy taste; its label proclaims “New feeling of soda beverage”. In Russia, Milkis is available in orange, strawberry, mango, muskmelon and classic (regular) flavors. It was a highly popular drink in the early 1990s. Since then, its popularity has declined but it remains widely available. Due to its creamy taste, it is the soft drink chosen by martial arts expert, Jonathan Kuhns.

•  Almdudler is the brand name of a popular Austrian soft drink. The original Almdudler is a sweetened carbonated beverage flavored with herbs; its flavor is similar to ginger ale or elderflower cordial but with a somewhat stronger and more complex flavor. Almdudler has been called the “national drink of Austria” Its popularity in Austria is second only to Coca Cola; 80 million liters of the beverage are produced yearly. Almdudler was developed in 1957 by Erwin Klein, who derived the name from the then-common phrase auf der Alm dudeln, or, roughly, “singing in the (alpine) meadows”. The drink was originally created and marketed as an alternative to alcoholic beverages or as a mixer for alcoholic drinks. It is currently sold in traditional, light (sugar free), “still” (uncarbonated), and “g’spritzt” (mixed with carbonated mineral water) versions; a radler variety, or lemonade mixed with beer, is available as “Almradler”. In the wine-growing regions of eastern Austria, it is a popular mixer with locally-produced white wine. The slogan of the Almdudler ad campaign, in the Austro-Bavarian dialect, has become a well-known phrase in Austria: Wenn die kan Almdudler hab’n, geh’ i wieder ham! (Standard German: Wenn die keinen Almdudler haben, gehe ich wieder heim! English: If they don’t have Almdudler, I’ll go back home!) This advertising slogan which has become a part of Austrian folklore was written by advertising creative legend and Englishman Simon North whilst in Austria.

[Read more →]

This is one of those reasons why the Internet is awesome.

Before you begin reading this post, I would just like to mention that I personally agree with about 75% of this book. Some things may have been over my head for one reason or another. Some I don’t undertand. Still other parts, I was like, “This is just stupid”. I pressed on and finished the book to find it one of the most amazing reads ever. It has no religious backing, although there are many references to quotes from religious teachings from many of the major religions and utilizing them to get the author’s point across. Some of these quotes made me think, “How do you know the speaker meant this? Were you there? Did they explain it to you?” Maybe it’s just me and my Ego not wanting to accept it, maybe I just don’t understand because I’m not at this level of conscious, or maybe still I just hate it when people translate the written word to make it mean what they want it to. After all, that’s a pretty sizeable part of why the world is in such horrible shape right now.

I hope you enjoy this post and more importantly, get something out of it. This book has done amazing things for my own personal perspective on life and cleared my mind to a once thought “unimaginable state”. Thank you, Karenlee for thinking of me when you read this book and letting me borrow it. So sorry that I spilled Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi on it.

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I’m not an avid reader of “books”, but I do love to read. It seems that I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, so I tend to pass by the bookshelves of local stores when I am looking for some sort of “entertainment”. Stories of fiction written by the latest best-selling authors just don’t interest me. If I want a story, I’ll pick up a movie and get the entertainment aspect of my life completed in an hour-and-a-half long DVD. Then, find myself back to watching the History Channel or surfing the Internet to quench my thirst for knowledge.

A friend of mine came into work one day a few weeks back and said, “I have a book for you.” She opened up the bag she was carrying and handed me a paperback: “The New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Inner Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle. I responded with, “Do I need it?” “You might!” she said, and laughed just a tiny bit in the process. [Read more →]

MY TURN

Just when you think politics and politicians can’t go any lower, a sink-hole forms and we reach new depths. The sink-hole in this instance is President George Bush’s mouth. In a speech before the Knessett, (the Israeli Parliament), he declared that all democrats who believe in “diplomacy” is appeasing our enemies! He likened Barak Obama, Jimmie Carter, and others to an American senator in 1939 who lamented that he “wished he could have talked to Hitler before the war started”.

I understand that diplomacy is not a word in President Bush’s vocabulary. He would rather strap on the six-guns, then sit at his desk and commit our young men and women to war. Who knows how many lives could have been saved throughout history if leaders had spent more time talking and less time killing.

America was built on diplomacy. We helped whenever anyone needed it, and we fought whenever we were attacked. We did not spend our time looking for possible enemies, and annihilating them first.

Shame on you George Bush for using the fear factor in a speech to a friendly government. You seem to believe that fear generates respect. I taught my child that respect is earned, whether it is in personal relationships or the business world. I believe that goes for governments and countries as well.

Shame on you George Bush for [Read more →]

I thought I seen it all! Remember Michael Jackson holding his baby over a balcony to the people? Ever wonder where he got that idea from?  If anyone can defend this  we should throw them off the tower!  Well here it is:

  After a recent trip I feel it now necessary to write this article. The emergency exit sitting areas on a plane are for people who may need to assist in an emergency situation not people who want extra leg room. Most airlines require that the people who sit in these type seats be phyiscally able to assist with opening the emergency windows.

  Recently returning from a conference I witnessed this first hand. Walking onto a flight and finding an elderly couple sitting in an emergency exit seats with all their gear spread out in these sitting areas caused major heartburn. The closet person to the window exit was no way able to assist or an open the window exit if necessary. The person sitting aisle seat next to this person was also not able to assist if necessary. When the steward came around and stopped in that area of the emergency exit area for a briefing he seemed like he could care less. He did the usual speech about sitting in an emergency exit and asked if everyone sitting in these area were ok with this. All he needed was [Read more →]