Words of a Heretic(or Your Not The Boss of Me)

It seems as if we can’t go a day without hearing about Islamic Extremists in our mists.  We’ve all heard how Islam is a violent religion, and how they won’t stop attacking us until either we are all dead or they are.  Preachers give sermons on how they are out to destroy the Christian way.   We’ve all been caught up in post 9/11 hysteria out of fear and anger.  On the other hand, I believe that it is time we start to see how much like that WE are becoming.

Listen to any evangelical preacher give a sermon, and you’ll hear him say that we are to suit up our armor and do our duty as Christian Soldiers.  They all say that war has been waged on Christianity and that we are to fight tooth and nail.  Aiming their message at everything and everyone from Muslims to Homosexuals.  They claim that 9/11 happened because of how America is turning gay, and come short of saying they all should be burned at the stake.  They treat any other faith as godless heathens, and that our way of life is the only one that should be.  They preach their message every Sunday, and more and more people are buying it, believing that this is what Jesus would have us do.

If Jesus were here today, I believe that if walked into one of these churches he would blow up as he did in the Temple in Jerusalem.  Jesus tought us to spread love, tolerance, and understanding.  All these preachers are doing is spreading a message of hate.  You will not convert people out of fear, but out of showing people living the Christian life does have rewards.  Instead of asking people “do you have jesus in your heart?’ maybe you should ask yourself the  same thing.  Instead of asking people “Are you going to heaven?”  ask yourself “How do I know I am going to heaven. “

Yes, the bible does say that homosexuality is a sin, and that there is only one god.  Yet, drunkenness is a sin, and how many people of the cloth are alcoholics?  Child molestation is a sin, and you still let them preach(and no, all child molesters are not gay.).  Murder is a major sin, and you still minister to them in the prisons.  So drunks, child molesters, and murders are going to heaven, but if you have an uncontrollable hormone making you attracted to the wrong person, you are going top hell?  No, my fellow Christians, this is not what MY lord wants.  He would have us open our doors to these people, welcoming and un-judging. he would also have us respect people of other religions.  If  we are hateful to our neighbors, why would they ever want to come to our church?  If we go to their homeland and start a war(justified or not), tear up their infrastructure, and then leave, why would they ever want to live in peace with us?

Unorthodox ways of life are not the reason bad things happen.  God does not make bad things happen because of a certain group of people.  Bad people make bad things happen.    Our choices determine what will happen.  God gave us free will, it is up to us what we do with it.  In sunday school, you are encouraged to memorize bible verses.  This is another trick these false prophets use.  They say that they bible is our best weapon, do you honestly think that Jesus would have us use what is suppose to be his words as a weapon?  No, in contrast he would have us use it as a bandage.  The preachers I am talking about will take a sentence here and there out of the bible to make you feel he knows what the bible says.  The reality is those bits and pieces are taken out of context, and the next verse or chapter will contradict that.  One thing the bible does say is that we should beware of the false prophets.  We should not follow the bible by the word, but by the spirit of the message.  After all, this is a book written by man, not by the Devine.

As I stated earlier, we all have free will.  We can all start listening to our hearts, or just keep listening to people who are no better than us in the eyes of the Lord.  No, I am not saying we should stop going to church, but question why we should be there.  Should we be there to hear other people shouldn’t live, or should we be there to hear how we can live a more Christ like life?  If it remains like it is now, all you will eventually have is The United Church of Hypocrisy.  We all need to take more responsibility.  We all need to spend more time searching our souls, and less time listening to someone tell us what we believe.

Nothing

I really need to write about something, but nothing has pissed me off since I deleted the talk radio station off my radio….. so I’ll just say Good luck and Godspeed till something does.

Twisting Turning Through the Never

In this twisted nether we call life, I have definitely found myself in some dark places, as I am sure everyone else has.  In these times, I tend to let the darkness overtake us, until I an not really the person I truly am.  I forget about everything I have, everyone I have, and everything I have achieved.  All I want to do is subside further into the darkness, forsaking everything and everyone.  I do this even though I have seen how a person who does this ends up: sad, alone, and when you realize what you’ve done its too late.  I even pledged to myself that I wouldn’t end up like that.  And after every time I come out of the darkness, I tell myself I will never slip again, but sure enough I do.

This time was bad.  I was hurdling toward the edge and almost made it.  But yet again the good lord offered a way back to myself.  This time there is no mistaking someone is looking out for me.  I don’t mean to get like that, but I still do.  As good I am on commentating on people’s lives, and reading into things, I can’t seem to figure mine out.  But all I can say for sure is in the darkest hour there is always light, you just have too look for it, or have someone turn your head for you.  I thank God for the people in my life, they truly are my saving grace.  As many trials and tribulations I have put them through, they still refuse to let me take that dive.

Its funny, just about everything we see on T.V., or read is about appreciating what you have, and not taking it for granted.  No matter how many times we see this, we still take it all for granted and get dissatisfied with it.  But as for now, I know exactly how blessed I am. So, here is to this never happening again.  Here’s to hoping this one soul is strong enough not to stray from what I know right now.  Here’s to living a life in the Light, and condemning the darkness that threatens us all.  Here’s to being the person everyone hopes I am.  Let all the negativity of the past be cleansed, and start this life anew.  For in this moment I am happy, and humbled.  And from what I understand about spirituality, that is when the most good is done through you.

To those of you, you know who you are, thank you.

Time Moves On

We all have seen it on our T.V.s, hundreds of angry people lining up to do everything they can to disrupt congressmen trying to explain or debate the new health care plan.  They say they are exercising their freedom of speech and right to protest, and no one should be able to make them stop.  In a way they are right, we all have the fundamental right to protest.  But, you see, “they” can stop you.  When you exercising your right intrudes upon other peoples rights, the law has an obligation to come in and stop you.  What these people are doing is un-American, because instead of stimulating a healthy debate, they are causing near mob riots.

Another thing you  hear the pundits from the right saying is how this administration is trying to stamp out the American way of life, trying to kill the America you grew up in.  They say that if this continues, we will all be living under a Communist regime, and have no civil liberties.  Listening to the Limbaughs, Hannitys, Levins, and Ingrahams you would think the current administration and congress pulled a coup d’etat over night and now are in power.  The thing is, though, 53% of us voted this administration into office.  This tells me that the majority of the country wants something done about the way things work in this country.  No, this is not the same America we all grew up in, it is a different America.

This is a changing country, one with a constitution that allows change when the times call for it.  143 years ago, when this country was founded, things were different.  We didn’t know hardly anything of most the cultures of the world, practically none of the science we know now, and did not have such a wide understanding of what a  human being  was.  Our four fathers did, however, know they didn’t know everything and made it to where we could change our laws.  Otherwise, this would not be much of a democracy.

You know there was too a time , a while back, when thousands pf people flooded the streets “protesting” that government was trying to take away their American way of life, crushing the America they grew up in.  Yet, the administration pushed on with its goal, never forgetting those who voted them in.  Every time they would gain some ground on their bill, all they would get was heavy push back from the opposition including riots, lynchings, and assassinations.  Yet , eventually, President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights act of 1964.

Millions of people were against this piece of legislation, but that did not make them right. And I don’t think that there is a SANE AND DECENT person alive in this country would say that passing this piece of legislation was a wrong move made by the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.  Yet, at the time millions were against it.  27 senators voted against it, and 130 congressmen voted against it.  There were riots, families threatened, children killed, and good men assassinated.  The easy thing to do would be to just leave it for somebody else to do another day.  But, these men could not live with themselves if they did that.  They fought for this, for a decade they fought for this.  Many of these men lost their reputation, but they would rather lose that than their self-decency.

And the same is going on now.  Health care was one of the platforms the people in power ran on, and Americans voted them into office on it.  They did not take over the government, and thy didn’t just all of a sudden change their way of thinking.  They are doing what the majority elected them to do.  Yes, there are a lot of people that disagree, the people who didn’t vote for them.  That is why we have to work together, not just complain.  Maybe if the senators, governors, and congressmen would take a stand on what know is right, and not what the radio hosts think is right, we could get something done.

Right now there are millions of people against letting everyone having health coverage, mainly because they are AFRAID of losing their coverage and way of life.  I would be too if the people I am suppose to trust keep using scare tactic to get me to vote for them.  Fear politics have got to stop.  Just because people are trying to adjust the law to the times does not make those people Communists and Nazis.  We must come together and COMPROMISE to get anything done.  You can’t go on national TV saying the things you say about people and expect the same  people to work with you the next day.  But if we change this and try work together,maybe  in 20 or 30 years we will wonder how could anyone be against letting everyone see a doctor when they are sick.

Woe is NOLA

Well friends, the fourth anniversary of Katrina is upon us, and I have but one thing to say: so the fuck what!  You won’t here that is the 14th year since the Oklahoma City bombing, or the 17th year since Hurricane Andrew, or the 18th year since the FIRST World Trade Center attack, yes there were two.  Oh yeah you might here in passing that its was the anniversary, but they do not get anywhere near the air time the Katrina does.

I understand that 2,000 people died, and hundreds of thousands were displaced, but It wasn’t just people in New Orleans, people in Mississippi, Texas, Georgia and Florida lost everything also.  How much do you hear about these poor souls?  Nothing.  An I hate to play the race card, but all the media is concerned with is how it affected poor black people.  Plenty of whites and Hispanics lost there homes too, and don’t get anywhere near the resources that people in New Orleans do.  I lived in Houston at the time, and we did everything possible to help the evacuees from our neighboring state.  In return, all we got was complaints that we weren’t doing enough, and a significant rise in crime.

Don’t get me wrong, I voted for Obama, but the people blaming this on the Bush administration are wrong.  My entire time growing up, evacuations, and safety precautions were set up by the local and state government, not federal.  The only time  know that the federal government comes in is when the Governor calls for it.  The federal government shouldn’t have to step in for every little hurricane that comes our way.  Also, lets not forget a little thing called personal responsibility.  Every time a hurricane has hit Texas, we all new we better get to a place that is high and dry.  These people had a lot of chances to get out, but opted not to, and cry about it afterwards.

In the summer of 2001, tropical storm Allison flooded Houston, and we lost everything we had.  My wife almost gave birth in the flood water, and we were with out lights for over a week.  We were at a point to where we had our life back together with in a month.  It has taken these people 4 years. Just this last year, Hurricane Ike damn near demolished Galveston and Houston.  A year later there are still some signs, but everything is up and running.  You don’t see a week long news series on that.

If you ask me, the state and local governments of Louisiana are to blame.  The people I have encountered from the storm are much different than what I am accustom to.  I have met several who are used to working 3 days a week, and the government takes care of the rest.  The test scores in HISD went down so much that they had to separate the Katrina testers and the native Houston testers.  You can’t expect much of people if the local government says its ok to fail, we will take care of it.  What the government doesn’t give you, you can go out and steal.

And the levies?  Yeah they broke.  On the other hand the state of Louisiana had been given federal money to fix them years before, but instead they used that money to build parks with.

This is an unpredictable world, and bad things do happen.  What we do after those things happen is what defines us.  We can get up off our butts and get tings moving, or we can set around wallowing in self pity.  It is time we start focusing on the communities who pull together and get things done by themselves, for in the end all we have is ourselves and our neighbors.  We can depend on no one else.

Please, Mr. Limbaugh, May I Go To The Doctor?

I can count on my hand the number of times I was seen by a doctor as a child.  All of those times though, my mother took me to Ben Taub Hospital’s ER.  Every time it was at least a 7 hour wait, and then another 2 hour processing to leave.  On top of that, there was a $700 bill every time we went there.  That is why we only went when we felt like we were knocking at deaths door.  One time we went there, and the doctor said my bad sore throat would go away.  Two days later, I couldn’t move my neck so we went back and it turns out my tonsil had almost abscessed into my neck.  The doctor then said if I wouldn’t have come in then, it could have been fatal.  I only went to dentist twice when I was a child, both times my teeth were hurting so bad, I was rolling on the floor. The same was for my two brothers.

Did my mother not care about us?  No, she loved us very much, and would cry every time we were in pain.  Did neither of my parents have ajob? No, they actually mad a solid lower middle class incomes.  Then why did we receive so little health care?   They never had employers that offered insurance.  They could not afford the $500 minimal monthly premiums that insurance company’s charge.  My parents worked hard every day, and still could not go to the doctor when they got sick, much less us.

Yet, I turned out ok. right?  Well, yes I did, but I can’t say the same about my brother.  From age 2, my brother suffered from sever asthma.  He was hospitalized several times for it, and in the end he didn’t pull thru.  Eventually my mom was able to get him on medic-aid, a program similar to Medicare.  But, the care you get there is sub standard.  Shawn Allen Wolfe died June 3, 1997, at the age of 11.  His death was caused by a massive asthma attack.  It is hard to say if Shawn would be alive today, if he was given the care that he deserved, but we will never truly know.

My children have always been covered by the insurance my work offers.  They go to regular check ups, and got to a doctors office when they are sick.  ER visits are reserved for actual emergencies. Although,  My oldest son has had two surgeries, and both times the insurance company has tried to stick us with the several thousand dollar tab.  We fought it, and they wound up paying for the procedures.  If anybody in my home develops a long-term illness, I wont be able to change jobs be cause insurance companies won’t cover pre-existing conditions, even though it may be the same company just a  new policy.  I have chcked before to see how much insurance in the private market is, and the price is upwards of $1000 a month.  I just can’t pay that when I make under 40k a year.

So , whats the answer?  My brother died on medicaid, a government ran type of insurance.  Yet, private insurance won’t cover anything serious with out a fight.  Government ran insurance would have budget limits, but on the other hand insurance companies main concern is turning a profit.  Maybe the answer is somewhere in the middle. My stance on it is maybe government should control all prices on goods and services in the health care industry.  Make a flat rate nationwide on everything from band-aids to MRIs to brain surgery.

I know for sure no one person has the right idea for everybody, but something needs to be done.  I just don’t understand how one baby born to rich parents will survive, while the same baby with the same diagnosis born to a family struggling to make it will die is humane.  Thomas Jefferson wrote that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights , that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We all have the same right to live, no matter if you are a tycoon or a vagabond.

My plea is a simple one.  To the 435 United States Representative, and to the 50 United States Senators, please get the ball moving.  I am not saying fix it all right now, but throw us a freakin’ bone.  All the liberal democrats, you need to start  compromising, not everything in your bill is going to help America.  More so, the republicans need to stop using scare tactics and come up with their own proposal.  Now class, don’t your remember this is how you lost the ‘08 election?  You concentrated on scaring the public with Islam, Nuclear holocaust, and Black superiority.  Please,  there are only 486 that will decide the fate of 300 million.  Please I implore you to do something that will give us hope.

Some Food For Thought…..

Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on You….

One by one they pass, sometimes fast, other times painfully slow.  The hours of my life go by, all eventually winding up as a grey fog in my mind.  So many opportunities spoiled, so many people hurt along the way.  So much potential wasted.  All my life I’ve searched for my calling, not even a calling maybe just something I’m really good at.  Something I can change the world with, even if it is just a minuscule amount.  And in the end I am just mediocre at everything.

I don’t mean to belly ache, or do the woe is me thing, but the last couple weeks have just got me down.  Summer needs to end, and maybe then there will be some light at the end of the tunnel.  For some reason, it seems like all the stuff that gets me down happens in the summer.  Thus it is my least favorite season.  On the other hand winters are generally good to me.  I’ve just been in a constant state of purgatory for a while and its getting old.  But, perhaps it will change.  Nothing has happened that I haven’t weathered, but most of the problem is just that.  Nothing is happening, and maybe Im just bored.  Whatever it is, it needs to be over with.

On the other hand, I have been accused of meing impatient, so maybe we’ll see.  Maybe this will be a time for me to look inward for the answers.  I have a sond going through my head, Im just trying to figure out just what time it is.

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it’s not too late!

Help!!!!!!

Motivate me

Light a Fire under my ass

Aggravate me

Stimulate me

Anger me

Inspire me

Give me a topic

Play me a memory

Start a dialogue

Put me on a soapbox

Confront me

Insult me

Something, please, I need something to write about, now that the election is over and MJ is dead, Ive ran out of Ideas.  So, comments and ideas are needed.  If you ever wondered my thoughts or feelings on a subject please leave a comment.

Foreshadows

I have often said my son is going to do something great in life, that there is just something special about him.  I say this not because of just one trait, but many.  He is good at school, but is also popular; he adapts to technology quickly, but also is athletic; he knows how to lead, but knows when to follow when necessary.  The other day, my wife was snapping pictures, and caught a moment where all these traits came out in one second.  When I look at it, all I think about is where he is going in life.  He seems like a normal kid most of the time, but when you’re least expecting it he will say or do something that makes you think e is more than just a 8 year old kid. Pictures like these show me there is more going through his head than we know.

Who knows, maybe he will be the first of all the generations of my family to actually rise above his surroundings, and bring pride to his last name.