This is Christmas Day--a day that finds me as a patient in St. Anthony’s Hospital. I was here also on Christmas Eve. My wife had carefully planned so that she could join me here in a Christmas Eve celebration. She had made arrangements with a ride service so that she that she could arrive at the hospital bringing her electric scooter with her. Due to a series of communication failures on the part of the transportation company, she irretrievably missed her ride. She called me in tears that she could not join me. With the help of a dear friend and a loving grandson, she was able to travel to the hospital for a Christmas Eve celebration I will long remember. I think men will agree that it is tremendously affirming to you as a person to know that your wife lovingly longs for your company on special occasions. It is a tonic to the soul that yields great fortitude of character and bracing of the spine.
All are familiar with the eye atop the obverse side of the seal of the United States. It can be seen on the US dollar. Very clearly, the eye over the pyramid is the all-knowing eye of God. God does see the United States as his friend--the New Jerusalem. And he does help us many times.
God can see, know, and do anything. As our Senior Partner he can share with us new and creative ideas. But he can also help protect us from treachery. He can record it the instant of conception and have it on an appropriate desk first thing next morning. So what do we do, govern with a cadre of inner sanctum ruling priest? God forbid!! Let's say that treachery known from day-one matures. Miraculous video-clips however valuable as super reliable hunches cannot constituent state's evidence for we insist on due process and equality. Thus, God with a little help from Junior Partners is able to square the circle.
Many of us find the Trumpism mindset a perplexing monolith of unhinged reflexive thinking made inured over time to facts regarding many things--but particularly the rabid behavior of Russia and her allies in attempting to undermine our democracy. Our prayer must be to guide our steps oh Jehovah; for the weightiest part of any decision is the knitting together of deep decision rules that will come back to bless or bite. Print Page
[Podcast of this blog] The other day I heard it said that an ever-present theme of the evangelist Billy Graham was to introduce people to second chances--to help them see the plain possibility of salvation as an imminent and live option. It strikes me that this inevitably becomes a vital strand for persistently viable social cohesion—for surely as you may need a second chance today; just so I will surely need one tomorrow. May the Messiah pull up a chair.... and feel right at home in our company!
[Podcast of blog] Merry Christmas. I hope all of you hands and feet out there have had a year of activity sometimes even frenzied for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For those of you who begrudgingly accede some emanating efficaciousness attributable to the power of myth, let me assert with a clarion voice that believers are animated by experience, not by hocus-pocus. Print Page
[Podcast of blog] God over the past months has driven me to be increasingly convicted over the stigma of being considered sane in today's world. I took a brief sabbatical from my wife's company and flew to Indianapolis, Indiana to request submission for mental health observation and treatment. At the facility much time of necessity involved watching television. Patients could not control the TV. For hours on end we were obligated to hear the canned laughter emanating from LAFF programming (which presented laughter without joy); or GRIT western programming (which presented mayhem without pain). I return with confidence that I am fully capable of being a dutiful American citizen. \
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 15 Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream. (1 Kings 3 (NIV))
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Recently, in a blog I used the term “faggot” in referencing acts of sodomy in which an avenger seeks to drill someone a new asshole. (Referenced blog) This would be clearly basically a criminal act of rape. Faggot can also refer to mutual homosexual acts after a certain period of maturation—"I’ll play with your ding a ling , if you’ll play with mine.”
Because of clear sexual genital distinction between male and female, let us posit for a moment that men and women are to enjoy each other’s genital’s, but not men on men. With a nod to President Bill Clinton, we can say “It all depends on what is, is.”
Since a picture can be worth a thousand words, I think you will agree that the following porn link (be duly warned) shares few rape connotations. In fact, one of the participants symbolically becomes an angel—a being in a sense without sexual organs.
Let us use the Free-Mason ancient triad of hate—Fanaticism, Ignorance, and Tyranny. This triad certainly would apply to sodomy rape; but applies far less clearly here.
One must finally come to the difficult conclusion that justice is hollow and mean if not spiced with grace. And this very fact of discernment in tandem with the divine spark within and a loving Creator above beckons us not only to celebrate life each day as we find it; but to move on with hope, faith, and love. Yes Virginia, it is REALLY true that God is real and looks upon us as a father gazing down upon his precious daughter resting with absolute trust upon his lap.
To most history conscious Americans “Fireside Chats” evokes a family circle scene embracing all in a quiet celebration of love and concern and on occasion including a sepia photo of the White House Roosevelt family. Yes Virginia, it is REALLY true that God is real and looks upon us as a father gazing down upon his precious daughter resting with absolute trust upon his lap. The essential difference between a democratic president and a Nazi style dictator is lack of confidence in himself—reason as a primary tool of persuasion cannot match the tools of arbitrary power, the dictator believes—and lack of confidence in the child (for it is assumed loyalty will evaporate when child-like innocence is lost) ........The democratic president looks forward to maturation, growth, and understanding which he is adamantly persuaded will deepen love and persistent allegiance, not kill it.
Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Numbers 23 23
Listen up All you Faggots at Police Headquarters Hi St Pete cops… I’m gorging down some krispy kremes just now to show you I know a few things about policing. When I get your attention and you get your head out of your ass, I want to know why you lie so much?!!!!~ You do indeed have 2 levels of undercover cop vehicles—the everyday invisible car-next-door anonymous carriage, and then there‘s the god damn Darth Vader TIE Advanced x1of fleet of black on-hard avengers. I HAVE A LOVING FAMILY AND I am offended YOU DUMB ASSES CAN’T SEE THE NOSE ON YOUR CRACKER FACES. But THEN AGAIN maybe I can help make your dreams come true by suggesting 24/7 picketing of Police Quarters by a horde of Darth Vader black male phallus’s all ready to satisfy your deepest needs. May I suggest some meditation music to help focus your petite minds…
Our Sponsors (special discounts for St Pete's Finest!!!! just mention your captain's name) (PS as to any folks out there thinking about using me as a winning lotto ticket…I wouldn’t advise that.) Print Page
The Shining City on a Hill where everyone is welcomed with a
Winterfest Welcome is hugely necessary for human affairs.—a place where we receive
unconditional family-love no matter what.
And indeed that is at the heart of what it means to be a part of a
church family or the American family or indeed the human family. Yet as the Good
Book reminds us:
Micah 6:8 New King James Version (NKJV)
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
That is, inherent with a gracious welcome gifting with a sense of equality and well-being, somehow it needs to be conveyed that grace is not enough. That is, our Creator on first day of class hits us with a heavy load of requirements—justice, mercy, and
humility before God. He expects us to embody the
structure of the cantilevered three-layered design—the design we screw up when we play god. And PLEASE do not forget we are NOT islands of rugged-individuals--we are not Marlboro Men ridding atop Texas Pride.. Quite to the contrary. In multifarious ways to be mapped out by tools not to be developed for many centuries,, it will then become clear that the free-choice doctrine is one of the most naive and pernicious doctrines ever devised by man.
We freely stipulate the Almighty wishes no one to have a substandard IQ
Likewise, You want all mankind to have trifold structure with cantilever...... or else happiness dim at best
Unitary triangle will include most natural law breakers---murders , thieves, rapaciously greedy and those fixated on control--the self-righteous
Law abiders but somewhat grim in trifold triangle absent cantilever
Therefore out task is top find polluters..Suggested correlation studies :: unitary triangle and murder
unitary triangle and mind related substance abuse --alcohol in particulate
A word about hunches...
LETS ALL GIVE A HAND TO THE WRITER OF BEVERLY HILLS COP...OF COURSE NO ONE COULD SERVE IT UP QUITE LIKE EDDIE MURPHY. ...JUST A REMINDER TO THE HARD CORE SCIENTIST THAT US SOFTIES AND ROCK STAR PHALLUS SYMBOLS ALSO EARN OUR KEEP
Winterfest Welcome for Everyone---Our God Given cantilever makes inconceivable throwing others under the bus to slake an unnatural thirst for egocentric control. God's in charge and life overflows with extravagant grace. Winterfest Welcome defined. Video--Riley and Avery...
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. (Thomas Jefferson--stenographer on-call)
Now I am giving you a new command—love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another. This is how all men will know that you are my disciples, because you have such love for one another.” John 13 link Please refer to this blog link regarding cantilever before proceeding with reading this page: https://www.wayneblogs.com/2017/11/revelation-sunday.html
All disciples of Jesus will evidence the cantilever. Without the cantilever, you may indeed have a semblance of righteousness; yet, in the end without the cantilever of empathy and compassion, the worship of God is a self-involved and frigid affair. Finally, we the unitary triangle—the structure of a nonbeliever. Here, even the letter of the law is abandoned. In this structure one is free to make up their own law—you become an autonomous “mini-god” Now politics in America is mapped thusly (as evidenced by policies:) Disciples of Jesus – Loving Democrats and by practical extension those in the secular world that exercise loving humility before knowledge and plainly evidencing regard for others (as the love I found the other day on USF proper. (my USF visit)This is pretty much the road heading towards that Shinning City on a Hill America Religious right: Letter of the law individuals: hard core evangelicals, etc. Anything goes liberalism and conservative nihilism typified by worship of self—I am the center of the universe. What I say is true because I said it. Print Page
When an autocratic strong man has in the sexual act (which escalates consequences to the power of 10) blasphemes a stand-in for his hated enemy, he thereby incurs upon himself collateral damage. This damage unfortunately shuts down within himself normal maintenance functions of a perceptual nature. It cannot be restored. It is only a matter time until degradation in perception is complete. The divine spark is not accessible even by the Almighty. There will be a huge disruption in the normal course of events since no man is an island entire upon himself. Forecast: Muddy Rainy Weather
Article Two, Section 1 of the United States Constitution sets forth the eligibility requirements for serving as President of the United States:
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
I'd like to travel all the way and hear my savior say, “You've helped my work along today....” I'd like that... Wouldn't you? In a situational world often beset with a cacophony of theories many of which are held with huge measures of subjective certitude, it is necessary for us to as much as possible discern those theories in harmony with natural law. My definition of natural law is that which is descriptive rather than normative. That is, it assumes a substratum of reality which all share as dictated by the wiring of the brain. (At least in brains not altered by pollutants that decisively interfere with brain mapping as designed and intended by our Creator.) Let us take a moment to consider this matter of Creator intent. Do we seriously contend that a benevolent Creator seeks to underwrite a caste system in which some are geniuses in high towers and the rest stuck in ghettos with low scumbag IQ ‘s (as per Donald Trump who considers himself a genius and his political enemies the lowest of low scumbag IQ.) Let me repeat, is such a caste system really what a loving Creator would design—elites in high towers and at bottom the dregs of the caste system? I don’t think so. In the words of the Declaration— (better read it while the getting is good....soon it will temporally located in the Fiction Section as per request of the Liberated Liberal Menshe Society) IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. As with many texts that begin with a fresh and brilliant clarity, there is a tendency over time to read them in a rote and all too familiar manner. We’ve “been there done that” so let’s move on to latest lurid gossip and kiss-ass ideology. No in my view—like all loving parents—we want the best for all our children and would be horrified at the notion that God would have us lobotomize Johnny or Mary before serving up today’s ham and eggs. As I suggested in a recent blog, we should start asking why we feel compelled to straighten a tilted picture frame on the wall? And, for a change of pace, let us consider the Ten Commandments as descriptive rather than normative—they merely describe what is already underwritten and operative in the brain. Like an Excel worksheet, they clarify our spending over last month. A descriptive spreadsheet showing expenditures for last month can imply future planning resulting in restrictive, normative goals. Yet, we should never confuse the cart with the horse. Question: are we to replace the natural law of Equality with a Trump caste system with geniuses like himself on top and the rest of us on a normative bottom.? Should it ever be conjectured by the world’s geniuses to perhaps find plausible the notion that past experience of the human family might be useful (but we know such dangerous notions are incestuously bred by an unspeakably evil cabal of self-serving Jews in a deep undercover conspiracy with treasonous negro NFL players), if past experience (for good communication I hope you will appreciate I must not use foreign, alien words like “history”) could for a moment sound marketable, then lets hope Trumps plan to tear down a left-wing hotbed of error and replace it with the Greatest State University System ever will finally usher in that Shimmering Tower on a Hill. Even skeptics must accede that his resume highlights that he had a university bearing his name. Not many applicants will me able to muster such impressive credentials. (Credentials--I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours)
Many close friends know me as a gentle soul that even in my youth old women like to fondle. (My advice is to never underestimate the intuition of old women.)
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the
world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid. (John 14:27 NKJV)
This evening my grandson Alton Jr and I traveled to the little
church where my father once preached in Terra Ceia. I would go with my father sometimes (It was not
the base church in Ellenton where Daddy had most responsibilities and the town
in which we lived.) I can now see him descending the steps in front of the
little church wearing his navy-blue suit just before we returned to Ellenton
for services there.
Alton stayed in the car while I walked alone to the steps. The
church was dimly illumined by night lighting.
I really had only one question to
ask my father. It was my follow-up to the question he
uttered while on the gurney at Manatee Memorial Hospital just days before he died.My brother Bob and I were gazing down at his face.He kind of smiled at Bob and asked: “When is
Wayne going to get on the ball?”
My
question tonight was my long-formulated response: “Dad, why did you want me to
get on the ball….did you want a trophy son?”He response set me back:He asked:
“What kind of on-the ball-father did you want me to be?”I admit I was occasionally secretly harsh on
my father when comparing him to the famous Billy Graham, for example--though I cannot
recall my father ever speaking of Graham at all. (Their preaching style as very different,
to say the least.)Then I recalled the
little scene during the early sixties when
Daddy said: “Son, I never want to hear you say that word again [the word being “nigger”]
and then also a small handful of other memories now set in shimmering crystal.
When the curtain descends for me, I hope my children will have
vivid memories of the lagoon swimming hole in Bowling Green Fl near the shores
of the ancient and winding Peace River. I
hope they seem to sense in the wind these words: “That will do. Yes, that will do.”
I guess the biggest compliment will be that in the constant
stir of their busy lives, a flash memory of me appears at all.
In the last few blogs I have discussed my relationship with
my surrogate children. I will tell you
quite frankly my mission was not to demand they see me as a disciplinarian nor,
for that matter, as a authoritarian. For
me the path to influence was to hope and pray that they see me primarily as a
reliable source of support. (Lucky for
me, this proved to be far more than a pocket-book issue.)
Once a large group of my kids became a huge challenge in
their Sunday school class. In desperation,
the male teacher ask me to sit in hoping that they would settle down a bit to
the serious matter of being inculcated with Judeo-Christian values. I attended and nothing whatever changed. It was utter bedlam. The teacher looked at me incredulous that I did
not lower the boom. Here again we return
to equilibrium mathematics.
My intention was to introduce them to a different type of
authority than that which ground them in the dirt day-after day. Of course, I speak of the larger society, not
the bedrock love they found at home. I
wanted them most essentially to associate authority with spiritual, moral, and,
yes personalized material support. The elixir
that would make this possible must be “bubbly,” NOT “brittle.” This ruled out many somber endeavors that are
standard issue castor oil treatments for the disadvantaged. To put it bluntly, I wanted them to have fun,
and luckily for me, it was a favor they wanted to return….oh yes..life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. It seems
to me that equality combined with a sense of fun all round surely helps the
medicine go down.
This morning very early I had breakfast at IHOP. I sat next a black family. Needing to elevate my foot, I ask the young
black man (maybe in mid-twenties) at the adjoining table if I could use a chair
next him. He said sure, he got up and even positioned
the chair under my leg…and then went to a third table to replace the chair he had
given me. Unbeknownst to me, there was
another member of his party that would eventually return. I thanked the whole table and remarked I moved
to St Pete in the 70’s and was always impressed by how blacks always treated me
as an equal. They expressed appreciation,
but the young man grimly expressed frustration with the attitude of the police. (I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard
that very same complaint.) The family
left before me as they apparently had arrived well before me. I was finishing up and two police officers skirted
past two chairs near the entrance to indicate an area of tables unused at that early
hour. The walked all way to the front
windows of the restaurant and sat down (it was still dark outside.)
After a while I walked over to greet them and apologized for
interrupting what no doubt was a valuable repast of peace and quiet as well nourishment. On my inquiry, they told me they were midway
though their shift. I asked if I may ask a few questions, but at any time feel
free to tell me to leave. I mentioned
the attitude I generally found in the black community and contrasted that to
how we feel when I see a police cruiser parked at church on Sunday. I said we understand that the church is paying
for the presence of-- bottom line--the Sword of the State, yet we generally perceive
the officer as a provider of an important public service role involving an
overall feeling for us of security and well-being. The two found no easy answer for this phenomenon. Understanding they were “off the clock” and
how pissed I’d be if during a precious lunch hour a customer bent my ear, I
retreated.
Yet I thought how nice it would be if the police could just
for an hour, take the starch out of their clothes and let the public see them
sitting at the next table telling stories, laughing out loud, maybe now and
then having some food drop on the front of their uniform or accidentally turning
over a glass of water-- Not being “apart,
beyond. And alone” might be just the ticket for everybody—including the police themselves. As unwise as this may sound, when in the community I would like to see them address other citizens as equals (yet, of course, like
everyone else, having a job to do) and—lord forbid—learn how to spice their job
with a little pep and spirit.
(I am sure that most of us have tried that little experiment
in which we intentionally and arbitrarily fly off-the-handle in anger for 30 seconds
or so, only to find that a rather weird and frighteningly easily produced mood
change has crept pervasively and forebodingly over us.)
In my discussion yesterday, I left a little loophole that many of you took advantage of and flew off into a wild world of fantasy. When you reach my age, it’s almost a compliment to be viewed as a libertine. So let me say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Ever wonder why we don’t need a “policeman—citizen” ratio of one-on-one? Some people automatically respond that it’s the fear that we might get caught. That’s at least what we think motivates others less righteous than we. Then, on the other hand, maybe it’s because of an ideology of virtue which we righteously maintain by mustering our moral strength. So,to refer back to yesterday’s subject of pedophilia, the reason I did not yield to the urge to go for a spin in one of those new compelling fresh from the factory sport’s cars is due to high moral fortitude. May I ask if that is also the reason why, for example, most of us feel compelled to straighten a crooked picture frame upon the wall. I ask us here to think digitally. Is it high moral principal or perhaps instead a perceived lack of mathematical equilibrium in a given circuit of the brain? I think you know enough about me to know I am no goody two-shoes in sexual matters. So how is it that a libertine at heart stayed on the straight-and-narrow when surrounded in intimate, private environs by the very bodies he wished he could exchange for his if only for an hour? Let’s go back to the tilted picture—in this case power equilibrium in sexual relation circuits. Anyone who acknowledged that my purpose with the boys was to affirm them and enhance self-esteem (what by profiling would indicate preference to perform oral sex) should realize it is mathematically impossible for me to go there by the laws of contradiction. As an adult mentor among minors, I inherently operate as an authority power. Therefore, to play priest proposing sex with an altar boy inherently makes ANYTHING I DO INHERENTLY SODOMY. If I demand oral sex, the authoritative demand and deed that follows is an act of domination (sodomy). My belief is that much will become obvious to us when we honestly study our own sexual behavior (and with defenses down) among others.— It is what it is……just deal with it. (If anyone should see a little bird called General J, please tell him I miss him and have some canary seed just for him.)
The closer the day approaches in which my candidacy becomes more widely known, the more urgent it is for me to address what will surely prove to be a tag-along smear. I moved into Saint Petersburg in 1975 and almost at once neighborhood children adopted me—most especially young boys who not infrequently would join me inside my apartment or home. Associations often began when children were still in diapers and extends even though today (just this evening I had dinner with three grandchildren (teenagers of both sexes) at Olive Garden. It is my set opinion that St Pete Police have files on me and their profile probably indicates me a candidate for seeking to perform oral sex. Indeed, as careers can depend upon convictions, over-eager officers could have sought to suborn testimony. It is my conviction that even today the police are privy to inside intelligence. Their profile would indicate possible oral sex because I am the type of adult who would seek to lift-up and affirm equality and esteem rather than to seek brute sodomy domination. (Sodomy being the ultimate power grab that would seek to replace the sovereignty even of God.) (For example on the international scene, a hostile power would seek to blackmail an Autocratic leader through having compromising tapes of him sodomizing a stand-in for his most hated rival. The last thing strong men would want is for their worshipers to see them having sex with a man –Womanizing falls into the category “boys will be boys” and even adds a shade of fake virility ) Take heart my friends, my family well-knows each other and me. Those who hate me will never find a single parent that for a single moment has felt dubious about my character. (I must warn non-believers to once again beware of the eye atop the pyramid seal. on US currency. "Big Boy" power doesn't begin to know what real power is all about.)
Mr. Trump called me LOW IQ. That's a conclusion that I would readily concede to as true beyond question at least 20 times before noon on any typical day...
But Poor Donald took the next step, doubled down, and concluded I had NO IQ. This was an error that even my wife Connie endorsed as true when just now I surprised her by putting upon her lap 10 boxes of her favorite cheese cake.
Tonight you will forgive me while I play President. If your work experience is anything like mine, you know very well that often one must do a job long before getting it.
Here is what I take to be the true spirit of fireside chats. Mother used to say that her father disciplined her in a way that she could never forget. He did so by sitting her on his knee and plainly, calmly talking to her about the the basic difficulties raised by her offense. He would discuss what she had done and its implications in terms of practical affects as well as in-principal considerations (like, what if all us did this?). In other words, her father made it clear that what she had done had implication well beyond herself. It was his duty as father not to primarily swoop in as a grand inquisitor hell bent on enforcement, but rather to be the great communicator. (By the way, his profession was that of a carpenter--a work far more complicated and challenging than having at the ready crowbar and hammer.)
Think about this for a moment, what presidents have died and people say “I can see in my mind's eye exactly where I was at the time on hearing the news. For my mother as a young woman that was Franklin Roosevelt. For me and many others, it was when JFK was assassinated. One was a natural death and the other a murder. It then is not so much the cause of death so much as the loss death represents to us. Consider why my mother stored away images of her father in his own “fireside chats". I think it has profound effects upon us when someone we trust deeply cares and THOUGHTFULLY shares with us their honest views of the matter (no pontification, off-the-rail anger, or bombast...please). It is my view that God blesses us with a "second sense" that says “focus and remember this for someone who truly loves you is concerned." (I can see today though it happened many years ago when one of my teenage sons got into my truck and looked over towards me and saw in the console a dark bottle containing root beer but looking for all the world like a beer bottle. I swear to God I now know the emotive force behind the Greek mask of tragedy--dread that absolutely no good can come from this.)
As to abortion my view is based upon the assumption that extreme cases do exist, but usually it is unfair to make everyone comply with draconian measures designed for the most extreme occurrence. In terms of abortion, it is surely true that a small fraction of women get pregnant from glaringly irresponsible sex and choose to have an abortion because a pregnancy would be an inconvenience and interfere with their next sexual fling. My view as your president is to expect the vast majority of Americans to consider abortion a decision indicating thoughtful and prayerful consideration and when felt appropriate a decision shared with other family members, trusted counselors, friends, the medical professionals, etc. As Lincoln once advised: let us seek malice towards none and charity for all. Surely in my view, this decision should not be decided by Judge Judy, or flip of the coin, or the insinuations of patronizing professionals toting satchels stuffed with required government forms to be notorized and filed in triplicate. This seems flagrantly and even weirdly inappropriate to me.
Now as to homosexuality, I am convinced that there is much regarding sexual behavior that we simply do not know. So out of fear that I might be hurting my brothers and sisters in profound ways as yet to be identified/explored by the creative and disciplined studies and research of the arts and sciences, I choose to find no reason whatever to curtail sexual behavior in any way PROVIDED IT IS NOT HURTFUL/ANTISOCIAL (CRIMINAL) behavior .
Biblical objections are of course severe. My only response is that there are many parts of the Bible that we find in some sense harmful if applied today. For example, it is very clear that Paul tells women to not speak at all in church. I wonder how many of us (including husbands and fathers) would find this plainly hurtful to the well-being of our family members. We must remember that Jesus would say phrases on the order of "You have seen it written....but I say unto you....... " In other words, compassion and humility must be intelligently applied. Every compassionate manager knows this. One must finally come to the difficult conclusion that justice is hollow and mean if not spiced with grace. And this very fact of discernment in tandem with the divine spark within and a loving Creator above beckons us not only to celebrate life each day as we find it; but to move on with hope, faith, and love. Yes Virginia, it is REALLY true that God is real and looks upon us as a father gazing down upon his precious daughter resting with absolute trust upon his lap.
Irony can be so thick a 2 year old can smell it. Yesterday (Saturday) I decided to visit USF
Tampa campus. I arrived early and was surprised
to find many cars already filling parking lots around the Marshall Center. Seeing no visitor parking , I asked two
people engaged in animated conversation (a white guy and a black guy) about
visitor parking. They turned and asked a
young lady in full Islamic dress. Soon I
came to learn that there was a handful of spaces near by with a pay station—you
simply use a credit card and enter your tag number and obtain a dashboard receipt
for up to 8 hours. I choose 3 hours for a total of about $5.
Now I headed for the center on foot and suddenly thought—What
if the food court in the center is closed on the weekend? I asked a young lady passing by that had in
her face the epitome of optimism and joy. She assured
me that though the court was closed, an Einstein Bagel was tucked away on the side
of the lobby. (I ended up getting a fantastic turkey sandwich and a classic Coke.) On my first entering the building, an Asian male also entering smiled and held
the door open for me. It was kind of
like being in a little heaven.
Absolutely NO ONE I saw, met, or talked with while in the Marshall
Center or nearby bookstore showed even a minuscule hint that a 74 year old
senior citizen somewhat tackily dressed was in any way strange or vaguely to be
found unwelcome. Actually, the opposite
occurred. It was almost like everyone I
met was family—and in a joyful celebration of being free together in the Promise Land.
(Believe me NOTHING was free when it came to food prices.) Yet, there proves to be one exception on campus that I find replete
with irony.
The university for many years has a spacious road along
which are built buildings of faith. There
is an Episcopalian Center and so forth. One Center has special interest for me
and was built when I was a student there in the the mid-60’s. I was President of the Wesley Foundation and was complicit in one of those fraudulent
photographs in which people that would in 5 seconds be pronounced dead if real construction work was being done pose with shovels in hand. Today there is a large Welcome Sign by the building. On the building itself is a mission
indicator. The following words appear: COMMUNITY---MATURITY—IMPACT.
Now here is what I discovered on entering the building the other
day for a first return visit to the building after all these many years. I learned from the young female overseer that
I was not welcome as senior citizen and was given five minutes or so to
hurriedly reminisce and to then be summarily invited to the door.
Kind of weird—especially in comparison to the Christian love
pervasive on the secular side of the university. (I hasten to add that our local UMC church where Connie and I attend is
a friendly and warm place. Maybe it is indeed true as often accused that the Methodist Church is significantly secular.)
Following the two videos below please find some of the policies
of The University of South Florida. Remember
as a State school there is a separation of church and state:
USF Commitment to Honor
The University of South Florida is committed to honor in
student development, academic learning, scholarship and research.
As an ethical community, the University of South Florida is
dedicated to the ideals of excellence in student development, academic
learning, scholarship and research. By joining this community, each member is
expected to accept and live these commitments.
I resolve to maintain the honor and integrity of the
university community in pursuit of student development, academic learning,
scholarship and research.
I resolve to respect the dignity and intrinsic value of all
persons.
I resolve to contribute to the progress and greater good of
the community.
I resolve to strive for excellence and discovery for myself,
others, and the University.
