Howie Luvzus

Here’s the top part of my friend Michael’s Barkus float. Michael has a great sense of humor.

I read my first convincing argument as to why it is inappropriate to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans this year. His best point is that folks outside of New Orleans may think we’re back to normal. I still disagree with the commentator, but he has a very good point.

So, let me make this perfectly clear—New Orleans is NOT back to normal. I don’t know how many YEARS that will take, but we’re not even close! Many still need help. There was an apartment fire the other day and it left folks homeless. Not the kind of homeless that apartment fires usually yield. The literally have nowhere to live. They cannot find places to stay because there are none. I think you have the point now.

Second, I know that for many Mardi Gras is a drunken orgy of show me your ____s. But, for most of us, that’s not what Mardi Gras is all about. It’s about holding my daughter’s hand as we trot up to the floats to get cheap stuffed animals. It’s about watching her and Shirley’s eyes light up when they get a 5 cent piece of crap from a stranger! It’s about being with my son as he marches in the rain. It’s about seeing old friends that we’re too busy to visit otherwise. It’s about a thousand other really good things.

I need Mardi Gras. You know why? Guess what I will be doing without for Lent? A job. Some of my closest friends. Lunches and dinners at some of my favorite restaurants. Peace of mind behind government built levees. Neighbors who live in their homes instead of trailers.

BTW—For lunch, I ate a shrimp poboy-dressed. For dinner I ate at Café Roma yesterday. I got the book by Chris Rose. Ate Red Velvet cake and Banana Pudding (made by my girls). I took pictures at a local park too! It was a very good birthday.

Really haven’t felt like blogging lately. I do appreciate the encouraging emails. Here’s a picture of the girls and me at Barkus. It was a great parade. The theme was Wizard of Paws: There’s No Place Like Home. I went as Glenda the good witch. No I’m not a fairy! I got so tired of folks yelling for the fairy to throw beads to them! Notice the authentic FEMA tarp on the float.

Today is my 44th birthday. I’m not sure what I’ll do. I’ll probably order Popeyes Chicken so that I can get a telephoto lense for my camera. We usually eat somewhere nice, but I’m not in the mood. I would enjoy eating chicken with the family. The oldest son is coming home for Mardi Gras! I’m looking forward to that.

For those who care, here’s my take on the latest events that I’ve not blogged about:
1. Cheney shooting the old guy in the face–If the press can’t find anything better to give Cheney crap over shut up!
2. Ports–Why are foreign companies running them anyway?
3. Ports–the arrogance!

Do something nice for someone today and tell them it’s in honor of Howie’s birthday.

Grace,
Howie

I thought Mindy’s Panty-Palooza idea was really cool. She suggested providing gifts for a local Crisis Center. She said that panties would be a good idea. I didn’t feel real comfortable with that so I took Shirley Jr to the store today and we bought some things for a girl her age. I’m calling the Crisis Centers tomorrow to see where we can drop it off on Tuesday. Thanks for the great idea Mindy! My daughter really enjoyed picking out the stuff.

I believe that the very public struggle between evangelicals over global warming is due to sharp theological differences between the two parties. Rather than describing the two parties, I will offer description of the theological basis for those who disagree with the fact that our planet is getting warmer.

Two comments by those who signed a letter to the National Association of Evangelicals urging them not to adopt an official position on global warming reveal the core of the theological ideology relating to this issue. In an interview with NPR, Richard Land, president of The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, concluded that the practices that reduce global warning would negatively affect the economy. E. Calvin Beisner, professor of social ethics at Knox Theological Seminary, a conservative Presbyterian school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who helped draft the letter argued that “some international treaty for mandatory reductions in CO2emissions, could make a significant enough drop in global emissions to justify the costs to the human economy.”

Do you see the problem here? They don’t want to hurt the economy! Seems like these evangelicals are more Republican than Christian. When James Carville told Clinton “It’s the economy stupid” he showed real insight into the American psyche. Unfortunately, many evangelicals can’t understand that many of the values that Americans hold aren’t “Christian values.” It’s the poor who suffer the most from global warming. Cutting the use of oil will mostly hurt Exxon (who has posted record profits lately) and related businesses. Businesses that offer alternatives would surely grow wouldn’t they? I remember when folks argued that the use of computers would lead to massive unemployment. Man I’m old!

Other factors are also in play here. Many evangelicals today are more “Reformed” or “Calvinistic” in theology. Like it or not, the ideology of election-that some are chosen by God and others are not-results in a “logic of exclusion.” God prefers us (Christians) over everybody and everything else. Thus, we become the center of the universe in terms of setting the rules. Sound familiar? Because we are favored, we get to spread our ideas throughout the world because we know best don’t we? Let’s spread democracy unless it results in leaders we don’t like. How is it that some evangelicals want a theocracy here, but not in the Middle East? Because we’ve got the right God on our side!

The patriarchal view of God as absolute Lord really comes in handy when you are of the elect! This view of God and the universe justifies authoritarianism and centralized power. This ideology allowed many fundamentalist Baptists to run all of the “liberals” out of the Southern Baptist Convention and be nasty to them while they did it. You see, it didn’t matter what means they used to rid the convention of these heretics because they had truth on their side. (See the latest IMB controversy) Truth and power is much more important than loving your neighbor, even though I think that idea was one of Jesus’ top two.

Jesus died for my sins! I once heard someone say that if I was the only human being, Jesus would have died for me. Holy Crap! I must be really important then! Jesus must want me to expand my territory! That can’t happen without a flourishing economy! Ah, to heck with the poor, didn’t Jesus say they’d always be with us anyway?

Gotta run! My Prayer of Jabez book says I need to get praying so I’ll be blessed. God knows living in New Orleans—I need some blessings. I realize the book didn’t work for Africans, but they probably aren’t favored and chosen like me!

On the way home yesterday (always have a camera with you!) I saw this truck. Don’t know why he felt the need to tell us he’s not Chuck Norris. Maybe he looks a lot like Chuck and has been challenged to fight a lot. But everybody knows Chuck Norris’ roundhouse kick holds the land speed record. See more random facts about Chuck Norris here.

Shortly after Katrina, I met with a prof from Vanderbilt and he asked me who I was mad at. I told him that I was mad at everyone. That was true, almost, and it still is. That’s why I’ve been focusing on Bush lately. He’s a very easy target and hopefully, with the exception of tapping my phone calls, he probably isn’t going to come after me personally.

I’m not mad at Shirley, or my kids or brothers. Everybody else…pretty much. This Katrina thing really sucks. The worst part is that I can’t really, and maybe shouldn’t, say what I want to say. Don’t want to hurt any feelings or burn any bridges! It’s killing me!

I did get to unleash twice in the past few months. I had a friend from my seminary days that I called for some help with housing in Nashville. He went through some really tough times several years back and I was there for him. I called and checked on him often and offered him my friendship when most were abandoning him. In return, when I called for his help in finding a place for me to stay in Nashville while working at Vandy, he simply ignored me. My calls went unanswered. He knew I needed help and he let me down. So, one night while feeling alone and depressed in Nashville, I got really drunk and left messages on his phone telling him what I thought about him. I left some pretty mean and some pretty funny messages until his box was full. I don’t regret it. Would Jesus have done that? Hell no, but I feel better any way.

I’ve got about 20 or so calls to make, but I won’t. Every now and then I’ll let loose while I’m in the shower. I feel really bad that my friends in Nashville didn’t see the real me. I’m really very funny and a heck of a nice guy. A student of mine once said that I needed to become a comedian. No so much any more though. I hope to get back to normal again.

Until then bear with me. Or else, I might threaten to kick you’re a$$.

An article in the Wisconsin State Journal claims that the Liberty Counsel’s erroneous claims about how the Dodgeville School District was “waging war on Christmas” cost the district money and were simply “manufactured” to raise money. LC has not apologized or reimbursed the district for the costs associated with the false claims. What would Jesus do?

I sent them an email. Maybe you should too!

I always wondered why Bush’s speeches were getting so much gooder lately!

You’ve got to catapult the propoganda!

Well, what can you expect from a guy whose wife publicly ridicules him for performing a sex act on a horse!

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA):

It is scandalous to provide insufficient funding for our nation’s two greatest capital investments, health and education.

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Bush cuts spending on Medicare and Pell Grants for the poor. Shame on you!
In regard to the impact of cuts in healthcare for children:

“This is an affront to America’s children. It will really hurt children today and for decades to come,” said Dr. Alan Fleischman of the New York Academy of Medicine, who chairs the study’s federal advisory committee.

One example: -Universal newborn hearing screening, a $10 million program that helps states provide those tests for poor families, usually administering them before babies leave the hospital. Detecting hearing loss early helps ensure that babies get appropriate services so they learn and develop properly.

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