Month: April 2007

2/29/88

Dear Editor,

I am somewhat dismayed over the past year’s revelations of the private lives of some television evangelists. Most everyone seems to be focusing their attention on sin and repentance. I have so many sins and so much repenting to do myself that I don’t have time to think about someone else’s sinning and repenting. It takes a lot of time and energy to determine who’s going to heaven. Most days I don’t think I’ll be the one to decide anyway.
What has me troubled is the professional ethics involved. These two ladies of the night have ratted on their clients. The world’s oldest profession is becoming the greediest. No respecter of client confidentially.

What would the medical profession be today if Dr. Ephraim McDowell had told the press that Jane Todd Crawford had chest hair or the legal profession of F. Lee Bailey went around telling everybody that Dr. Sam Shepherd was the #1 “Jerk”? I kinda think Jimmy and Jimmy were treated rather rudely, if you know what I mean.

Most people don’t understand that Jimmy, Jimmy and Tammy, Oral, Jerry, etc. were born in the wrong century. One hundred years ago they would have been under contract to Mr. P.T. Barnun. He would have provided all with every want so there would be no need for Johnny Carson to be poking fun at them. P.T. Barnun would have been most proud of the way Jimmy knew how to repent. That was pure skill.

We must be grateful to those who have provided us with so much fun. Some out there may feel a little let down because they put too much faith in someone so far away. I find that at time, I put to many expectations upon God and others as well as myself, and all fall short of my standards. Then I become fearful. The only hope is for me to reduce my expectations and put my faith in the One Who died on the cross between two thieves.

Weird Harold

Schuylkill Haven, PA

Alexander Cockburn paraphrased.

Do not worry about those religious politicians, they will be caught in a whorehouse soon.

I guess he is correct
Author: harold

8/5/90

Thoughts to the Baptists

To all Baptists: With all the goings on at the SBC and the televangelists out there spouting never before heard spiritual knowledge, this is my list of points to look for so that we will not get our pocketbooks lifted and we are not asked to support some idea or policy we may regret.

First: “The Neo-Politic Bible Thumper”
Second “The Christian Messenger”

1. Do they have a constant need for money?

Jesus Christ hardly mentions money in his ministry. He carried his message across Israel with only one change of clothes. His plan never spoke of the material. He had only one purse-keeper who was a heady person. He was chastised for attempting to deny another for serving Jesus as she chose. We all know of his final demise.

2. Do they have a constant need for allies, especially the rich and powerful? Always watching their associates?

Christ shunned the rich and powerful, taking His message to the poor and downhearted.

3. Do they proclaim theirs to be the only method to worship God? This attracts allies. Christ proclaimed the only way to the Father was through Him. How we find Christ may be from many different directions.

4. Do they criticize the faith of others?

This attracts allies. Only a person of weak faith needs to criticize others’ faith.

5. Do they criticize the behavior of others? Or groups of others?

The Christian looks within for sinful behavior, but looks to God for the strength to love all and constantly asks in prayer, “Thy will be done, not mine.”

6. Do they constantly boast of their successes in evangelist work or with the missions whom you financially support?

The Christian will boast of nothing but what God has done for him.
Author: harold

Why have we given police such powers as a no knock warrant?
Author: harold

Drug testing in High Schools is absolutely, positivity a focus on the wrong issue. There are two concerns to be addressed: 1. Young adults acting out against those in authority. 2. Those that will become addicted to a psychoactive drug.

I can understand some Baptist CEO of some religious organization does not know about the first, but I cannot understand why people that have been trained and have full knowledge of this problem cannot deal with it in an open and honest manner. The second should be dealt with in the same manner. A drug test is not open and honest. It is looking in the stomach to deal with a problem in the brain.

In 1997 I went to a school board meeting that was discussing drug testing in High School. I did not prepare good for my decent. I was laughed out of the room.
Author: harold

Energy level is low. Many things I would like to accomplish go through my head. I cannot manage an order so they can be completed. So I go through the day very unorganized. This adds confusion to a confused mind.
Author: harold

This story has many facets I hope I can bring them all together. This story takes place sometimes between 1911-1914. My father, a teenager standing 5 ft. 7 inches and weighing about 120 lb., thought he would have a better standing with his peers if he had a pistol to carry. After the sale of some commodity he purchased a handgun.

His first night out with his handgun, there was a half moon in the east, not dark, not bright. The barn, where my father’s riding horse was housed, was built with a driveway running east to west with stalls on each side for horses and cows. This night the doors on the east side were closed and the west side open. This left the driveway with some light, but very little.
Now let me take the story in another direction to complete my father point of view. This age all farmers had 1- to 3 milk cows for use domestically. I have no idea how many they had, but one had become very sick and could not get upright. She was left to die. The cow was white faced, black body.

This night my father brought his horse to the gear room on the west side of the barn to remove the saddle. He left on the bridle to led the horse to the only open stall of course he had left the door open. Upon coming to the stall, he and the horse both sees the white, nearly round image in the middle of the door. Fear was within he and the horse. His only grace from fear was calming his horse. Several moments of fear within passed before he determined the white image was the head of the sick cow that some how managed to get up and walk to the barn and entered the only open stall.

My father relates as he walked, about 100 yards, to the house he feels the handgun against his body. The handgun was supposed to help with fear. It had not helped in this incident. He began to doubt if it would help in others. He put his gun away never to carry it again.

Author: harold

I would bet big money if the lad (Cho Seung-Hui) in Blacksburg VA had used psychoactive drugs, those of his own choice or those prescribed by a medical person, this horrible incident would have never happened.

My own experience tells me these feeling of inferiority can be reduced by psychoactive drugs, (alcohol, opiates, marajunia, and cocaine). Our mandate is we must keep these drugs from these people because they may become addicts, but of, course we cannot prohibit guns.
Author: harold

Rimchamp says:
” Your statement that heroin “can easily addict with just one use” is absurd and ridiculous. And you base that on……..? It is a fact that our government has never done any tests to actually prove harm prior to criminalization of any drug. Yet, you publish dubious tests [that likely don’t meet anything remotely resembling scientific process] using the result of prohibition to “prove” your case.

Here is where I would like to join the debate. You know I have had face to face contact with thousands of addicted souls. Many say, as I do, the first drink put me on the path to alcoholism. Also I do not think research will every find what causes alcoholism/addiction. Those that never touch alcohol will try another source to fill an empty spiritual void. Prohibition adds confusion to this void.When I hear the scholarly talk about research on addiction, they forget about how mental ill addicts become. I was talking to a M.D that was doing some studies in his profession. He related this story: When the lie detector became a tool for the law enforcement, some students took the equipment to the state hospital and tested some clients there. One client volunteered for their studies. He was strapped for the test and one of the question asked, “Are you Napoleon Bonaparte?” The client smirked and replied, “No”. The machine indicated he lied.

Now what are you going to do with research with input like that. I suppose here are my results plus or minus 50%. Most active addict I have spoke with deny their powerlessness, However I was speaking in a jail one night and one guy came to and stated, ” I know I am an alcoholic, but when I get out of here I am going right back to the bars”.

The better method lies here
Author: harold

We need more police, spend more on the DEA, maybe more drugs should be prohibited (sic)

It should not be to hard to understand when we don’t know what to do. We should stop doing what we know nothing about.

This makes me want to laugh, or cry!!!!!
Author: harold

The marketplace is violent. This violence is created by our law enforcement that has been given powers they should never have. The 500,000 drug dealers we have locked up, creating a private prison industry, are mere addicts sharing the cost of a very expensive product. The high value of these substances are again the result of our prohibition laws.

It is so easy to conjure up rhetoric so we can hate other folks. When I was born we were suppose hate Germans (Nazis), Japanese (Nips) and maybe Italians. Later we should hate Russians, maybe Chinese and Cubans. A little later we should add North Vietnamese and love South Vietnamese to the list and remove Germans, Japanese and Italians from the hate list. Today we should hate Muslims and get a little piss off at the French. Maybe our state department should send out a letter each month on who to hate and who to love.

All during that time we should have distain for dope feigns or drugs addicts. Maybe we should reinstate the witch laws of the 1690s
Author: harold