Anyone for President other than Newt!

Friday, January 27, 2012

OK, I'm sure this may sound tacky, but that's the way it is. Yes, watched the Republican debate last night. Actually, pretty good one...
Sooo, you know how all of the Republicans are saying anyone but Obama... Well, I'm somewhat in agreement; however, I'm saying anyone other than Newt. Dang, can't even imagine him as president.
One of the questions last night was about religion. Yep, you going to call on the Lord or some such thing. And, good old Newt, devout Catholic, family man, and so on, responded by saying that yes, he'd call on the Almighty. Yes, this is paraphrased.
Let's think about this. The president of one of the greatest countries around, the president of one of the most powerful countries around, and yep....he's going to get on his knees and pray to his god....seeking answers and guidance. Dang!
OK. Wouldn't it be safe to assume that if someone gets on their knees to pray, that they are expecting an answer or response to their prayers? Now, how does that work. God, I'm on the verge of declaring war against fill-in-the-blank, what should I do?
Sadly, seriously mentally ill people routinely hear voices. And, sadly, many seriously mentally ill people claim god talks to them.
Now, does old Newt have a direct line to God.
“Hey, God, it's Newt.”
“Newt, my man, how they hangin'.”
Or does God respond by giving a sign of some sort. Maybe he sends the answer in the form of a grilled cheese with a message. Or, maybe Newt looks to the heavens searching for an answer in the cloud formations.
OK. Yes, it'd be nice if no one in the world believed in gods. It truly would be nice if that were the case. However, I think there is a difference between some type of passive religion. You know, yes, there is a god and my judgment day will come and so on. This seems fairly benign, well, you know what I mean. However, to have our president waiting for answers from his so-called god....well, folks.
Anyway, yes, I am now, an Anyone for President other than Newt person.
As an aside, I've decided Newt reminds me of a pool hustler or a card cheat... Sure can't trust him.

Does the Math Make Sense? Processing Folks for Heaven or Hell... Wow, Sounds Exhausting to Me...

Recently, unless I'm mistaken, I read that the world's population is approaching 9,000,000,000. Wow, that's a large number. Where am I going here? Yes, I know your God (OK, I'll use a capital...) is all powerful and performs miracles and so on. But, let's look at the figures. From Wikipedia it seems that the death rate is expressed in number of deaths per 1,000 per year. “Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1000 individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 in a population of 100,000 would mean 950 deaths per year in that entire population, or 0.95% out of the total.” Also, “The crude death rate, the total number of deaths per year per 1000 people. As of July 2009 the crude death rate for the whole world is about 8.37 per 1000 per year according to the current CIA World Factbook.” OK, I'm going to be conservative. For my example, I'm going to use a world population of 8,000,000,000 and a death rate of 8 people per thousand per year. With me, so far? Now, how many would God have to process in a day? You know, as he sits there and decides whether they go up or down: Heaven or Hell.Follow my math, I surely could be making a mistake somewhere here. OK, 8,000,000,000 X .8 = 640,000,000 deaths per year. Wow, could my math be correct? Dang. Let me check that again...I was wrong. 64,000,000 people die per year.OK. Now, 64.000,000/365=175,342 people that God has to process a day. Wow. How many minutes in a day? 24 *60= 1440 minutes a day or 86,400 seconds a day. Now, let's see. 175,342/86,400=2.03... Now, unless I've made another mistake here, that means that every second of every day, for an eternity, if you will, God has to process 2.03 people. Yes, every second...you up, you down. You Heaven, you Hell. Folks, does that make sense to you? Hey, plus God has all of his other chores. You know, miracles, hurricanes, diseases, well....you know, all of his other Godly duties in ruling the universe. Oh, yeah. That football player, Tebow, hey, God has to look in on him from time to time...and of course he has to talk to several of the Republicans who are running for president. Dang, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. But, of course, He's God. I'm sure he can handle it.
Well, I told my brother about this post. He said that God would have to be checking them in, also. Yes, he said that he'd have to be checking in all of the new births. Wow, I just can't imagine it all. Mercy. I guess old God has a lot of servers for his computers......................

Yes, I am Now a Reverend...

It says so right here....

So, how did a seemingly avowed atheist become a reverend? Reasonable question. Though this explanation may be an oversimplification, it's most likely pretty accurate. 

Sadly, someone who I knew became consumed, if you will, with just about every bogus so-called alternative and complimentary medicine, in addition to astrology, channeling, reflexology, aromatherapy, numerology, and so on. There was just no getting through to her. No way. Even though she could not provide any, and I mean any, documented proof that those things worked and even though the Internet is full of information that would lead rational people to understand that they don't, she persisted in seeking treatment from these people.
It seemed that at times she would attempt to justify this by pointing out the training these quacks and charlatans allegedly had. Yep, so-and-so has a master’s degree in such and such. Yep, that sure convinces me!!! When I would point out to her that most of the so-called certifications and degrees...you know the ones...the ones that let us put letters after our names....CFT, NPD, DN, CLC, and on and on......really meant nothing as most of them were awarded simply because you paid a fee. You bought your certification just like you'd buy a hot dog or gas for your car.
Anyway, there was just no way to get through to her. She was completely consumed with just about everything bogus out there. I would imagine what she has not tried was on her list.
The latest is going to a life coach. Yes, you heard right, a life coach. I think the one who she sees also mixes in a little crystal stuff and aromatherapy. Boy, I'd sure rush to them to let them fix my life. I pointed out that I found a place that gives you life coach certification in one week for $165. Hey, how about that. Yes, this is surely the person I want to turn my life over too. Yep, this is the one. The crystals and aromatherapy only add to the allure of it all. Hmmmm.
Anyway, in an attempt to show her that there's little out there in the bogus world she's involved in that has any kind of creditability, I became ordained. Yes, see the certificate. It took me less than a minute to fill out the required information and print my certificate. And, folks it didn't cost anything. Yes, absolutely free....and, supposedly I can marry people and do all the regular stuff ministers do. Why my church, The Universal Life Church, offers the free ordination I do not know. Their heart could be in the right place. Who knows? The following is taken from one of their web sites. 

The Universal Life Church has no traditional doctrine. We as an organization believe in that which is right. Each individual has the privilege and responsibility to determine what is right for themselves, as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. We do not stand between you and your God. We are active advocates of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. WE ARE ADVOCATES OF THE GOOD LIFE! We want to be competent, to be proficient, to be cooperative, to love our fellow man, to appreciate, to be humble, to be honest, to be moral, to live positively, to be what we profess.

That sounds pretty good.
I do know that they offer advanced-degrees in just about anything you can pick...you name it and they'll give you an immediate degree based on life experience. I think the only types of degrees they don't offer (yet) are medical and law degrees. They seem to have almost everything else covered. Here are some examples of their degrees and certifications:

REGISTERED TAROT ADVISOR CERTIFICATE 55.00
REGISTERED PSYCHIC CERTIFICATE 55.00
REGISTERED MYSTIC CERTIFICATE 55.00
REGISTERED ASTROLOGER CERTIFICATE 55.00
REGISTERED CLAIRVOYANT CERTIFICATE 55.00
REGISTERED NUMEROLOGIST CERTIFICATE 55.00
REGISTERED MEDIUM CERTIFICATE 55.00
Ph.D. IN AROMATHERAPY (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $500 Now Only $250
Ph.D. IN FENG SHUI (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $500 Now Only $250 DOCTOR OF SPIRITUAL HEALING (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $500 Now Only $250
Ph.D. IN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $645 Now Only $258
Ph.D. IN MOTIVATION (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $645 Now Only $258
Ph.D. IN ASTRAL PROJECTION (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $645 Now Only $258
SPIRITUAL PRACTITIONER (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $310 Now Only $155
HOLISTIC PRACTITIONER (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $310 Now Only $155
HEALING PRACTITIONER (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $310 Now Only $155 View Diploma
ALTERNATIVE PRACTITIONER (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $310 Now Only $155
NEW AGE PRACTITIONER (Awarded for life experience.) No Course! Regularly $310 Now Only $155

So, you folks out there who are impressed by letters after people’s names....hey, be a little skeptical. Yep, just a little. In the world of New Age, things are never what they say or seem. Let the buyer beware.

Stripper Factories and Beer Volcanoes in Heaven?

In 2005, Bobby Henderson, a college student majoring in physics, approached the Kansas School Board and lobbied to have The Flying Spaghetti Monster taught in school. At the time it was before the school board to teach Intelligent Design along side evolution.
The followers, believers, adherents to The Flying Spaghetti Monster believe that when you go to heaven it is filled with stripper factories and beer volcanoes. Hey, guys, how does that sound?

My God Isn't as Weird as Your God!

Yes, I know this is a possibly an over-simplified look at what's going on in Iowa. It seems the Christian so-called fundamentalists are coming out in droves. Though I am surely not politically astute, and frankly just know the bare bones about politics, it seems as though when Romney is mentioned among the fundamentalists, it almost a battle of whose god is the weirdest...or, maybe the least weird, depending on where you're standing.Yep, Romney ain't no real Christian...he's one of them cult members. Yeah, he's one of them Mormons.
This would be funny if these folks weren't helping to determine who will soon be running for president. The separation of church and state isn't working, at least in this part of the political process.

A Simple Philosophy on How to Live: No New Regrets

I was pondering, if you will, my life and all of the mistakes I've made. I wondered if I could come up with a simple, easy to understand philosophy of how to live. Something that would be brief and to the point. Something that anyone could understand, including me. Something that would have great utility value.

Something that could pulled out and used for almost any event that confronted or any decision I'd have to make.
I think I found it. At least for me, I have. Yes, No New Regrets. Though it most likely doesn’t need an explanation, I want to be able to look back from here on out and say, I did nothing that I regret, and I don't regret not doing anything.
Yes, No New Regrets.

What's the Harm? Possibly Death!

November 19, 2011, Yavapai County, Ariz., Judge Warren Darrow sentenced James Arthur Ray for the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38; James Shore, 40; and Liz Neuman, 49 who all died after participating in a sweat lodge ceremony. The sweat lodge was the closing event of a five-day seminar, or retreat, I guess you could say. Ray, who charged $10,000 to participate, billed it as a Spiritual Warrior event. Yes, and of course he talked about making spiritual breakthroughs and all of the other New Age stuff.
The jury convicted Ray of three counts of negligent homicide. The judge sentenced him to two years on each count, to be served concurrently.
Ray's rise to well-known self-help guru and motivational speaker was helped along, by, yes, good old Oprah. Also, it didn't hurt that he had a part in the movie, The Secret. You guys remember the Secret. Yes, the law of attraction. Think it and it's yours.
Folks, no I'm not saying that we shouldn't try to improve ourselves, improve our lives, but there's no quick way to anything in life, and though most of us will never achieve greatness, we all have the ability to have decent lives, and that's what we should work on; fine tuning what we have, maybe learning to be better people. There are few of us who are going to breakout of our lives, if you will, and achieve overnight wealth and success: And, for those of us who do, it's not going to be because of the Rays of the world. It's all hard work and for most of us it takes time. Though I didn't spend much time in looking into Ray's background, I'd be willing to bet that he never made any money other than the money given to him by a whole host of gullible people who attended his seminars and bought his stuff. David McCall, a Texas trucking business owner who said he spent $125,000 to attend Ray's seminars in 2008 was at Ray's sentencing hearing to ask the judge for leniency.
As I type this, his Website is still up and running selling books, CDs, DVDs, yes and all of the words are there for you: Harmonic Wealth, Science, and Spiritual this that and the other and so on.
Who are these people who go to these seminars and spend their money on most-likely worthless CDs, books, and such. I would imagine that most are bright intelligent people with a sincere desire to improve their lives.  The problem is, that they put the Rays of the world up on a pedestal and shut off all of their logical thinking. It would seem that Ray was considered god-like and no one questioned him or closely evaluated what he was selling. Several people ended-up with broken hands at another of his seminars when he told them they could break cinder blocks. The followers of the Rays of the world shut down any critical thinking that they have and seem to buy into whatever they are told. 
Ray, like others of his ilk, is nothing more than a New Age shyster. Instead of peddling snake oil, Ray peddled his DVDs. Instead of saying his potions and elixirs would cure your physical ills, Ray promised spiritual happiness and wealth. It would seem, that for most of those who bought into his scam, he delivered neither.