No I’m not talking about Adrastos! In fact, as someone who has been labeled a heretic, I don’t joke about hell. But if anyone deserves to go there it’s Stacey Jackson, former director of NOAH. Lee Zurich and Karen Gadbois have been exposing the corruption in the city-run Non-profit (yeah right!) that has milked the recovery effort and given the city a black eye.
Here’s the real kicker! Christian teenagers have been coming down here for years to gut houses and help our citizens rebuild their lives. The bad part of that is that today’s Times-Picayune article, which has been WAY behind the curve on this thing, informs us that NOAH contractors actually got paid for work that these sweet kids did to make our city a better place.
Holy Crap! Somebody better get on their freakin’ knees right now. As I said above, I don’t take this lightly–but somebody better get ready to fry like a sausage in hell! You *&^%$@’s better be looking for asbestos wetsuits because you’re going to be treading water on the lake of fire for quite some time for this!
Damn. I hope Stacey and the Board of NOAH go to jail for a long time for this.
Steve asked some great questions in his reply to my last post that I want to address.
What is the difference between his ‘hate’ and yours?
Painting a broad swath of people with a broad brush stroke, based on what news channel they watch, is just as bigoted as anything that news channel may put out.
I could be wrong here, but here’s my justification.
1. A lot of prophets including Jesus engaged in name-calling, but they restricted it to the hypocrites and folks who were self-righteous. I don’t think I’m better than anyone and I’m open to criticism. I have never been described as self-righteous. Those who know me can testify to that. Pointing out errors within the “Christian” community is not hate.
2. Christians who cannot see how offensive and hate-filled the Fox News folks are are idiots. Sorry. That’s just how it is. Folks who call themselves Christians and are racists are idiots too since they don’t see how racism is inconsistent with the message of Jesus.
3. Idiots aren’t necessarily bad people. I was raised in a very racist context. When I was a kid, I told jokes about persons from various ethnic backgrounds and didn’t think anything of it. However, as I grew up and became more reflective about the message of Jesus, I realized that what I had done was sinful and I needed to change. I realized that I was a sinner and an idiot.
4. I think Christians who watch Fox News and are not offended by the hatred and bad behavior of the folks on the air are idiots. God still loves them and I do my best to love them too, but they’re still idiots.
5. When folks on the other stations start telling people to “Shut up!” and cut their microphones off, then I’ll find them offensive too. Why can’t Christians see this is wrong?
6. When CBS or NBC or any other “news” station refers to Michelle Obama a “baby momma,” I’ll find that offensive too. Why can’t Christians see this as racist?
7. Would real networks joke about a terrorist fist jab? Is this really Fair and Balanced? If you think it is, then you’re an idiot.
8. I could go on, but these ought to be enough. If it’s not, you might be an idiot too. I’m not saying that you’re a threat to America that needs to be stopped (But I probably should.) and I would never use violent terms such as “war against” or other terms that might be used to justify violence against idiots.
Warning…this is a rant. I’m really ticked so there might be a few offensive phrases. See the picture on this post? It’s Jesus with the woman at the well. She was a Samaritan woman. Jews hated Samaritans. Jesus didn’t. He saw her as a human being. God’s kind of like that. You know, loving, not a racist, etc.
I’m flippin’ sick and tired of so called Christians making negative comments about “those Mexicans.” Five words: shut up you flippin’ moron! Read your Bible. Think a bit. Would Jesus be pissed about them coming here to “our” country? I don’t think so. In fact I know he wouldn’t. He’d tell you alleged Christians that you must, Jeez I know this will be a shock, love your neighbor. OK, they’re taking our jobs and costing us lots of money for providing their children with healthcare and education (Why is it that I usually hear this from old retired farts who don’t work anyway?) Let’s just pretend that these “Mexicans” are costing us lots of money and are our enemies.
Guess what? Take a look at your dusty old Bible again! Jesus says we’re supposed to love our enemies. Holy Crap! What to do? Why don’t you shut the heck up, think for a freakin’ minute, turn off Fox News and read the Gospels. Out loud. It’s really not that complex. Do you honestly believe that Jesus would be pissed about providing heathcare for children? We’re one of the richest countries in the world. If we really are a Christian nation (which we’re not) we should be glad to help those in need and not just those who have oil under them and are in need.
Why can’t you ignorant racist bigots realize that your ancestors were probably immigrants too? Of course that really shouldn’t matter if you’re a Christian because you’re supposed to LOVE them anyway. They are children of God, whether you like it or not. Their children are human-freaking-beings created in the image of God! Love them too!
In case you forgot. The Christian’s primary citizenry is the KINGDOM OF GOD not the United States. I know that makes me sound unpatriotic, but if I’ve got to chose someone or something to be obedient to it’s going to be Jesus. Not George Bush, that Hussein Obama guy you like to trash and certainly not that foul mouthed old fart that called his wife the “c” word. If following Jesus hurts the American economy then so be it. If it means I might have to, God forbid, make sacrifices like spending more money on others and less on myself I’ll gladly do it. Jesus’ sacrifice makes anything I do seem a bit lame anyway.
Sorry to break the news to you. If you’re going to follow Jesus, you’re going to have to love those “Mexicans” just like he does. If you’d like the scripture references email me at howie (dot) luvzus (at) gmail (dot) com. I didn’t provide them here because I didn’t want to waste your time and they should be a given anyway.
I wrote this because I love those “Mexicans” and hate to hear you trash them. They’re my brothers and sisters. I also wrote this because I love you too and it pains me to see you miss out on the opportunity to demonstrate God’s love to someone in need.
I remember the good old days in the Southern Baptist Convention. Although many of the moderate professors were rude and condescending toward fundamentalists, the tone of the SBC was a lot less negative in general. You can see that in the resolutions at the conventions prior to the Fundamentalist Takeover in 1979.
Foy Valentine, when asked if Southern Baptists considered themselves Evangelicals, said emphatically that “we don’t share their politics or their fussy fundamentalism.” He also condemned their “theological witch-hunts.” Ah, the good old days!
Recently, an Evangelical Manifesto was composed and signed by such Evangelical greats as, Mark Noll, Alvin Plantinga, Daniel L. Akin, Kay Arthur, Max Lucado, and Jim Wallace. There are many Southern Baptist pastors that also signed on.
“it leaves out the question of the exclusivity of salvation to those who have come to Christ by faith.” Al wants to make damn sure that any group he supports makes it very clear that certain folks (probably lots) are going to hell! This statement wasn’t clear enough for Al: “the only ground for our acceptance by God is what Jesus Christ did on the cross and what he is now doing through his risen life, whereby he exposed and reversed the course of human sin and violence, bore the penalty for our sins, credited us with his righteousness, redeemed us from the power of evil, reconciled us to God, and empowers us with his life ‘from above.’”
2. Al also isn’t satisfied that Evangelicals don’t condemn other Christians!
Al writes, “Another complication on this score comes from the fact that Evangelicals are identified as ‘one of the great traditions that have developed within the Christian Church over the centuries.’ There is a sense in which this is true, of course, but relegating the Evangelical understanding of the Gospel to just one among many Christian traditions undercuts our witness and sows seeds of confusion.”
God forbid that someone might confuse an Evangelical with one of the pagan streams within Christianity!
3. Al says it’s not negative enough!
He writes, “Evangelicals sometimes have to make strong judgments, the authors assert, but only after clarifying that the “Good News” of the Gospel “is overwhelmingly positive, and is always positive before it is negative.” Further: “Evangelicals are for Someone and for something rather than against anyone or anything.”
This is a wonderful statement, and entirely true. Nevertheless, as a statement of public relations it will not get very far — not if any honest discussion or disclosure follows. As the authors recognize, to be for one principle is to oppose its opposite. Those holding to contrary principles will not be persuaded to cease stating that we are against their principles and aims.”
4. Al says civility is overrated!
Al asks, “Where does a commitment to civility meet its limits? Can one speak truthfully of the Gospel, and of the fact that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and be considered civil?”
Nope. Southern Baptists still aren’t Evangelicals. Unfortunately now that folks like Mohler are “in charge,” those fussy fundamentalists are too nice, civil, and liberal!
7-year-old Christopher Jacobs fell into an unguarded, algae-covered pool behind a neighboring empty house and drowned Saturday when he tried to retrieve a soccer ball. Christopher apparently had chased the ball into the yard, not realizing the bright green surface hid water.
New Orleanians read about this kind of thing fairly often. That’s why we hate our mayor for being such an incompetent clown. We also hate the insurance companies that have been allowed to screw us over. We’re also angry at a Corpse of Engineers that still doesn’t care enough to protect us. I wish a good lawyer would pick this case up and sue the insurance company that screwed the homeowner, or the Road Home Program, or our idiot Governor or somebody.
But they won’t. It’s just another New Orleans kid that only matters to his mom, other family members, and friends. A friend of mine said that he didn’t like that Obama’s pastor said “God Damn America.” How can a just God let this kind of crap go on unpunished? Wouldn’t a good and loving God step in when no one else seems to care? Can we honestly call ourselves a “Christian Nation” and care so little about God’s children? If it weren’t for the multitude of church groups that came here to help out, it would be very difficult to maintain one’s faith.
This is NOT an overreaction by a tired, depressed blogger. These are honest questions raised in the face of negligence, corruption, and greed.
Last night I saw Charles Barkley slam the local, state, and federal recovery of New Orleans. Thanks Charles! For you who are not from here, it’s hard to understand why we stay here and what we are going through. Just look at our idiot mayor above.
Remember my entry about our new ethics reform-minded Governor?
Even as a special session on ethics called by Governor Bobby Jindal aims to end the practice of free sports and even tickets being given to legislators a report has surfaced that Jindal’s Chief of Staff recently accepted free tickets to the Hannah Montana concert in New Orleans.
WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge reports that Chief of Staff Timmy Teeple and several legislators accepted free tickets for the show, which had sold out to the public in a matter of minutes.
The report says that the tickets were for the governor’s suite inside of the Arena.
Jindal gave a brief response Thursday.
‘Bottom line, we’re gonna follow the law like everybody else. We proposed sweeping changes in the law. We’re saying legislators shouldn’t be getting lavish meals. We’ve said the same things on free tickets from people being able to influence elected or appointed leaders, that’s why we’re going through this session to get the bills done to change the way business is done in Louisiana.”
There is currently nothing illegal about accepting the tickets, though proposed legislation is attempting to have that changed.
Olbermann trashed Bush’s comments on the lessons learned from Viet Nam:
It is a shame — and it is embarrassing to us all — when President Bush travels 8,000 miles, only to wind up avoiding reality, again.
And it is pathetic to listen to the leader of the free world, talk so unrealistically about Vietnam, when it was he who permitted the “Swift-Boating” of not one but two American heroes of that war, in consecutive Presidential campaigns.
But most importantly — important, beyond measure — his avoidance of reality is going to wind up killing more Americans.
And that is indefensible — and fatal.
Asked if there were lessons about Iraq to be found in our experience in Vietnam, Mr. Bush said that there were — and he immediately proved he had no clue what they were.
“One lesson is,” he said, “that we tend to want there to be instant success in the world, and the task in Iraq is going to take a while.”
“We’ll succeed,” the President concluded, “unless we quit.”
If that’s the lesson about Iraq that Mr. Bush sees in Vietnam, then he needs a tutor. Or we need somebody else making the decisions about Iraq.
Mr. Bush, there are a dozen central lessons to be derived from our nightmare in Vietnam, but “we’ll succeed unless we quit” is not one of them.
Guess we should have stayed the course in Viet Nam!Unbelievable!
Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, ousted from the top Senate Republican leadership job four years ago because of these remarks about Strom Thurman who supported racial segregation:
“I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either.”
was elected to the No. 2 post Wednesday for the minority GOP in the next Congress. The position, minority whip, is a very ironic title wouldn’t you say?
John McCain spoke these words today:
“Americans had elected us to change government, and they rejected us because they believed government had changed us,” he said in a speech in which he cited Reagan, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. “We must spend the next two years reacquainting the public and ourselves with the reason we came to office in the first place: to serve a cause greater than our self-interest.”
He argued that after a dozen years of GOP rule on Capitol Hill, voters felt Republicans cared more about protecting their incumbency than they did about staying true to core conservative principles such as limited government, fiscal discipline, a strong defense, low taxes, free trade and family values. He urged a return to those tenets.
WOW! The straight talk express is back! (Except for pandoring to the extreme right.) Why wasn’t anyone in the party saying this before the election? Poor Rush! (See Limbaugh Greets Dems as Liberators) Why didn’t he speak up?
Is it possible that “limited government, fiscal discipline, a strong defense, low taxes, free trade and family values” never really were core conservative principles?
Matt. 7:15–You will know them by their fruits. (Insert your own joke here.)
It would be great if these values were “resurrected.” To bad they didn’t use them when they could!
Just a quick observation today. I’m feeling pretty sick.
Sunday morning, as I was flipping through the channels, I saw some sort of panel discussion show on the local Fox channel. Brit Hume, and a couple of other guys were talking about how great Rumsfeld was (go figure) and the following phrase was repeated twice.
“Our current military is fat and slow.” Could that phrase be used to encourage our enemies? Wonder what would have happened if Kerry said that too. He’d still probably not apologize correctly for the offence, but I’m sure he’d be called out for it.
It really didn’t matter that their argument didn’t show how their view of how the military ought to be might have helped make for a better situation in Iraq. In fact, their arguments didn’t really make sense to me at all.
Note to self. 1. Don’t skip church. 2. Stay away from Fox
