no, i’m not talking about ken blackwell and rick santorum getting run out on rails yesterday. . .
i’m talking about this, as reported in usa today online:
FRESNO, Calif. — At first, Larry Ladd just let it go. But after the farmer caught six thieves plundering his walnut orchard in less than a day, he knew he had a problem.
He’s not the only one. As prices for almonds and walnuts rise with demand, a growing black market has emboldened thieves to cut holes in fences, sneak into distribution centers and drive off with truckloads of nuts.
attribution: story and photo via usatoday online story.
in any case, speaking of the election, i’m glad it’s over so i don’t have to put up with this hatemongering anymore:
hopefully, folks who set strategy in ohio and in the nation can move on to more important matters. like this:
i’m flabbergasted! i’m dumbfounded!
i. i. can’t. . . speak.
Regarding the billboard:
What kills me is that no one seems to read the Bible. Per Christ, (paraphrasing, somewhat), Love God above all else. Love your neighbors as yourself. Upon these hang all the laws and the prophets.
It’s clear that the Son of Man has taken the 10 commandments, and made them so simple that even I could understand. If we believe ourselves to be Christians, we should believe that God, as a deity, an object worth praise, comes first. And that should be obvious. Second, the golden rule.
And that’s it - upon these hang all the laws and the prophets.
How can there still be so much hate in the name of Christ? I don’t get it.
Christ certainly never voiced an opinion about abortion.
kom, you’re exactly right about the abortion thing. although the staunch believers will say that when jesus said, “suffer the little children to come unto me,” he was giving his explicit support behind the “ban-abortions-at-any-cost” branch of theocon dogma.
“so much hate” indeed. you’re exactly right to say that no one reads the bible. but i think there is more to it than just americans behaving as functionally-illiterate. that sounds harsh, but what else do you call someone who can read, but refuses to? what do you call a person who chooses to watch the latest “american pie” drivel instead of something more intellectually challenging?, one who thinks that michelangelo’s paintings, or demille’s films are documentary, instead of artistic, cooptative representation?
about this lack of understanding of the fundaments of one’s professed belief-system: does it have something to do with our consumer culture, where religion is packaged and commercialised like so much soap or hot dogs, only to be purchased and experienced at the trust and terms of a well-coiffed, silver-tongued huckster? does it have something to do with an arrested-development complex afforded us by our post-industrialist relative comfort?
sorry if i sound cynical about this, but as i plan(ed) to reveal in a later, more lengthy post, i was a “true-believer” for many years. only as the supposed trancendental experiences i was supposed to have never manifested; only after the twisted acrobats of logic i had to perform to upkeep the charade collapsed in on themselves; only after i could no longer bear the heaping scorn of people who profess the words of that billboard–who also profess to love me, could i finally shrug all this off and walk away unencumbered. (much like the blond character in latter days, and, as his character experienced, there was some anguish to be had for a while. but it was not unsurmountable.)
and my life has become all the richer for it. . . albeit at the cost of near ostracism from my extended family, for the family business is pentecostalism. whenever they talk of demons and heaven, i can only respond with a wan smile and hope that they’re not offended.