I forgot my phone at work on Friday evening. At least I think so it may be lost somewhere for good. I thought about going back to get it since I have access to the office but between not wanting to make the drive back, heavy rain and not wanting to see anyone at work over the weekend I decided to do without it for the weekend. I thought this could be a good test to see if I had created an idol in my life.
Being without my phone wasn’t a huge loss. I have a land line phone in my home. (I’m not sure how many people that would call me actually have that number though.) I also have a tablet and a laptop. I bought the tablet after forgetting my phone at work once before. I didn’t want to be deprived of my nightly Instagram intake.
The biggest loss was I was unable to take my weekly #churchflow pictures. There is a camera on my tablet but it is absolute garbage. My selfies were grainy and looked like Bigfoot pictures. So the prechurch photo shoot was cut short and I was only fifteen minutes late to church this morning. I was there early enough to help usher. That would be a gain. Less vanity and more serving the Lord.
The other side is that I didn’t have an epiphany of how I need to unplug from social media and tap into the people and things around me. I don’t think anyone is missing much by checking social media when they have spare time as long as you are not driving or performing surgery or something while you’re checking Twitter.
So that’s my unremarkable weekend without my cell phone. I can live without it but I sure am looking forward to getting to work on Monday.
Donald Trump is not a Christian. There is absolutely no way. Even if you only go to church around Christmas and on Easter you should know enough about our Lord and Savior to know that Trump is not patterning himself after Him. We all fall short, we all stumble and I think we are all hypocrites but Trump isn’t even trying to act like a Christian. This can’t possible be his best pious act because there isn’t that much failure in the world. That is unless he doesn’t even know how a Christian should behave.
If you don’t believe me here are a few Bible verses that should lead you to believe that Trump is no more Christian than a snapping turtle.
Matthew 7 :15-20
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Trump incited violence while he was running for office. He has exacerbated racial tension in this country. He encouraged police officers to mistreat people in custody. The White House is in chaos. These are the fruits of the Trump administration so far. I can’t think of one positive thing that the man has accomplished so far. These are not the fruits of a man that is being lead by God.
A lot of Christians believe that Trump is a Christian but I believe he is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing that talks a religious game to gain popularity. He’s a charlatan and a lot of Christians have been had. He rattles off a few Bible verses as a smokescreen before putting racist policies into play. That is the way fake, White, American Christianity works. It’s always been used as a way to sell racism to the White masses. It hasn’t stopped working since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock.
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
There is absolutely no Biblical basis for racism. None! But Mr. Trump, his Cabinet and party have been busy making racist policies. In fact they campaigned on racism and won. Trump and his supporters may think they are Christian but everybody talking about heaven ain’t going there. Racists are going to burn in hell right along with their president.
Luke 16:18
“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
I’ll leave this right here.
Proverbs 31:30-31 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Women should be honored for their works and not their looks. What a concept. I don’t think the Bible mentions grabbing women by the #($$% even once.
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
We all know Trump loves him some money. Donny has been famous a long time and I’ve heard him mention his love of money many times. I never once heard him mention loving the Lord until his presidential campaign.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lover of themselves, lover of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
My goodness this describes Trump to a t. What does it say about a nation that would elect such a man?
This week America celebrated the Fourth of July. I don’t do a lot to observe the holiday because I do not have a lot of family in the area and I don’t have much experience cooking on the grill. I don’t have children so I don’t buy fireworks. But I did enjoy the day off and even when I have had to work on the Fourth of July I enjoyed the holiday pay.
This year on social media I saw numerous posts and tweets being circulated encouraging Black people not to celebrate the Fourth. Some of the social media messages even criticized Black people that do observe the Fourth of July. I found these memes to be annoying and arrogant. “Woke” people on social media often come across that way.
Look. I get it. I totally understand why so many Black people feel the way they do about the Fourth of July. Blacks were enslaved in 1776 and the freedoms that this country is supposed to offer her citizens were never intended to be enjoyed by Blacks. When you consider the culture of America when the Bill of Rights and the Constitution exposed how hypocritical and callous this country is towards Africans.
But despite what Blacks have faced throughout American history we are the greatest patriots of all. America as we know it would not exist without Blacks. The U.S. has the biggest economy the world has ever seen and it was built by Black labor. In history class American students learn the phrase “Cotton is King” which refers to the juggernaut which was the cotton industry in the 1800s. It wasn’t savvy business decision that made cotton king it was slave labor and brutal, savage force that made cotton king.
The cotton industry of the 1800s supported the textile industry of the early 1900s which was closely related to the northern Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution gave opportunities to European immigrants in the North East. Without Blacks immigrants never would have had an America for which to come.
African Americans are only about 12% of this country and we only live in a few areas but we have influenced the culture in many ways even though we often don’t receive recognition for our contributions. Blacks have influenced American music, cuisine, sports, fashion, politics, fine arts and sciences. Without us American culture would be bland an utterly unrecognizable.
I’m not sure that the world had ever or has ever seen anything quite like the American Civil Rights fight of the 1960s. A group of people that have been reviled and thought of as farm animals in the land where they were born stood up to the U.S. federal and state governments and won in mostly peaceful demonstrations. People that have had their features mocked and ridiculed proclaimed that Black is beautiful and the said loudly that they were Black and proud. That took bravery.
Since the 1960s other groups have mimicked the Black civil rights movement. I don’t believe the feminist, LGBT or immigrant civil rights movements would have ever taken shape without the Black movement first. Once again we provided inspiration for others in this country. As far as immigration is concerned Blacks once again paved the way for the way for the next wave of newcomers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Most of these immigrants come from brown countries and they would not have stood a chance if African Americans hadn’t stood up to White racism first.
We’ve been here trying to make America great all along. No one really has tried to hold America accountable for her actions they way Blacks have. We believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights more than anyone. Because we actually support all Americans having the same rights. So if you don’t want to celebrate the Fourth of July then don’t. But if you see other African Americans enjoying fireworks, a cookout or a day at the lake don’t judge and spare us the self righteous “woke” routine.
My family has probably been in this country about seven generations now and they sacrificed greatly for me to have the opportunities that I have in this country. I’m proud to be an African American and the Fourth of July can be seen as a day to salute patriots and freedom fighters such as Harriet Tubman, Malcom X and Angela Davis.
We deserve to be protected by police instead of targeted by them. We deserve equal opportunities and access to quality jobs and education. And se deserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in this country that those that came before us suffered greatly for.
The US-based economists Felipe Goncalves and Steven Mello have both had the police give them a break. It gave them a brilliant idea for uncovering racial bias in policing. Both Goncalves and Mello had been stopped for driving above the speed limit, and when a police officer wrote their ticket, it was for less than…
So the Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas. The Raiders are not my team so I’m not very interested in what they do. I don’t care for Las Vegas so I don’t have much concern about what happens there. But I don’t think this move to Vegas is a good idea. And I don’t think anything good will come of it.
First of all, this move is just plain douchey. Raiders fans are some of the most passionate and loyal in the NFL. I feel bad for the Oakland fans. This is a slap in the face by the Raiders management. I’ve only been to the airport in Oakland so I don’t know much about the city. But it seems like a hometown kind of town. I bet if you polled adults on the streets of Oakland most of them grew up in Oakland. It seems blue collar and a little bit gritty. In other words, it’s my kind of place. The Raiders are leaving Oakland behind for an artificial tourist town with a large transient population.
Vegas is OK. You can have a nice vacation there and it may be a great place to retire but it has no character. There’s no soul to Vegas. It will be interesting to see if the Raiders will actually gain new fans in Las Vegas. Seeing as how most of the population is transplanted from outside of Nevada the new Raiders may be a tough sell. The impression that I have of Nevada outside of Vegas is that it is made up of people that want to live off the grid and take little interest in pro sports.
The city of Las Vegas is planning on building the Raiders a glorious new stadium. There is something about it that is a bit creepy to me. It’s like something out of the “Hunger Games”. The NFL is relying on public funding to help build this stadium. This happens all over the country and it always upsets me.
The NFL has plenty of money and I don’t understand why they need to turn themselves into high class welfare cases in order to build or renovate their stadiums. Their excuse is that the team will help the local economy. That’s true but I don’t think any city’s economy can be based on a sports franchise. And if the Raiders are really interested in helping a local economy they should be concerned with what they are doing to Oakland’s economy. Oakland could surely use the financial boost more than Vegas does. I don’t see why Las Vegas needs the help.
I think the move to Vegas is going to be a big problem for a lot of the athletes. People pass judgment on pro athletes when they misbehave but they are young, rich, popular and privileged. I think a lot of them do well in their lot in life considering the temptations that are thrown in their faces. If I was one of them I sure would have been a holy terror.
So the Raiders want to take their team that is made up of young men that are probably on average aged 27. The town is known as Sin City and prostitution has been normalized and is legal in parts of Nevada. Other NFL teams will have to pass through Vegas when playing the Raiders. Does the NFL really think there will be no drama resulting from this move? To me it’s really kind of cruel. The NFL is setting these young athletes up for failure.
For years pro sports didn’t want sports franchises in Vegas because they were worried there would be a conflict of interest between the gambling business and sports. I don’t understand what changed other than we live in a world where politicians and business leaders have less integrity than they had even a decade ago. The Raiders had a great season last year but wouldn’t it seem a little fishy if they made it to the Superbowl next year? A lot of fans already suspect that the NFL is rigged.
Anyway, I hope this all turns into a disaster and I want to see the Raiders try to return home to the bay with their tail between their legs only to find out that their once loyal fans now support the 49ers. I hope the good people of Las Vegas replace all of their flunky politicians that act in the interest of big business instead of acting in the best interest of the tax paying citizens.
Last Sunday afternoon I stopped at a gas station for a drink. A tired looking Black man, in his late forties to early fifties, was standing outside the gas station. I could tell he was a pan handler because he was waiting outside the building watching people come and go. I parked my car in front of where he was standing and he approached me and asked me for some spare change. He tried to follow up with a story about how he was trying to get somewhere and needed money. I told him I would give him some change on my way back to my car.
As I was leaving the gas station the pan handler was standing in the same spot in front of my car. I gave the man some spare change. I think it was about thirty five cents. As I was getting in my car a middle aged, White man was going into the gas station. The Black man did not approach him for any money. He just made eye contact and just nodded.
I was a little troubled by this. Why did the Black male pan handler have enough pride not to ask the White man for money but he had no problem presenting himself as a pitiful bum to a Black woman? Why was it more important to the Black man to save face in front of a White man but he didn’t care what a Black woman thought of him?
Besides that, the entire global economy is set up so White men can prosper. Black women are pushed to the margins of the economy. The White man is more likely to have a dollar to spare whereas I may or may not have much more money than the panhandler. In fact, I’m sure the panhandler has more money than I do because I have student loan and car debts. My have negative net worth.
Despite the paltry sum of money I gave the man I felt really taken advantage of in that situation. I hate it when men ask women for money. Unless there is a very close relationship between the two it shouldn’t happen. I’m old fashioned and I think that men should provide leadership. The man could have shown me, a Black woman a little respect and had some pride in himself but he chose to reserve that for the tubby, middle aged, White man.
I would love to know why the panhandler made the choices that he made that day. I bet if I asked him why he begged from me and looked the White man in the eye and nodded hello he couldn’t give me an answer. But I think this is an example of how Black women are seen in the world at large. This story is also indicative of a problem in the Black community.
Black women are often seen and treated as people that are to be taken advantage of and used. People expect Black women to give, serve and work and never prosper or expect recognition or respect for her efforts. I often feel that Black men are the biggest users of Black women.
I also feel that Black have abdicated their positions as leaders in the Black community. Men should be leaders. That’s not to say that women can’t be leaders but in Black families women often provide emotional and financial leadership for others and often times there is no one for Black women to lean on. It’s not always the case but often times the men are just not there at all or in a supportive way. I think that the lack of men taking responsibility for women in children is a large part of the problem in Black America.
All of this came about because of an interaction with a bum on 24 Highway. He chose to be a bum for a Black woman but a man for a White man even though the White man probably pegged anyway. Had he not asked me for money I would have thought he was waiting for someone in the gas station or something.
I would really love to hear feedback on this essay particularly if you are a part of the African American community.
Sigh. Gospel singer Kim Burrell has been trending on Facebook for two days. She was giving a sermon in a church and said something about a perverted homosexual spirit. Someone recorded it and the video circulated around social media. A lot of people became enraged and called her comments hate speech. Celebrities, including gospel singers have condemned Ms. Burrell and turned their backs on her. She has maintained her stance and is refusing to apologize.
Ms. Burrell is on the soundtrack of the new movie “Hidden Colors” and she was going to perform on the daytime talk show “Ellen” soon. Her appearance on the show has been cancelled probably due to Ellen DeGeneres being a lesbian and all. The timing of all of this is quite peculiar. I’m unsure if this is sabotage or a brilliant marketing ploy thought of by Ms. Burrell’s managers.
Here’s the long and short of it. The Bible does not condone homosexuality. It just doesn’t. No where. Like at all. The Biblical model for marriage involves one man and at least one woman. Period. Kim Burrell is a preacher and is called to preach from the Bible. Not “The Wall Street Journal” or “Teen Vogue” or “Cosmopolitan”. There’s really no way around that. So I really don’t know what all the fuss is about. Have we not all heard this before? And if you don’t believe in God, or the Bible or have any respect for church why do you care what some gospel singer thinks? Why you mad?
It’s not fair to ask someone to compromise who they are to suit you. Gays shouldn’t have to do it but neither should Christians. There is room for all of us to live our dreams in this world. Everything comes down to respect.
I really thought that once gay marriage was legalized that would put some of the disagreements to rest. I thought that marriage rights were the goal and that was what the gay community wanted. Evidently I was wrong. Homosexuality has been normalized in pop culture. There are many gay celebrities and gay characters on TV. None of this seems to have done much to make the gay community happy.
FYI I am a Christian that has always been in favor of civil unions or gay marriage. As a civil matter I see absolutely no reason to be against same sex marriage. I don’t want any group in America to feel like they are being discriminated against or being denied their pursuit to happiness. I am not a person that likes to see anyone stand on a high horse and pass judgment on others. But that is a two way street. I have always believed in live and let live. That is a two way street as well.
I have read or watched remarks on social media that blame Christianity and specifically Ms. Burrell for gay people committing suicide. I do not understand what it is like to be gay or suicidal. I am not a therapist. But if you are depressed and need help please seek it out. It seems like a real disservice to blame someone else for your depression or mental health problem. Learn to love and value yourself.
Furthermore, the remarks made about Kim Burrell are just plain mean, misogynistic and racist. There have been dozens, probably hundreds of remarks made about her weight on social media. There have been remarks saying that she looks like a man. I even read a remark saying that Black women are disgusting. This is lynch mob bullying folks. All of this negativity is not really standing for anything but hatefulness. But I thought these folks were fighting for love.
In sixteen days the U.S. will inaugurate our new president who chose Mike Pence to be our Vice President. While Mr. Pence was Governor of Indiana he opposed laws that made it illegal to discriminate against gays. He also diverted funs away from programs to combat AIDS. Pence also supports gay conversion therapy. Mr. Pence is the type of Christian that makes Christianity embarrassing but no one is giving Gov. Pence the treatment that Kim Burrell is getting.
The fact is that Kim is an easy target. She is a gospel singer that has no real power or a great deal of influence. Mike Pence is a White man that influences policy and will soon probably be running our country. Cowards don’t have the nerve to challenge him. So they make fun of the chubby Black woman instead. It’s sad and shameful and I may go buy a Kim Burrell CD soon.
It takes all kinds to make the world turn. That includes the Christians and the Gays. Both groups need to learn that no one has the moral high ground and everyone’s beliefs should be respected. Live and let live.
Hey there everyone. It’s the second day of 2017. We made it to a new year. 2016 was a difficult year for a lot of people. Several celebrities that meant a lot to their fans died and the United States survived a long, brutal election and settled on electing a troll for president. It was very disheartening, sad and frightening.
But for me 2016 was a pretty good year. I had some prayers get answered and the Lord made a way for me out of what seemed like no way. I got a new car and a new job. I even got a new computer as a Christmas gift. It was pretty remarkable. All of these blessings were unexpected and kind of came out of no where. I’m looking forward to seeing what God does in my life in 2017. I’m going to keep on praying and believing. Happy new year to all of you.
This election, 6.1 million Americans were unable to vote because of their criminal convictions. Many US citizens consider the right to vote one of our most fundamental–we fought a war over representation, after all—but they do not realize that a felony conviction, in many states, can cause a citizen to lose that fundamental right, even…
It’s all over now and for that I am grateful. The nearly two year presidential campaign has finally come to an end and America elected the flesh and blood version of a cartoon villain as our new president. I honestly didn’t think that was going to happen and I still don’t understand why it happened. But I’ve accepted the results and I’m content to sit back and watch the downward spiral. I honestly hope that Trump won’t be as horrible as what he promised to be during his campaign. I think the best we can hope for now is that Trump will be completely incompetent and does nothing. At least that way he can’t make anything worse.
I am very upset with many of my fellow Americans for allowing this to happen. I have had to put in some emotional work in order to accept that my beautiful country has decided to destroy itself. In the days leading up to and following the election I spent quite a bit of time reading people’s comments on social media about the election. I’ve since deactivated my Facebook account. I don’t have the emotional fortitude to take all of that in all this talk about Donald Trump. I felt myself changing and the changes were not positive. I don’t want to be an untrusting, angry person but that’s where I was headed.
Writing has always been cathartic for me. After I finish writing this I am done talking about Donald Trump and this election. Onward and upward. But please indulge me and read this list of people that I have a problem with because of Election 2016.
The Blacks
Black Americans, or “the Blacks” as Trump likes to call us, overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton. I’m proud of that. The ones that I have a problem with are the ones that can vote and chose not to because they thought the two candidates were too similar. I feel like Donald Trump made this a pretty easy choice for Black Americans. He was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan for goodness sakes. If Black people were still confused about who to vote for after learning that I don’t know what to tell them. If you’re a Black American and in doubt about a candidate vote against the person that is endorsed by the Klan. DUUUHHHH!
I also suspect that there are a lot of Black men that were not comfortable supporting a woman in a role that does not involve cooking, nurturing or being a bimbo.
Women (Particularly White)
I don’t ever want to hear another word from American feminists (White women do most of the feminist griping in this country). I don’t want to hear about how women make less than what men make for the same work. I don’t want to hear about how the U.S. needs government sponsored maternity leave or how American companies need to be more family friendly. These morons had the opportunity to elect a smart, dignified woman to the presidency but instead they decided to elect a man that has a history of abusing women. Pardon my language but **** these h@#$. They don’t deserve anything better than what they already have.
The Upper Midwest
Donald Trump is no champion for American labor or manufacturing. Donald Trump has hired illegal immigrants to work in his casinos. His products that are sold at Macy’s are all made overseas. The steel that is used in his construction projects comes from China not Pennsylvania. He became a household name in the early 2000s for firing people on his reality show. But that didn’t stop the rust belt from voting for him on Tuesday.
Just as the American auto industry is trying to recover the idiots of the Rust Belt those idiots vote for the party that is vehemently anti union and collective bargaining. I have always tried to support American workers by buy American cars. But if the autoworkers don’t give a damn neither do I. My next car might be a BMW. I hope they enjoy working for minimum wage.
The State of Missouri
Missouri has been my home since 1998. It took some getting use to but I have grown to like the place. My problem with Missouri has more to do with the Senate race than the presidential one. We have a Senator named Roy Blunt that ran for re election. He’s been a senator for about a generation.
Some of you may remember a few years ago that an unpleasant incident occurred between two young men, one an officer and one a civilian in a town called Ferguson. The officer shot and killed the civilian which ignited a race riot in the town. I live in Missouri and I never saw Roy Blunt make a statement on the news about the initial incident or the subsequent riots. I checked his website and social media pages and he made no comment.
How in the hell are you a Senator with a race riot going on near on of the major cities in your state and the country and you have nothing to say? Did he realize what was going on? I hear Blunt doesn’t even live in Missouri. Did he not care about the situation? It seems that way to me. Or maybe Roy Blunt is just that lazy. Regardless, the people of Missouri heartily voted to let Roy Blunt maintain his position as senator. I saw him on the news thanking the voters for their support.
Sanders Supporters
These people need to let go. It’s like they have a fatal attraction to Bernie Sanders or something. They would like to think that Sanders would have beaten Trump. I don’t think he would have come as close to winning as Clinton did. Bernie Sander is not as great as his supporters think he is. To me Bernie Sanders has a lot in common with Trump. They both made big promises without giving details as to how they were going to them a reality. Free college is as realistic as Donald Trump’s wall that will be built on the southern border and funded by Mexico. IT IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!
It seems that the Bernie supporters voted for Trump or supported the third of fourth party. Well that worked out great didn’t it. I bet most of the protesters that are storming the streets of major cities are frustrated Sanders supporters. I have no sympathy for them. They should have been smarter with their vote.
Christians
Christians got under my skin more than anyone. One would think that Christians would have been outspoken against Trump’s angry message. You would think Christians would have a problem with Trump’s supporters forcibly pushing protesters out of convention halls and beating those with those with opposing views. I expected Christian men to stand for women after learning about the “Grab them by the pu$$!” remark. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Christians seemed to be comfortable with all of that.
Donald Trump said that he has never asked for forgiveness because he has never done anything wrong. While he tried to quote a Bible verse he said Two Corinthians instead of Second Corinthians. This should have made it clear that Donald Trump was not one of their own but so many of them continued to support him and his unchristian ways anyway.
I followed several Christian pages on Facebook and I was blown away by their hypocrisy. By 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning they had messages saying that we need to unite as a country. We need to unite as Christians. We need to put everything behind us and look forward. Bull****! Unity is not what America voted for on Tuesday. These pages never said anything about unity during the election and I don’t believe they would have said it had Hillary won.
Another popular sentiment was “God is in control”. This was popular among Black preachers, gospel singers and the like. Well if you go out side and lay down on the double yellow line on the busiest street in your town God is in control but something bad is going to happen because of your stupidity. Use the brains God gave you people.
Well that’s it. I could go on but I’m tired of this whole thing and the word Trump drives me nuts. I hope the first act of legislation that Congress passes after Trump is inaugurated is to change our national anthem to “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. God bless you all. God bless America.
